10 Jobs Where Your Salary Climbs Fastest Over a Career, Study Reveals

Pilots and financial advisors see the biggest salary increases during the course of their careers, a June 2026 report finds. A new study by the digital business card provider Wave Connect examined hundreds of occupations to find which careers reward workers most as they get older.

• Pilots’ salaries grow 4% a year, the fastest rate of any job, with top earners making over $463K.

• Among office workers, financial advisors see the biggest pay rises, with their earnings going up by nearly 3% a year.

• The demand for PR specialists is only going to increase, with jobs projected to expand by 5% in the next decade. 

The research examined up to 300 professions to find where salaries climb fastest. For each occupation, the report compared what workers in their late 20s and early 30s typically earn against what people in the same job make in their late 40s and early 50s. That gap was then turned into an average annual growth rate, showing how fast pay climbs with age. For additional context, the study also looked at projected job growth for each profession, showing which careers will be hiring more people. 

Here's a look at the 10 jobs where pay climbs fastest over a career:

Occupation	Career climb speed (%/yr)	Minimum education	Min wage ($)	Max wage ($)
Pilots	4.06	Postsecondary award / Bachelor’s	$58.9K	$463.8K
Financial Advisors	2.81	Bachelor's degree	$50.2K	$357L
Architects	2.59	Bachelor's degree	$62.3K	$161.4K
Market Research Analysts	2.53	Bachelor's degree	$43.4K	$155.5K
Telecom Installers	2.37	Postsecondary nondegree award	$44.2K	$96.7K
Financial Risk Analysts	2.29	Bachelor's degree	$64.8K	$196.1K
Financial Sales Agents	2.27	Bachelor's degree	$48K	$212.9K
Chemists	2.19	Bachelor's degree	$58.5K	$160.8K
Producers & Directors	2.14	Bachelor's degree	$45.8K	$198.5K
PR Specialists	2.09	Bachelor's degree	$44.1K	$135.2.K

You can access the complete research findings and visualization here.

1. Pilots

• Career climb speed: 4.06% per year

• Minimum education: Postsecondary award or bachelor's degree

• Starting pay (25th percentile): $84.5K (commercial); $182.3K (airline)

• Top pay (90th percentile): $463.8K (airline); $266.6K (commercial)

Pilots grow their pay faster than any other profession in America. Their salaries are up 4% every year, nearly twice the rate compared to other careers. That’s because airlines usually pay based on seniority, so the longer a pilot stays in the field, the more they earn. Airline pilots start at around $182K, and the top earners reach $464K. Commercial pilots start lower at around $85K, but still climb to $267K as they gain more experience. The field is also growing, with jobs projected to expand by 5% through 2034.

2. Financial Advisors

Financial advisors rank second, with pay climbing at nearly 3% a year. Part of the reason is that these advisors build a client base over time, and the bigger and wealthier that base gets, the more they earn. Pay starts at around $72K early on, grows to $105K at the midpoint, and can reach $357K for the highest earners, a ceiling that few other professions come close to matching. A bachelor's degree is the standard entry requirement here, but no prior experience is needed to get started for the junior position. 

3. Architects

Architects come next on the list, with salaries rising at 2.6% a year over a career. Starting pay sits at around $78K, and the highest earners in the field reach $161K. This means experienced architects roughly double what they make early in their careers. On top of that, architecture is an expanding field, with 3.9% job growth projected through 2034. The career requires only a bachelor's degree and no prior work experience for entry roles. 

4. Market Research Analysts

Market research analysts rank fourth, with salaries growing at 2.5% a year. Like financial advisors, the pay growth here is tied to how valuable experienced workers become over time. Senior analysts understand consumer behavior in ways that take years to develop, and companies pay more for that. Salaries start at around $58K and reach $155K at the top. The field is also expanding steadily (6.7%), though that growth may slow as AI takes over routine data processing.

5. Telecom Equipment Installers

Telecom equipment installers round out the top five. This is the only job in the top five that doesn't require a degree at all, just a postsecondary certificate. And despite that lower barrier to entry, pay still climbs at 2.4% a year. Workers start at around $52K and can reach $97K over the course of their careers. The one caveat is job security, as the field is projected to shrink by 4% through 2034, but for many workers, a career that pays this well without a degree is hard to find elsewhere.

George El-Hage, Founder & CEO of Wave Connect, commented on the study:

"If you are early in your career, the best thing you can do is pick a field where getting better at your job actually pays off. Some professions reward experience heavily, others barely at all. It is also worth thinking about AI. Jobs built around routine tasks are more exposed than jobs that require real expertise or human interaction. For example, our recommended professions like architects and financial advisors all involve a level of judgment that is hard to replace, which is part of why their pay keeps growing."