25 of the Highest Paying Jobs in Decatur, AL for 2026

The top jobs in the Decatur area can pay up to $131,200 per year

High Paying Decatur Jobs

• Pharmacist

  Salary range: $109,200 - $131,200

  A Pharmacist fills orders for prescription medications and instructs patients on how to take them. They may work in community or hospital pharmacies, universities, prisons, or for pharmaceutical companies. Pharmacists are responsible for monitoring patient prescriptions to ensure there are no drug interactions or other impacts on existing conditions. They inform patients of potential side effects and may offer immunizations, and should also be aware of the potential for prescription drug abuse. Pharmacists also need to understand insurance coding and how to process claims for patients. Outside of a pharmacy, they may work in other healthcare locations providing patients with medicinal and wellness information.

• Mechanical Engineer

  Salary range: $72,900 - $113,100

  Mechanical Engineering is one of the broadest genres in the engineering industry. Specific job duties vary, depending on the kind of company and assigned project. In general, Mechanical Engineers spend their time researching, designing, developing, building, testing, and inspecting mechanical devices. These devices may include engines, tools, thermal sensors, and large machinery apparatus. On a daily basis, a Mechanical Engineer may spend time analyzing mechanical and thermal devices, troubleshooting problems, determining solutions, and completing repairs. They also develop and test technical and mechanical prototypes of new designs and devices. A Mechanical Engineer can also work on devices such as escalators, elevators, conveyor systems, and automated transfer stations.

• Rn

  Salary range: $61,400 - $97,500

  An RN, short for Registered Nurse, works closely with doctors to provide patient care for illnesses and injuries. RNs are often the first medical professional the patient sees when entering a health care facility. As an RN, you can ask the patient questions and document their health history, but you are not allowed to diagnose patients; after the doctor or other supervising health care professional has determined what problem needs to be treated, you help administer treatment. Your job duties may include administering medications, checking patient vital signs, and charting medical records. RNs also advise patients and families about at-home care for medical conditions as well as disease prevention.

• Social Worker

  Salary range: $55,300 - $85,800

  Social Workers help individuals, children, and families from all backgrounds to overcome personal difficulties and help their clients get the help they need. Assistance may include food and housing subsidies, health care, and job training. Part of their duties involve crisis prevention; many of their clients deal with poverty, abuse, addiction, and unemployment.

• Maintenance Planner

  Salary range: $51,400 - $78,700

  As a maintenance planner, your responsibilities are to plan facility maintenance operations for a manufacturing organization or other facility with large physical plant operations. Your duties include administrative and planning work, providing your employer with a cost estimate for repairs or upkeep on facilities, equipment, and another physical plant, and scheduling maintenance inspections. As the planner, you process logs of inspections and repairs and coordinate staff shifts to ensure someone is on call in case of emergency.

• Quality Control Specialist

  Salary range: $38,900 - $69,400

  A quality control specialist typically oversees the production line of a manufacturing process to ensure that it provides consistent results for a product. In this role, you may test and inspect the line to find any defects. You may also analyze error logs and data feeds to identify where a problem occurs. Other responsibilities and duties include making decisions about keeping or pitching a run and recommending changes in measurements and specific steps to make sure the products match their intended specs. This is an essential role in manufacturing with a direct impact on customer satisfaction. Sometimes, this role entails carrying out assessments of field reports and mostly performing department tasks in an office setting.

• Cnc Programmer

  Salary range: $49,700 - $68,000

  A CNC programmer operates a computer numerical control machine to cut materials like metal and plastic for building things such as airplanes or appliances. In the simplest terms, the CNC programmer uses coding and software to tell the machine what to cut. In addition to initially programming machinery, they also troubleshoot and improve existing software and codes. They work with blueprints to ensure precise directions, and engineers to make improvements.

• Licensed Practical Nurse

  Salary range: $48,300 - $65,600

  As a Licensed Practical Nurse or LPN, you’ll provide basic hands-on patient care. Your duties and responsibilities will likely include monitoring your patients’ vital signs, changing dressings, administering injections, providing food and medication, and informing your medical team about patient requests or changes in condition. You might also be asked to help with diagnostic tests and procedures. Your career can take place in a variety of healthcare settings, including hospitals, doctors’ offices, nursing homes, correctional institutions, rehabilitation centers, home healthcare environments, and military bases. The Licensed Practical Nurse position is considered an entry-level nursing career. You’ll generally report to Physicians or Registered Nurses.

