Doctors get paid plenty. A recent survey showed a $260,000 per year average base salary for practitioners with at least three years experience. Top cardiovascular surgeons topped out around $850,000 per year. At the low end, a few general practitioners mainly in family practice took base salaries of just above $110,000. Benefits, perks, and more make this the most lucrative profession in America.

It also has the toughest educational and licensing requirement of any profession in America.The work is grueling and practitioners constantly face human tragedy in all its forms. Few emerge unscathed.

Registered Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Anesthetists, etc. averaged around $60,000 in 2004.