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If you’re looking for a job with great pay and a laid-back atmosphere, PayScale found some options for you. The salaries listed are the national median annual total cash compensation (annual salary or wage, plus bonuses, profit sharing, commissions and so on) and the percentages show the percent of respondents they surveyed who answered “relaxing,” “not stressful” or “a little stressful” when asked if their job is stressful.
• Reservoir Engineer, $136,000, 66 percent
Reservoir engineers perform modeling studies in order to determine the value of exploration and potential production of oil fields. They estimate yields and analyze economic risk.
• Patent Attorney, $146,000, 54 percent
Patent attorneys help protect intellectual property for organizations. “As a patent attorney, I do love my job,” says Judith Szepesi, a partner in a small intellectual property boutique, HIPLegal LLP. “We work in Silicon Valley, but unlike many of our start-up clients, we don’t work 16-hour days.”
Szepesi says she loves learning about new technology and helping start-ups create a coherent intellectual property portfolio.
“It does take time to get here. In addition to school, all us did our stint in larger law firms (with) high pressure-to-bill hours,” she says. “But where I am now is amazing.”
• Data Scientist, IT, $113,000, 59 percent
The interest in big data has fueled demand for data scientists, who analyze and manage large caches of data. As the amount of data companies can mine continues to grow, there may be a growth in demand for people with these skills.
• Geophysicist, $105,000, 56 percent
Geophysicists study and analyze the shape of the Earth and how plates, layers and other parts of the Earth move. They also study the atmosphere of the planet and physical phenomenon such as gravity, fluid dynamics, magnetism, radioactivity and electricity.
• User-Experience Research, $99,300, 62 percent
People in these positions design and analyze websites, stores and other experiences and how people use them. UX researchers identify areas that don’t “flow” and identify user goals and needs. They work with other departments to keep experiences efficient.
• Principal Scientist, $117,000, 48 percent
Principal scientists are the leaders of research teams. They manage scientists and perform annual performance reviews while overseeing research.
• Actuary, $97,700, 63 percent
Actuaries calculate the financial cost of risk. A background in statistics and mathematics is helpful in this job. Actuaries often work for insurance companies but may also work at organizations wanting to keep tabs on risk levels.
• Lead Software Engineer, $115,000, 48 percent
People who work as principal software engineers oversee research into new technologies and component design. They design, develop and test new software and oversee system integrations at organizations.
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