11 careers that offer high -- and rising -- pay

Although the U.S. economy has recovered much of the ground it lost in the recession, many Americans say they aren't feeling the benefits.

One reason: an increasingly bifurcated job market in which a small segment of the nation's workforce enjoy high pay and opportunities for advancement, while the majority struggle with stagnating income and less attractive career paths. Only 16 percent of U.S. jobs are in what career site Indeed.com calls "opportunity jobs," or those that both pay well and have held up against inflation.

In other words, the bulk of employment in the U.S. is failing to provide what most workers would consider two essential qualities for a "good" job. Most people are stuck in middle-tier jobs where opportunities are shrinking and income growth has slowed, or in unskilled work where there are plenty of jobs that pay extremely low wages, said Indeed chief economist Tara Sinclair.

"There is a small group at the top that's getting ahead, with high salaries, wage growth and lots of jobs if you have those skills where employers are fighting over you," Sinclair said. "We call this the paradox of opportunity, since employers say they can't find as many people as they want, even though these are really great jobs."

These opportunity jobs make up 35 percent of job postings on Indeed, she noted. Yet employees aren't applying for them in the numbers that employers need, mainly because of qualification issues. Most such jobs require a college education, for example, yet only about one-third of Americans have a college degree.

In addition to higher pay and strong income growth, opportunity jobs score well on a number of other fronts, such as good benefits, a high satisfaction rating from employees and a low risk of automation, Sinclair added.

The gap between employer demand and qualified Americans suggests that employers need to invest more in training workers to be prepared for these jobs, such as teaching employees how to write software.

"The old model of identifying someone in the mail room and grooming them -- that worked and it's kind of broken down," Sinclair said. "Employers keep ratcheting up the pay because they are competing over a small skilled workforce, and maybe some of that would be better spent identifying people they can train for the roles."

Read on to learn about the top 11 careers identified by Indeed.com as providing high pay and solid salary growth. The ranking is based on the quantity of job postings in careers that offer both a good salary and income growth that meets or exceeds the rate of inflation over a 10-year period.

11. Marketing managers: average pay, $137,400

This career includes working as a business development manager, marketing coordinator and product marketing manager. Working in this area requires a bachelor's degree, and the average annual salary is $137,400, according to Indeed.

The salary growth for this career during the past 10 years has reached 37.4 percent, ahead of the 25.3 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index over the same period. That means marketing managers' pay is keeping well ahead of inflation.

10. Computer and information systems managers: $136,280

Computer and information systems managers include people with titles such as IT project manager, informational technology specialist and program manager. The average salary is $136,280, and these jobs require a bachelor's degree, Indeed found.

These tech specialists have seen salary growth of 36.1 percent during the past decade, surpassing the inflation rate of 25.3 percent.

9. Medical and health services managers: $103,680

Medical and health services managers include medical directors, service coordinators and nursing home administrators. The career requires post-graduate education, and the average annual salary is $103,680.

Salary growth during the past decade was 36.7 percent, or faster than the inflation rate of 25.3 percent.

8. Network and computer systems administrators: $79,770

Jobs within this career include network engineer, systems administrator and network administrator. The career requires a bachelor's degree, and the average annual salary is $79,770.

The growth rate for salaries in this field stands at 28 percent during the past decade, or above the CPI inflation rate of 25.3 percent.

7. Physical therapists: $83,940

Physical therapists require post-graduate training and earn an average annual salary of $83,940.

Salary growth stands at 31.8 percent during the past 10 years, or higher than the CPI inflation rate of 25.3 percent. While this career has low requirements for computer skills, unlike many other top opportunity jobs, physical therapists need above-average social skills, Indeed noted.

6. Software developers, applications: $99,530

Typical job titles in this career include software engineer, .NET developer and application developer. Working in this field requires a bachelor's degree, and the average annual salary is $99,530.

The 10-year salary growth stands at 26.7 percent, or slightly above the inflation rate of 25.3 percent.

5. Accountants and auditors: $73,670

Typical jobs in this field include staff accountant, senior accountant and staff accountant. Working as an accountant or auditor requires a bachelor's degree and pays an average annual salary of $73,670.

The 10-year salary growth stands at 28.9 percent, ahead of inflation growth of 25.3 percent.

4. Miscellaneous managers: $110,210

Manager careers include jobs such as shift manager and project manager, while the average annual salary stands at $110,210, according to Indeed. The career requires a bachelor's degree.

The 10-year salary growth stands at $110,210, ahead of inflation growth during the same period of 25.3 percent.

3. Miscellaneous computer occupations: $85,520

Typical computer jobs include Java developer, web developer and quality engineer. The average annual salary is $85,520, and these careers require a bachelor's degree, Indeed said.

The 10-year salary growth for these jobs stands at 35.9 percent, or well ahead of inflation growth of 25.3 percent during the same period.

2. Sales managers: $126,040

Sales manager titles include sales lead and sales representative. This career pays an average annual salary of $126,040, and they require a bachelor's degree, Indeed noted.

The 10-year salary growth is 30 percent, above the 25.3 percent inflation rate during the same period.

1. Registered nurses: $69,790

The top opportunity job is registered nurses, which is the only job within the top 11 that doesn't require a bachelor's degree. Registered nurses require an associate's degree, Indeed noted.

Even though the average annual salary of $69,790 is the lowest among the top 11 jobs, opportunities are plentiful, with job postings growing at the fastest rate among the careers in the study. Salary growth over 10 years stands at 25.3 percent, matching the rate of inflation.

Best of the rest

Below are the remaining opportunity jobs on Indeed.com's list of top 25 careers screened for high pay and salary growth. Average annual pay is listed, as well as the 10-year rate of salary growth in parentheses.

12. Physician assistants, $97,280 (42 percent)
13. Software developers, systems software: $106,050 (27.1 percent)
14. Speech-language pathologists: $74,900 (31.8 percent)
15. Computer systems analysts: $87,320 (25.7 percent)
16. Architectural and engineering managers: $138,720 (33.1 percent)
17. Occupational therapists: $80,000 (38.9 percent)
18. Human resources managers: $114,140 (28.6 percent)
19. Sales engineers: $104,660 (35.4 percent)
20. Financial managers: $130,230 (38.3 percent)
21. Administrative services managers: $92,250 (35.4 percent)
22. Industrial production managers: $101,640 (26 percent)
23. Family and general practitioners: $186,320 (35 percent)
24. Database administrators: $82,280 (27.8 percent)
25. Operations research analysts: $82,940 (30.1 percent)