As a new graduate, entering the job market can be overwhelming. With so many industries and career paths to choose from, it can be difficult to know where to begin. However, one of the most important factors for many graduates is finding a job that pays well. After all, you’ve worked hard to earn your degree, and you want to ensure that you’re getting compensated for all the work you’ve put in!
Fortunately, there are many high-paying jobs available in South Africa. In this ultimate guide, we’ll take a deep dive into:
- Salary expectations in South Africa
- The highest paying industries in South Africa
- The highest paying jobs for graduates
Whether you’re interested in finance, technology or healthcare, we’ve got you covered!
Ready to learn? Let’s take a look at the ultimate guide to the highest paying jobs for graduates in South Africa.
*Note: The salary figures mentioned in this article are provided as an estimate and should be used as a rough guide for salary expectations. These figures do not represent exact salaries for individuals in South Africa.
Table of Contents
Before we jump into the highest paying jobs for graduates, it’s important to know what a high salary in South Africa actually looks like.
What is a Good Salary in South Africa?
The average salary in South Africa is estimated to be R297 756 per annum (or R24 813 per month); thus, any salary that is higher than the average is considered to be a good salary in South Africa.
However, if you want to put a number to it, South Africans who live fairly comfortably generally earn salaries that range between R300 000 and R400 000 per annum (or R25 000 to R33 350).
Additionally, recent data published by the University of Cape Town revealed that you should be earning roughly R22 000 to be considered “middle class” in South Africa.
Now that you know what a good salary is, let’s take a look at what’s considered to be a minimum wage salary in South Africa.
What is the Minimum Wage in South Africa?
A person in South Africa with a low salary is considered to be a minimum-wage worker. According to the South African government, people who work minimum wage earn roughly R23.19 per hour.
If you convert the hourly earnings of a minimum wage worker to a 9-hour workday, R23.19 per hour works out to roughly R208.71 per day. This equates to +-R1 043.55 per 5-day work week, which translates to +-R4 174.20 per month.
You may be wondering: Why do I need to know the difference between a good salary and minimum wage? Well, being able to distinguish between a good salary and minimum wage earners in South Africa will help you pinpoint what you should be earning once you enter the workplace.
All said and done, the salary earnings mentioned above will most likely vary depending on the industry you work in, with certain industries paying employees more than others.
Speaking of industries, what exactly are the highest paying industries in South Africa and why is it important to know about them? Read on to find out!
What Are the Highest Paying Industries in South Africa?
Knowing which industries pay the most in South Africa may help you decide which career to go into if you’re uncertain about your career path. For example, if you’re skilled in mathematics but can’t decide between getting a job in finance or actuarial science, knowing how much each industry pays may help you make your decision.
Although there are many industries that pay well in South Africa, we’ve rounded up our list of the top 5 highest paying industries:
Ready to find out what professionals earn in some of the highest paying industries in South Africa? Let’s take a look:
Finance and Accounting
The average professional within the finance and accounting industry can expect to be paid an estimated amount of R350 000 to R4 000 000 per year.
Students looking to enter the finance and accounting industry will have the potential to earn the highest paying job in South Africa upon reaching a senior level.
Hence, the highest paying accounting job in the finance industry is that of the Chief Financial Officer, who can earn up to R5 000 000 per year.
To give you a better idea of what senior professionals within the finance and accounting industry earn, here’s a list of the top 3 highest paying jobs within this sector (worked out monthly):
- Chief Financial Officer: Between +-R128 000 and +-325 500 per month
- Chief Audit Officer: Between +- R80 400 and +-R196 960 per month
- Finance Director: Between +-77 970 and +-R142 630 per month
Healthcare
If you’re busy studying for your medical degree, then you’ll be happy to know that there are a variety of high-paying medical jobs in the healthcare industry.
Healthcare professionals in South Africa make an average of approximately R240 000 to R3 240 000 per year.
To give you a better idea of what the highest-paying medical jobs within the healthcare industry are, here’s a breakdown of the top 3 different highest-paying medical jobs you can find in the healthcare industry (with estimated salaries):
- Surgeon: Between +-R139 387 and +-R295 544 per month
- Medical Doctor: Between +-R93 817 and +-R179 722 per month
- Dentist: Between +-R74 889 and +-R137 407 per month
Information Technology (IT)
Students who would like to work in the Information Technology (IT) industry can earn an average salary of between +-R480 000 to +-R2 000 000 per annum or +-R40 000 to R200 000 per month.
