Highest Paying Jobs UK 2026

The detail

ONS publishes median pay by 4-digit Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 2020) code annually. Among occupations with a robust sample size, the highest median full-time gross annual pay (ONS ASHE 2025 provisional, Table 14) is found in:

1) Chief executives and senior officials — £99,944; 2) Marketing, sales and advertising directors — £94,135; 3) Specialist medical practitioners — £92,847; 4) Information technology directors — £91,671; 5) Directors in logistics, warehousing and transport — £83,447; 6) Aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers — £82,746; 7) Financial managers and directors — £76,447; 8) Train and tram drivers — £76,327; 9) Functional managers and directors n.e.c. — £75,711; 10) Head teachers and principals — £72,192.

A few of these unit groups (logistics directors, aircraft pilots) are estimated from smaller ASHE samples, so their exact rank can move year to year. By contrast, several well-known professional roles sit lower on the median measure than people expect: solicitors and lawyers £56,977, chartered and certified accountants £50,062, and generalist medical practitioners (GPs and similar) £55,494 in the same ASHE 2025 release.

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. "Specialist medical practitioners" spans hospital consultants across every specialty; an NHS consultant basic salary runs well into six figures, while top private-practice surgeons can clear £500,000.