• Sterile Processing Technician

  Salary range: $38,900 - $64,700

  A Sterile Processing Technician, or sterile processing tech, is a health care professional who performs sterilization processes in the surgical environment. A Sterile Processing Technician uses specialized equipment, such as an autoclave, to ensure all surgical instruments and materials are sterile and safe to use on the patient. They inventory and assess equipment and materials so that the surgical suite is prepared for each procedure.

• Crane Operator

  Salary range: $42,200 - $64,700

  A Crane Operator is a professional heavy machine operator, specializing in cranes. Cranes are a unique kind of heavy equipment that uses pulley systems to move around, raise, and lower large items, such as shipping containers and steel beams. A Crane Operator is in charge of moving these things where they need to go, safely and efficiently. The also log their work, discuss and plan with their team, and perform basic maintenance on their machine.

• Diesel Mechanic

  Salary range: $46,900 - $61,900

  A diesel mechanic is a highly skilled technician with a deep knowledge of diesel engines. These specialized mechanics provide all regularly needed maintenance for diesel engines and are also capable of making any needed repairs.

• Pipefitter

  Salary range: $47,300 - $60,500

  Pipefitters fabricate, assembles, and installs piping systems. When assigned a project, the pipefitter chooses the appropriate materials and size of the pipes, then manipulates the metal to fit the installation area by using techniques such as threading, welding, grinding, rigging, cutting, bending, and soldering. Pipefitters are also responsible for transporting the pipes, installing them, and testing the system to ensure it runs properly. At the commercial level, these systems are typically heating and cooling systems, but pipefitters may also work with plumbing and water systems.

• Office

  Salary range: $37,500 - $55,300

  An office job is any type of employment in which you work in an office environment. As part of an office staff, the majority of your work takes place at your desk on a computer or over the phone. The remainder of your work involves meetings and group collaboration around conference tables. Depending on your skills and education, you can find an office job as a receptionist, secretary, office clerk, administrative assistant, customer service representative, office manager, marketer, software engineer, accountant, insurance examiner, and much more.

• Clinic Lpn

  Salary range: $37,600 - $54,100

  A clinic LPN, or licensed practical nurse, is primarily responsible for providing nursing care to patients in a clinic. LPNs that work in an outpatient facility will administer care to patients of all ages, gender, and ailments. LPNs that work in a specialty clinic, such as infant care or cancer treatment, will primarily perform tasks specific to those medical specialties. An LPN typically reports to a registered nurse or doctor who oversees patient care. Job duties can include taking vitals, administering medications, giving shots, collecting specimens, and scheduling appointments.

• Machinist

  Salary range: $38,900 - $53,200

  A machinist is someone who uses heavy equipment to cut machinery parts made of different materials including steel, silicon, aluminum, and plastic. Machinist work takes a great amount of focus and precision. Machinists must be able to read mechanical blueprints, make calculations, determine machine speed, and perform precise cuts to create tools, fixtures, building materials, and other products. In addition to creating products based on preset specifications, machinists must also maintain their machines to ensure they cut properly and safely. This means keeping them properly lubricated and regulating their temperature. In many cases, machinists must have a working knowledge of computers which may help them determine cutting patterns and paths.

• Heavy Equipment Operator

  Salary range: $38,000 - $52,500

  Heavy Equipment Operator jobs require the safe and proper use of various types of heavy machinery in a large construction or demolition environment. The tasks of a Heavy Equipment Operator vary depending on the type of job and machinery. Examples of heavy equipment include bulldozers, excavators, loaders, and backhoes. Heavy equipment operators most commonly work in construction, oil and gas pipelines, and logging.