The highest paying IT job is the senior role of the Chief Information Officer, who can earn up to R2 500 000 per year or R208 333 per month.
Note that salaries within the IT industry vary greatly as the sector is quite large. However, we’ve outlined the top 3 highest paying IT jobs below:
- Chief Information Officer: Between +-R111 776 and +-R209 602 per month
- Chief Information Security Officer: Between +-R90 059 and +-R162 106 per month
- Head of Software Development: Between +-R74 660 and +-R136 562 per month
Engineering
If you’ve got a passion for engineering and would like to get a career within the engineering and manufacturing industry, you can expect to make an average range of +–R440 000 to +-R1 900 000 per year upon reaching a senior level.
The highest paying engineering role in South Africa is that of a Manufacturing Director, who can earn up to an estimate of R2 350 000 per year, which works out to roughly R195 833 per month.
Other senior engineering roles that pay well within engineering and manufacturing are:
- Research and Development Director: Between +-R72 108 and R130 88 per month
- Factory Manager: Between +-R57 820 and +-R103 148 per month
- Regulatory Affairs Director: Between +-65 252 and +-117 897 per month
Actuarial Science
If you’re looking to become an actuary, you can get paid up to R1 700 000 per year. On average, actuary professionals earn approximately R703 269 per annum, which equates to 58 600 per month.
Due to the demand and difficulty of this industry, it only makes sense that actuarial science has some of the highest paying jobs in South Africa.
To give you a better idea of what the highest-paid actuary professionals earn, let’s take a look at the top 3 highest paying actuary jobs within the actuarial science industry:
- Actuarial Department Manager: Between +-R79 828 and +-R145 228 per month
- Actuary (Fellow): Between +-R65 381 and +-R118 226 per month
- Actuary: Between +-R43 603 and +-R77 900 per month
Now that you know what the highest paying industries in South Africa are, you may be wondering how to get a job in one of these fields. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our list of the highest paying jobs for graduates below:
Highest Paying Jobs for Graduates in South Africa
There are plenty of roles within the highest paying industries that pay well at an entry-level. Thus, if you’re a graduate looking to get into any of the industries mentioned above, you’ll need to work your way from the bottom up.
Just as a reminder, the highest paying industries in South Africa are:
With that said, let’s take a look at the highest paying jobs for graduates in South Africa.
Highest Paying Finance and Accounting Jobs for Graduates
Finance and accounting jobs are one of the highest paying jobs for graduates, with the highest paying entry-level position being that of the Assistant Controller, which pays a hefty average of +-R63 339 per month. As mentioned before, this is well above middle class and you’d live quite comfortably should you choose to go into the field of finance and accounting.
With that said, there are plenty of high-paying entry-level accounting jobs available for graduates, which you can view below:
+-R63 339 per month
+-R30 830 per month
+-R25 769 per month
+-R21 843 per month
+-R18 371 per month
If you have a passion for finance and are great with numbers, then a career in accounting may be for you! In order to obtain a high-paying job in the finance and accounting industry, you would need to study toward one of the following degrees:
- Bachelor of Commerce (BCom): Accounting
- Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA): Accounting
- Bachelor of Accountancy (BAcc)
Once you’ve gotten your accounting degree, you’ll need to complete either a Certificate in the Theory of Accounting (CTA) or a similar postgraduate qualification that focuses on the sector you’d like to get into—namely accounting, auditing, taxation or financial management.
Highest Paying Healthcare Jobs for Graduates
There are plenty of occupations in the healthcare industry that pay graduates a decent salary; however, the highest paying job for graduates is the role of a Medical Intern, who can earn up to +-R33 657 per month.
With that said, people working in healthcare get paid varying salaries, and it all depends on which sector of medicine you’d like to go into. For example, specialist doctors and surgeons earn higher salaries than most other medical professionals. This is because doctors and surgeons often have to go through additional years of training and certification upon completing their undergraduate degrees.
