When students enter college to earn a degree in pursuit of a profession, the potential to earn a high income is often a factor. High-demand jobs, and careers with significant entry barriers and extensive education and experience requirements tend to deliver the highest income earnings. Typically, the more specialized your skillset, the more pay you can demand.

Investment Banker
In its list of "The 11 Highest Paying Jobs Straight Out of College", the website Earn My Degree includes investment bankers as number one. It is noted that investment bankers are commonly entering the workforce with accounting and consulting firms, as opposed to more traditional hedge funds and private equity companies. According to the website Indeed, $109,000 is the average annual salary for a United States investment banker as of November 2010. Earn My Degree notes a highly competitive entry level work environment, very long hours, and the intense effort required to succeed as key reasons investment bankers earn six figure incomes.

Anesthesiologists
In its 2007 look at "America's 25 Best-Paying Jobs", Forbes magazine includes anesthesiologists with their average national salary of $184,340. People are usually aware that medical professionals make above average incomes (as evidenced by several professions on the top of the Forbes list) due to strenuous educational requirements and highly specialized skill requirements. However, it may surprise people to realize how much anesthesiologists earn since most people have few encounters with them. Anesthesiologists deliver anesthetics to patients during surgeries and other medical procedures in which you are "put under". This process includes risks and late hours, which contribute to high pay. According to the Forbes overview, only about 30,000 professional anesthesiologists practice across the US.

Psychiatrists
With an average annual salary of $149,990 in 2007, psychiatrists are also included near the top of the Forbest list of highest-paying jobs. Psychiatrists are medical professionals that specialize in mental health diagnostics, treatment and prevention. Along with highly specialized educational and training requirements, psychiatrists are well paid because of the high level of stress they absorb. Along with stressful jobs, the Psychology Today article "The occupation with the highest suicide rate" by Ilan Shrira notes that access to prescriptions contribute to the high risk of the job. Psychiatrists deal with people that have severe mental issues and can easily take on the strains of their clients. These challenges contribute to high earnings for psychiatry professionals.