The 9 highest-paying companies in America
Americans seeking a high-paying job should take a look at these companies, which pay their employees very well indeed.
The top nine companies on the list pay median total compensation of more than $140,000, according to a new survey from employment site Glassdoor. That's about five times the individual median U.S. income of $28,031.
All these businesses are service companies, rather than manufacturing or industrial operations, Glassdoor chief economist Andrew Chamberlain told CBS MoneyWatch. But it's not easy to get a job at any of them: Many require advanced degrees or specific skills such as programming to earn a coveted spot.
These jobs are also far from the types of routine tasks that can be easily automated, which is especially important given forecasts that advances in technology -- from robotics to big data analysis -- will place almost half of U.S. jobs at risk.
"The bigger trend in the U.S. economy is away from goods-producing industries and into services," Chamberlain said. Americans should consider adding skills that are hard to automate, given that employers are looking at ways to replace expensive human labor, he added.
"Hard to obtain skills like coding and even writing skills are hard to automate, and make it possible for you to be in a job that can never be outsourced," he noted.
Interestingly, financial companies failed to make the list, which is largely due to the bifurcation between their extremely high-paying jobs and lower-paid staff such as office assistants. If the study had looked at average pay, many would have made the cut because the huge bonuses earned by Wall Street bankers would have skewed the results in their firms' favor.
Instead, Glassdoor chose to examine median pay, meaning half the employees at these firms make more and half make less than that median amount.
Read on to learn which nine companies offer America's highest median pay.
9. Good Technology
Median total compensation: $147,500
Median base salary: $136,250
This mobile security provider might not be a household name, but more than 6,200 organizations in more than 190 countries use its technology.
Typical jobs are focused in software engineering and sales, while the Sunnyvale, California-based company currently has openings in positions ranging from account managers to financial analysts.
While only 10 percent of the information security industry's workers are women, Good Technology has been lauded by Infosecurity Magazine for the fact that 40 percent of its executive team and 27 percent of its total workforce are women.
8. Mozilla
Median total compensation: $147,556
Median base salary: $112,737
This wholly owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation describes itself in an unusual way: "A corporation that serves the public good. Seriously."
That doesn't keep its workers from making a healthy salary, however.
The company was created in 2005 as a way to handle the foundation's revenue-generating operations. Its products include Firefox, the Web browser that's available on desktops and Android mobile platforms, as well as the Firefox OS for mobile devices.
7. Boston Consulting Group
Median total compensation: $158,463
Median base salary: $160,000
Working for this global consulting company may be a demanding job, but the pay is high.
BCG tends to hire graduates of prestigious business schools such as Harvard Business School and Columbia Business School, and many go on to lead high-profile careers in other fields. One former hire was Mitt Romney, who worked for the firm in the 1970s.
6. Sidley Austin
Median total compensation: $160,000
Median base salary: $160,000
Sidley Austin is one of the country's big law firms, employing about 1,900 attorneys in 18 offices across the world. It was ranked as the 2015 "law firm of the year" in international trade and finance law as well as in securities litigation by U.S. News & World Report.
One famous alumna is the First Lady. Michelle Obama worked as an associate attorney at Sidley Austin early in her career, which is where she met Barack Obama, who was a summer associated she was assigned to mentor.
5. A.T. Kearney
Median total compensation: $160,000
Median base salary: $135,000
A.T. Kearney, a management consulting firm, competes with several other companies on this list, including Boston Consulting Group. It offers consulting in a number of industries, ranging from aerospace and defense to utilities.
The firm recruits students from top business schools such as Harvard Business School, as well as from undergraduate colleges such as Princeton. It also seeks out experienced professionals.
Once owned by technology consulting firm EDS, its owner sold A.T. Kearney back to the management team in 2006. In 2013, managing partner Johan Aurik said the firm plans to double in size by 2020.
4. McKinsey & Co.
Median total compensation: $160,000
Median base salary: $135,000
McKinsey might be the best-known name in corporate consulting as well as one of the biggest, with more than 9,000 consultants and almost 2,000 research and information professionals. Many of its alumni have gone on to serve as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.
It's not easy to get a job here: McKinsey receives 225,000 job applications each year, but it hires only 1 percent of those, according to financial journalist Duff McDonald, author of "The Firm: The Story of McKinsey and its Secret Influence on American Business."
3. Booz & Co. (now called Strategy&)
Median total compensation: $162,000
Median base salary: $135,000
Booz might not be as well known as McKinsey, but this management consulting firm also has top-notch clients. Some of its well known cases include helping to create Deutsche Telekom after the Iron Curtain fell and the rescue of Chrysler from bankruptcy.
In March 2014, Booz merged with PwC to create a new firm, which was named Strategy&.
2. Netflix
Median total compensation: $180,000
Median base salary: $180,000
The video-streaming site isn't popular only with consumers. It also receives high marks from employees, who cite talented co-workers and interesting work tasks as benefits.
Current job openings include roles as financial analysts and senior software engineers. Aside from rolling out new shows such as "Daredevil," Netflix is also expanding into new countries, with plans to create a service in Japan this fall.
1. Skadden Arps
Median total compensation: $182,000
Median base salary: $170,000
This massive law firm ranks at the top of the heap when it comes to high-paying jobs.
Founded in 1948, it now has about 2,000 attorneys and offices across the world. One famous (and infamous) alumnus includes former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.
The law firm doesn't hire only attorneys, of course. Current openings include staff positions such as a technology support analyst in its Los Angeles office.