All in all, the healthcare industry is a great place to be, and graduates can still reap the benefits from these high-paying jobs:
+-R33 657 per month
+-R20 161 per month
+-R16 712 per month
+-13 309 per month
+-11 302 per month
To get a job within the healthcare industry, you would need to study towards a degree in medicine at a South African university. The top universities to study medicine in South Africa are:
- University of Cape Town (UCT)
- University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University)
- University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)
- Stellenbosch Univesity (Maties)
- University of Pretoria (TUKS)
Eager to get a degree in medicine but not sure where to start? Don’t worry, we can help! Our guide reveals exactly how to get into medicine in South Africa.
Highest Paying IT Jobs for Graduates
With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, the field of Information Technology (IT) contains many sought-after careers, which is why there are several high-paying IT jobs available for graduates.
Notably, the highest paying IT job at an entry level is that of a Data Scientist, who can earn up to R28 251 per month.
Graduates can also pursue these other high-paying entry-level jobs in the IT industry:
+-R28 251 per month
+-R23 813 per month
+-R22 226 per month
+-R21 035 per month
+-R20 227 per month
To get a job in any of the above roles, you’d need to complete a bachelor’s degree in technology, which generally has the following courses:
- Information technology system analysis
- Information security
- Data networking
- Information technology system risk assessment
- Computer administration
You can also get certain jobs in tech without a degree by doing a couple of skill-focused coding courses. For example, you could easily get a job as a Web Developer by completing codeX’s online Agile Full Stack Developer Course.
Completing coding courses online is also a great way to upskill yourself if you’re already qualified and are looking to learn more about your field of work. To learn more about online coding courses, be sure to check out our list of the Top Online Coding Courses in SA.
Highest Paying Engineering Jobs for Graduates
The engineering industry is known for having high-paying jobs within the field; however, the highest paying engineering job for fresh graduates is the role of an Engineering Assistant (Mechanical). Engineering Assistants (Mechanical) get paid up to +-R23 609 per month at an entry-level, which is a good salary to start your career with.
The top 5 high-paying jobs for engineering graduates are:
+-R23 609 per month
+-R22 243 per month
+-R20 140 per month
+-R19 404 per month
+-19 249 per month
To become an engineer in South Africa, you’ll need to get a degree in engineering. There are six types of engineering degrees that you can get qualified for, including:
- Electrical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Engineering Management
- Geotechnical Engineering
Once you’ve completed your degree in engineering, you’ll have a plethora of engineering roles to choose from that will jumpstart your career as an engineer.
Highest Paying Actuarial Science Jobs for Graduates
Graduates with a degree in actuarial science will have the opportunity to qualify for the highest paying entry-level position—a Junior Actuarial Analyst.
Junior Actuarial Analysts get paid quite well, earning up to +-R25 057 per month. The top 5 entry-level roles and salaries within the actuarial science field are:
+-25 057 per month
+-R17 843 per month
+-16 799 per month
+-13 885 per month
+-R12 000 per month
If you have a keen knowledge of business, finance accounting and economics—and would like to enter a career in actuarial science—you would need a bachelor’s degree with a specialisation in actuarial science. There are several types of degrees you can pursue, including, but not limited to:
- Bachelor of Business Science (BBusSc)
- Bachelor of Commerce (BCom)
- BSc (Actuarial and Financial Mathematics) Degree
- BSc in Mathematical Sciences (Actuarial Science)
- BSc in Actuarial Science
Be sure to also check out colleges and universities near you to see whether they have an actuarial science programme available.
Final Thoughts
Obtaining a high-paying job after graduation is an incredible achievement; however, as mentioned before, a high-paying salary shouldn’t be the only thing that you should consider when choosing your career path.
There are plenty of other factors you should consider when choosing your career, such as:
- Your own personal interests: Consider getting a career that aligns with your passions and interests so that you’ll always stay motivated at work.
- Your talents and skill set: Obtaining a job that pulls on your strengths will help you put your best foot forward in your career.
- Your ideal lifestyle: Choosing a career that matches your lifestyle (whether you prefer early day shifts or night) is the best way to avoid burnout.
- Your personality: It’s important to choose a career that suits your personality so that you’ll be placed in a condition where you know you’ll be able to thrive.
- Your values: Make sure your career aligns with your values and beliefs; for example, you may value work-life balance and would prefer a company that values this balance as well.
If you’re struggling to choose the right career for you, then be sure to take one of our Top 10 Career Tests for South African Students to get in-depth insights into your career path.
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