• Welder

  Salary range: $36,600 - $48,300

  The primary job of welders is to join metal together using intense heat. They work in a wide range of industries from manufacturing to aerospace to oil drilling. Other industries that use welders include automobile, manufacturing, construction, or maritime. As a welder, you execute projects according to your client’s specifications. You must understand the details of different welding metals, including stainless steel, aluminum, and brass, and you must be able to read blueprints and follow technical instructions. Additional job duties depend on your specific industry. You can also get voluntary certification from the American Welding Society (AWS) to prove your proficiency in the trade.

• Substitute Teacher

  Salary range: $29,100 - $46,900

  A substitute teacher is a trained, certified, and background-checked education professional who teaches in place of another teacher who is unable to work on a particular day or for a duration of time. Substitutes are often needed in cases of illness, medical leave, or family emergencies. Substitute teachers follow the lesson plan and use supplies, education materials, and teacher-created materials left by the regular teacher. Substitute teachers are tasked with maintaining order and student productivity with as little disruption as possible.

• Traveling Cna

  Salary range: $36,100 - $45,500

  A certified nursing assistant (CNA) provides direct patient care. A traveling CNA goes to the home of a patient to monitor their health, administer medication, assist with basic health care tasks, and assess their condition. As a traveling CNA, your duties may include documenting your visit to the homes of patients and reporting to a nurse or medical professional. You typically work for an agency that specializes in home health care. Your responsibilities may include helping patients with daily tasks and chores and being on-call to provide aid for clients or patients as needed.

• Phlebotomist

  Salary range: $31,900 - $39,800

  Phlebotomists are medical professionals who draw blood and collect other samples for testing or donation. The samples are then sent to a medical lab for analysis; physicians use the results to diagnose conditions such as chronic disease, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Due to the high risk of spreading infection when handling blood and other tissue, Phlebotomists must ensure they wear gloves and that all their equipment is sterile. As a Phlebotomist, you need to cross-check all your labels to make sure they are accurate and match the patient. You may work with patients of many different ages—from newborns to elderly patients—so you should be friendly and learn how to interact well with all types of people.

• Medical Courier

  Salary range: $28,200 - $35,800

  As a medical courier, your responsibilities are to transport lab specimens and other products and equipment between laboratories, medical facilities, and suppliers. You pick up organs or other items that have special transportation needs, examine medical records, deliver products within a time limit, and perform a variety of other tasks to ensure pharmaceutical companies have what they need. You may also use vehicles like pickup trucks or vans to transport pharmaceuticals, X-rays, office mail, and related materials. Other duties include driving in varying weather conditions, using a scanner to track items, and conducting vehicle inspections. Some medical couriers use specialized vehicles or travel long distances with specimens, devices, or organs.

• Custodian

  Salary range: $26,700 - $34,200

  Custodians are responsible for keeping a space clean and managing the inventory of various cleaning supplies. Their primary responsibilities include cleaning various surfaces, performing light maintenance, following safety standards (such as identifying wet floors or closing down areas for cleaning), and reporting discrepancies. They may work during, before, or after regular business hours.

• Server

  Salary range: $20,200 - $33,700

  A server is someone who works in a restaurant, providing customer service to restaurant patrons. Servers are responsible for greeting customers, taking orders, bringing their food and drinks, and clearing their plates when finished. They work long shifts on their feet and must be able to work under pressure.

• Stocker

  Salary range: $26,200 - $32,800

  A stocker is a retail store employee who is in charge of stocking merchandise on the shelves and displays. As a stocker, your responsibilities include moving products from the storage room to the sales floor, removing the items from their shipping packages, and placing them on the appropriate merchandise shelves. You may also update price tags on shelves or the products themselves. Your job is to quickly, neatly, and efficiently stock the store, which requires time management skills and physical stamina. You may also have cleaning duties. You do not need any formal education for a stocker job.

• Dishwasher

  Salary range: $24,400 - $31,400

  Dishwashers collect and clean dishes in restaurants, hotels, and other establishments where food is served. Dishwashers also clean equipment that is used for food preparation and service, such as ovens, ice cream machines, and drink dispensers. Many restaurants have dishwashers working during food prep hours and service. Dishwashers are required to follow food safety and sanitation guidelines to prevent illness contracted through undercooked meats and cross-contamination. They also stack and organize dishes and equipment in their proper place so that they are easily accessible.