Money isn’t everything, as the adage goes, but it is a priority when choosing the right remote job. In this report, Virtual Vocations reveals the 12 highest-paying fully remote jobs of 2023. To complete the list, we also name three dozen remote-enabled companies that recruit for those positions.
Access to remote jobs and flexible work, including the ability to work from home all of the time, is the top factor influencing jobseekers’ career decisions. In fact, our ‘Career Change Survey‘ of 857 workers showed that more than 82% of professionals are looking a new job in 2023, and another 14% would seize a new career opportunity if they encountered the right role. But compensation should not be overlooked as a driving force for career change. Inadequate wages are workers’ second most worrisome concern in their current workplaces—just behind a lack of remote work options. What’s more, finding higher compensation is the second most prevalent reason why workers would be willing to change careers this year.
Laura Spawn, CEO and co-founder of Virtual Vocations
By investigating the highest-paying fully remote jobs, we hoped to inspire money-minded remote jobseekers in their searches and give professionals ideas for modern careers that not only generate top payouts but also provide workers with the flexibility they seek.
U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Paying Jobs”
The process for creating our list of the 12 highest-paying fully remote jobs of 2023 began with an analysis of U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 “Best Paying Jobs” awards. This annual list of professions with the top salaries in the U.S. ranks careers by wage data calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
12 Highest-Paying Fully Remote Jobs of 2023
During our report analysis, we compared the 25 jobs included on U.S. News’s 2023 “Best Paying Jobs” ranking to positions found in the Virtual Vocations Remote Jobs Database. Our goal was to determine which of the highest-paying jobs for the year are also fully remote professions. Fully remote careers do not involve on-site work or business travel. Exceptions to this classification could include an employer requiring a period of initial in-person training for a 100% virtual role or mandatory attendance to an annual company retreat.
The highest-paying fully remote jobs of the year showcase an eclectic mix of 100% virtual and flexible careers. These 12 roles include work in healthcare, information technology, sales, finance, insurance, and more top telecommuting job industries. In all, the fully remote jobs with the best pay for 2023 represent 10 unique telework job fields among the more than 40 total remote career categories found within the Virtual Vocations job board.
For each of the highest-paying fully remote jobs of 2023 outlined below, we have included details like the average salary for the position, education requirements, and a 10-year job outlook projecting how many new jobs in that career will be created over the next decade. You will also find links to Virtual Vocations company profiles of businesses known for recruiting professionals in each of the respective high-paying jobs and access to view any currently available remote jobs for each career on our list.
1. PHYSICIAN
- USN Ranking: #6 in “Best Paying Jobs”
- Average Salary: $252,480
- Required Education: Doctorate degree
- Telework Industry: Healthcare
- 10-Year Outlook: 19,400 new jobs
Companies Hiring Fully Remote Physicians
2. PSYCHIATRIST
- USN Ranking: #7 in “Best Paying Jobs”
- Average Salary: $249,760
- Required Education: Doctorate degree
- Telework Industry: Healthcare
- 10-Year Outlook: 2,400 new jobs
Companies Hiring Fully Remote Psychiatrists
3. IT MANAGER
- USN Ranking: #12 in “Best Paying Jobs”
- Average Salary: $162,930
- Required Education: Bachelor’s degree
- Telework Industries: Information Technology & Management
- 10-Year Outlook: 82,400 new jobs
Companies Hiring Fully Remote IT Managers
4. FINANCIAL MANAGER
- USN Ranking: #14 in “Best Paying Jobs”
- Average Salary: $153,460
- Required Education: Bachelor’s degree
- Telework Industries: Financial & Management
- 10-Year Outlook: 123,100 new jobs
Companies Hiring Fully Remote Financial Managers
5. MARKETING MANAGER
- USN Ranking: #15 in “Best Paying Jobs”
- Average Salary: $153,440
- Required Education: Bachelor’s degree
- Telework Industries: Marketing & Management
- 10-Year Outlook: 31,700 new jobs
Companies Hiring Fully Remote Marketing Managers
6. LAWYER
- USN Ranking: #16 in “Best Paying Jobs”
- Average Salary: $148,030
- Required Education: Doctorate degree
- Telework Industry: Legal
- 10-Year Outlook: 80,200 new jobs
Companies Hiring Fully Remote Lawyers
7. SALES MANAGER
- USN Ranking: #19 in “Best Paying Jobs”
- Average Salary: $142,390
- Required Education: Bachelor’s degree
- Telework Industries: Sales & Management
- 10-Year Outlook: 23,800 new jobs
Companies Hiring Fully Remote Sales Managers
8. PHARMACIST
- USN Ranking: #20 in “Best Paying Jobs”
- Average Salary: $125,690
- Required Education: Doctorate degree
- Telework Industry: Healthcare
- 10-Year Outlook: 7,700 new jobs
Companies Hiring Fully Remote Pharmacists
9. ACTUARY
Companies Hiring Fully Remote Actuaries
10. SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
- USN Ranking: #23 in “Best Paying Jobs”
- Average Salary: $120,990
- Required Education: Bachelor’s degree
- Telework Industry: Information Technology
- 10-Year Outlook: 370,600 new jobs
Companies Hiring Fully Software Developers
11. COMPUTER NETWORK ARCHITECT
- USN Ranking: #24 in “Best Paying Jobs”
- Average Salary: $120,650
- Required Education: Bachelor’s degree
- Telework Industry: Information Technology
- 10-Year Outlook: 7,500 new jobs
Companies Hiring Fully Remote Network Architects
12. POLITICAL SCIENTIST
- USN Ranking: #25 in “Best Paying Jobs”
- Average Salary: $120,430
- Required Education: Master’s degree
- Telework Industries: Government & Research
- 10-Year Outlook: 400 new jobs
Companies Hiring Fully Remote Political Scientists
About Virtual Vocations
Virtual Vocations, Inc., founded in 2007, is a private, family-owned, and 100% distributed company. Co-founded by CEO Laura Spawn and her brother, CTO Adam Stevenson, Virtual Vocations connects jobseekers with legitimate, fully remote job openings. All job postings are screened to ensure the highest quality standards. To date, Virtual Vocations has helped more than four million jobseekers find flexible remote work options.
In addition to managing and curating a database that, at any given time, houses more than 15,000 current, hand-screened remote job openings, Virtual Vocations offers jobseekers a number of tools to aid in their job searches. These tools include exclusive, self-paced career courses, digital guides for popular virtual job industries, and downloadable worksheets. The Career Services Division also provides job coaching and interview prep, LinkedIn profile enhancement, and resume and cover letter writing. Virtual Vocations also releases multiple data-driven reports each year on current trends in remote work.
Send questions about Virtual Vocations’ report on the “12 Highest-Paying Fully Remote Jobs of 2023” to Kimberly Back. Kim is the Senior Job Data Content Producer and can be emailed at kim (at) virtualvocations (dot) com. Please visit Virtual Vocations’ social media profiles to connect. Visit Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest for more remote work content and conversations.
Additional Image credits: Canva; Virtual Vocations images prepared by Kimberly Back
