The 25 Highest Paying Jobs in Missouri (May 24)

Telehealth Nurse

Salary range: $78,800-$234,500 per year

As a telehealth nurse, you provide healthcare advice and services from a remote location using a telephone, webcam, or other digital communication. Your responsibilities may include providing care for people in a rural community or those without easy access to health services. Telemedicine includes helping patients manage chronic conditions, offering advice for minor injuries or illnesses, or referring patients to a brick-and-mortar clinic if necessary. You may use remote technology to monitor patients vital signs or collect data to guide decisions about their care. You may provide both telenursing services and face-to-face services in a clinic.

Software Engineer

Salary range: $112,600-$162,300 per year

Software engineers design, build, and maintain software systems for electronic devices. A software engineer may operate alone, but typically they spend their time collaborating with other engineers, scientists, and various specialists to come up with creative solutions.

On a day-to-day basis, software engineers operate as the creative brain behind electronic devices. They ensure active programs run smoothly and may recommend software updates for product optimization. In some cases, a software engineer may write or program code. Software engineers may also spend time troubleshooting and explaining programs to clients.

Box Truck Owner Operator

Salary range: $46,900-$140,700 per year

A box truck owner-operator is a truck driver who transports cargo and makes deliveries using a truck that they own or lease. A box truck is usually 4 to 7 meters long and has a cargo bay; while these trucks are not semi-trailer trucks, they can be used to hitch additional cargo. Box truck owner-operators contract their equipment and labor to companies in for short or long range shipments.

Nurse Practitioner

Salary range: $101,300-$140,700 per year

Nurse practitioners are advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) with additional responsibilities including prescribing medication, examining patients, diagnosing illnesses, and providing treatment, much as physicians do. Nurse practitioners are educated and trained to provide health care services, such as the diagnosis and treatment of acute illness and chronic conditions.

Power Lineman

Salary range: $64,700-$127,600 per year

As a power lineman, your job is to support the operations of utilities by installing and maintaining electrical lines. As part of your role, you may do construction work to fix or replace lines, use equipment to reach areas in need of repair, and teach an apprentice how to do the job. You also identify defective elements in a system, inspect and test power lines and related equipment, climb poles and transmission towers, and work in severe weather conditions. Following disasters like storms or earthquakes, you may work extended shifts if necessary.

Pmhnp

Salary range: $118,200-$126,600 per year

As a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, often shortened to PMHNP, your job is to help diagnose mental health conditions in a patient and prescribe the best course of treatment. As part of this, you may use multiple assessment exams to identify the condition, research treatment strategies, or talk with the patient to better understand their unique history and needs. Unlike most other mental health practitioners, you also perform physical assessments and diagnostic exams instead of focusing exclusively on the mind. PMHNPs may work in a clinic, but you can also find this job in hospitals and other advanced care facilities.

Surgical Tech

Salary range: $68,500-$112,600 per year

Surgical technologists are the first people to enter the operating room before a surgery. They prepare and sterilize the location and layout all needed equipment, taking a careful count of everything being used. Once everything is sterile and prepared, the surgical tech acts as an aid for the surgeon and surgical assistant. While continuing to maintain the sterility of the room, they may also be asked to help prep and give medications, assist with retraction of tissues from the patient, and pass instruments to the surgeon as needed. Postoperatively, surgical techs count every tool and device used once again, to ensure nothing was left inside the patient. They may also help with sutures and to disinfect the incision site. Finally, they help with the proper disposal of all gauzes, drapes, and syringes.

Construction

Salary range: $66,600-$108,300 per year

Construction jobs encompass a wide range of opportunities in the industry, ranging from carpenters and electricians to project managers and civil engineers. Construction professionals participate in a wide range of projects. There are residential projects, such as single family homes, small lot developments, or apartment buildings, commercial projects, such as building strip malls, industrial facilities or office buildings, and a range of infrastructure projects, such as public transit construction or building bridges. Your duties and responsibilities depend on the type of project and your role in the construction industry.

