Remember when your parents used to preach that the golden ticket to success was becoming a doctor, lawyer, or accountant? 

They thought those jobs were the Hogwarts of careers—once you’re in, you’re set for life. 

But in Australia, that advice might be as outdated as dial-up internet. 

We’ve scouted the world wide web to help you uncover where to find the highest paying jobs - and what you need to do to access them.

Understanding what salaries look like in your specific industry is important to help you make informed career choices and make sure you’re not getting short changed.

Not long ago, we broke down the average and median salaries in Australia, why the median is a more useful statistic when looking at wages.

This time, we’re going deeper into earnings data to understand how to maximise your earnings potential.

Based on ABS data from May 2024, the average salary (seasonally adjusted) of a full-time Australian worker is $1,923.40 per week (or $100,016.80 annually) pre-tax – that’s according to the ABS.

And the median salary of a full-time employee in Australia is $1,600 per week ($67,600 annually) pre-tax.

For starters, let's look at the median salary across industries.

The highest paid industries in Australia are:

1. Mining
2. Electricity, gas, water, and waste services
3. Financial and insurance services
4. Professional, scientific, and technical services
5. Information media & telecommunications

Here’s a deeper look into the median weekly earnings across different industries.

While these medians are useful, there is still a lot they don’t tell us. 

For starters, salaries within an industry can vary massively between the most junior and most senior roles.

They can also vary by the specific skills you use in your role.

Secondly, the industry you work in is one factor that impacts your income, but there are a range of other factors that also have a significant impact on your income and earning potential.

A big one is your level of education.

So let’s also take a look at median salaries across education levels.

So while the median salary across Australia is  $1,600 per week for a full-time employee, you can see that Aussies with a postgraduate degree are actually earning the most.

Incomes can also vary based on location. Let’s take a look at median salaries across states.

This shows us that the median salary is highest in Western Australia and New South Wales. 

In Western Australia, the high earnings figure can be attributed to the mining sector.

WA is Australia’s mining hub, so many of those top level mining salaries are being earned in WA.

New South Wales on the other hand is Australia’s largest economy and accounts for about one third of the country’s economic output.

Now, of course making career decisions off the back of ABS data isn’t realistic for everyone, but if you’re looking to understand how you can maximise your earnings through your career, this data should give you a little insight.