Highest Paying Jobs UK 2026

The detail

ONS publishes median pay by 4-digit Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code annually. The top 10 UK occupations by median full-time pay (ASHE 2024 annual estimates, approximate) are:

1) Chief executives and senior officials — £108,000; 2) Airline pilots and flight engineers — £92,000; 3) Financial managers and directors — £86,000; 4) Marketing, sales and advertising directors — £82,000; 5) Medical practitioners — £80,000; 6) Legal professionals (solicitors, barristers) — £77,000; 7) Information technology and telecommunications directors — £85,000; 8) Financial institution managers and directors — £83,000; 9) Functional managers and directors n.e.c. — £79,000; 10) Chartered and certified accountants — £65,000.

Note these are medians — actual top earners in each occupation can be materially higher (e.g. FTSE CEOs earn £3-10m+ including equity; top partners at law firms £500k-£2m+). The median reflects the typical practitioner.

Specialisation matters hugely within each category. "Medical practitioners" is a very wide band: an NHS consultant sits ~£110,000; a GP partner ~£120,000+; top private-practice orthopaedic surgeons can clear £500,000.