Helicopter Pilot

Salary range: $84,400-$105,100 per year

As a helicopter pilot, you fly a helicopter aircraft to transport passengers or cargo or gather information on the ground from a bird’s-eye view, like traffic data. Your job duties as a helicopter pilot include conducting pre-flight checks such as ensuring aircraft controls and instruments are working properly and checking weather forecasts for the flight path and then creating a flight plan. Your responsibilities are to communicate with dispatchers and air traffic controllers and to operate the helicopter properly, ensuring a safe flight.

Rn

Salary range: $61,400-$97,600 per year

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.

School Nurse

Salary range: $49,200-$75,000 per year

A School Nurse administers health services in an educational facility, such as an elementary school or a private academy. In this role, you evaluate and treat common conditions, such as headaches and minor cuts, administer medications, or determine if the student’s parents should be called to take the student home or to the doctor. Some School Nurses also oversee basic health care for staff when necessary. You collaborate with the school’s administration to establish health procedures, enforce compliance with health programs, maintain student health records, and conduct health screenings. Other responsibilities include promoting healthy practices and implementing health programs geared toward illness prevention and health habits.

Pipeline Welder

Salary range: $63,800-$71,300 per year

A pipeline welder, also known as a pipe welder, uses specialized flame torches to join pieces of metal to assemble and repair pipes. You can find jobs as a pipeline welder on oil rigs, at refineries, for utility companies, and in the construction and manufacturing industries. As a pipeline welder, your job duties include using shielded metal arc and gas tungsten arc welding equipment and methods to assemble, join, weld, and repair pipes and pipelines. Your responsibilities are to use safety equipment, determine the tools needed for a particular task, and complete the task in a safe and efficient manner.

Claims Adjuster

Salary range: $47,800-$70,800 per year

The job of a claims adjuster is to help settle insurance claims. Adjusters generally inspect the damage and work with claimants. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the duties of a claims adjuster include researching and determining how much a claim should be paid, gathering evidence, photos, and statements from claimants, and protecting the company against fraud. There are several types of claims adjusters. Public adjusters work independently to give second opinions on claims. Appraisers assign value to damage, and insurance investigators ensure claims are not fraudulent.

Lpn Travel Assignment

Salary range: $48,300-$65,700 per year

LPN travel assignment jobs include a variety of positions that require traveling to visit patients in their homes or to provide assistance to residents at nursing facilities or hospitals that are short-handed. Your duties include providing long term care or extra assistance in remote areas that need additional medical professionals. As an LPN with a travel assignment, you typically are typically assigned responsibilities by a central staffing agency, and your duties include providing everyday care, such as helping patients to and from their bed, helping them to eat and clean, and listening to them.

Wildlife Biologist

Salary range: $42,700-$65,200 per year

Wildlife biology is the study of animals in their natural habitat. A wildlife biologist, also called a zoologist, conducts studies to understand animal populations in their natural habitat. They keep records, organize and present findings, and run experiments. Wildlife biologists may also work for governments or animal advocacy groups, making recommendations for policies and advocating for habitat protections. Wildlife biologists may get to interact with animals to identify their needs, so this is one of the top jobs for animal lovers.

Animal Shelter

Salary range: $42,200-$59,600 per year

Animal shelter jobs include veterinary staff, animal caregivers, and specialists involved in adoption procedures and foster care placement. Your responsibilities as an animal care attendants at a rescue center include providing for the basic needs of rescue animals living there. Veterinarians and vet technicians offer medical care and ensure that the animals are healthy. Your duties as an adoption coordinator or humane coordinator include helping with adoption procedures and preparing adoptees to accept a new pet and understand the behaviors common in their pet’s breed. A dog trainer or animal behavior specialist may work with rescue animals who are not yet ready for adoption.

Independent Courier

Salary range: $35,200-$59,100 per year

As an independent courier, your duties are to pick up, transport, and deliver documents, supplies, and packages. Some independent couriers make their deliveries via bike while other workers drive cars, vans, or delivery trucks. As an independent courier, you typically contract with your clients directly, rather than working through a courier service, although some couriers also find work through online services or job boards. To be an independent courier, you must have your own vehicle or another reliable method of transportation.

Tower Climber

Salary range: $40,300-$59,100 per year

A Tower Climber is part of a team of climbers who work on tower systems like broadcast, radio, internet, and cell phone towers. Tower Climbers responsibilities are to build, inspect, and maintain these towers and their equipment. Because Tower Climbers work in all weather, some climbers complete snowcat operator training to transport materials to towers surrounded by snow. Working at tall heights in all weather comes with risks, so fall protection training and rescue certification are necessary.

Esthetician

Salary range: $30,000-$52,500 per year

Estheticians are licensed skin care specialists who work in salons, spas, and resorts. They provide facials, waxing, wraps, scrubs, and other skin and body treatments on clients. They may also recommend cleansers, creams, and other skin care products and provide advice on skin care. Some estheticians, called medical estheticians or paramedical estheticians, work in medical clinics. Estheticians must have a license to practice in nearly all states.

Help Desk Technician

Salary range: $37,500-$50,700 per year

A help desk technician is an IT support specialist who helps customers or users troubleshoot software and hardware problems. As a help desk technician, your responsibilities and duties include receiving technical support tickets, phone calls, or emails, contacting the user or customer, listening to their issue, diagnosing the problem, and walking them through the solution. You must be patient with often upset customers and explain how to resolve their computer issues in a step-by-step manner that is understandable to a layperson.

Animal Science

Salary range: $33,800-$48,800 per year

Animal science jobs include veterinarians, biologists, agricultural researchers, and livestock management positions. There are also opportunities in nutrition, breeding, animal behavior, food processing and manufacturing, and education. Your duties in an animal science job may vary significantly depending on the position. As a veterinarian, for example, your primary responsibilities are to provide medical care for animals, but you may also aid in research to support clinical breakthroughs, herd health, and other facets of animal science.

Dump Truck Owner Operator

Salary range: $34,200-$47,800 per year

Dump truck owner-operators are self-employed contractors who own their dump truck instead of working for a trucking company and using their trucks. As a dump truck owner-operator, you use your vehicle to move large amounts of material to and from construction sites. Some companies may choose to primarily utilize dump truck owner-operators instead of drivers employed by trucking companies. They are an essential part of most large construction and demolition projects. Dump truck owner-operators may be responsible for hauling debris, soil, rock, or even hazardous materials. Whether delivering essential building materials or removing debris that would otherwise hinder the project, dump truck owner-operators are a huge part of most large scale projects.

Emt

Salary range: $33,300-$44,100 per year

Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) are typically the first medical professionals who respond to emergency calls, performing the first step in life-saving care to an injured or sick patient. They transport patients to hospital emergency rooms quickly and safely, and keep patients stable with the help of paramedics. EMTs are also responsible for moving patients between facilities.

Cna

Salary range: $31,900-$44,100 per year

A CNA, or certified nursing assistant or certified nursing aide, is an assistant to RNs (registered nurses) and LPNs (licensed practical nurses) on the medical staff. CNAs to tend to the patients within their ward, completing tasks that the RNs and LPNs may not have the time to complete. In some cases, a CNA may be the medical attendant a patient interacts with most frequently. Daily duties for a CNA may include bathing and grooming patients, assisting patients with the intake of food or medicine, checking vital signs, and dressing wounds. A CNA ensures that all rooms are tidy and sanitized, bedpans are empty, and linens are fresh. Additionally, a CNA should be comfortable documenting their patients’ conditions and any changes that may have occurred to communicate this information to the assigned nurses or physicians for each case.

Non Cdl Driving

Salary range: $33,300-$41,300 per year

CDL stands for Commercial Driver’s License. Non-CDL driving jobs are transportation positions for moving goods or people in a motor vehicle where the driver is not required to have a CDL. Non-CDL driving jobs include positions that drive vehicles under 8,000 pounds; this includes automobiles for delivering food and goods, as well as smaller trucks for carrying various items, such as large packages and mail. Most of these positions are within a local area. While a driver with a CDL has more professional options (such as commercial transportation jobs and driving larger vehicles), there are plenty of jobs available for people who do not have a CDL.

25 of the Highest Paying Jobs in Missouri for 2024

The top jobs in Missouri can pay up to $234,500 per year

High Paying Missouri Jobs