Highest Paying Jobs in South Africa

 

 

Highest Paying Jobs in South Africa

If you’re one of those individuals who cares predominantly about the money, honey ­– and there’s really nothing wrong with this, as long as you’re honest about it – one of the subjects you’ll probably be googling a fair amount is “What are the highest paying jobs in South Africa?” Just remember, however, that doing work you actually enjoy – and that is rewarding because it benefits others – is certainly going to make you a great deal more productive, motivated, and fulfilled than blindly following a pay cheque. As they say in the classics, you can’t simply grit your teeth and think of the money!

A dental assistant on Career Village, for example, advises that at one point she was keen on changing direction to become an anaesthesiologist – simply for the high salary. But then she took the time to shadow those working within the profession, to talk to them, and to find out about their buoyant highs and devastating lows. Before long, she had decided that studying for a total of 13 years would only be worth it if she had a significant calling to keep people safely medicated while they were undergoing surgery – and she realised that putting the lengthy study period to one side, the financial stability on offer would never be sufficient to make the stress of the job (in her mind’s eye) a suitable career path.

What are South Africa’s highest paying jobs of 2025?

Ttec Jobs advises its readers that the five highest paying jobs in South Africa right now, are the following:

• medical specialist, earning between R 222 000 – R 2 178 000 per annum;
  • IT specialist and/or software development manager, earning between R 477 000 – R 1 000 000 per annum (in software development), and between R289 000 and R8 043 000 per annum (as an IT specialist);
• chartered accountant or actuary, who earns between R49 000 and R962 000 per annum (in the former career), and R800 000 and R10 800 000 (in the latter);
• an engineering job, earning between R305 078 to R7 200 000 per annum (depending on whether you go choose mining, petroleum, or civil engineering);
• a career in the legal profession (i.e. corporate lawyer, judge, and/or advocate), where earnings range from between R160 500 and R1 913 936 per annum.

What form of qualification do these high-flyer careers entail?

A medical specialist is required to complete a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB), followed by further specialisation in their chosen field.

An IT specialist and/or software development manager generally completes a degree in

IT, Computer Science, or Software Engineering, plus a range of useful certifications.

A chartered accountant or actuary is required to study for a BCom in Accounting or Actuarial Science, with further certifications – as a CA(SA) and/or Actuary – thrown in for good measure.

An engineer must complete a BEng or BSc in Engineering, as well as the industry certifications laid on for each form of specialisation.

And a legal professional starts off with an LLB degree, followed by further specialisation and the requirement of passing the bar exam – no mean feat.

What if you’re keen on a sizeable pay package, but prefer business to any specific profession?

BusinessTech reported recently on all the corporate jobs in which it is possible to earn more than R100 000 per month. According to CareerJunction’s latest Employment Insights Report, key positions in this earning category include CEOs, MDs, COOs, and CFOs.

 

The table below gives a clear indication of per month and per annum earnings, for each of these key senior roles in the business setting:

 

Job Title	Per month	Per annum
CEO	R200k	R1.9 million
COO	R178k	R1.85 million
MD	R125k	R1.5 million
‘Senior manager’ (sales, finance, actuarial role, engineering position, solutions architect)	R121.5k	R1.25 million

What does the saying “with great money comes great responsibility” really mean?

In South Africa, high earners have a significant weight on their shoulders when it comes to paying taxes, contributing towards the national economy, and ensuring that various social welfare initiatives are running favourably – particularly those affiliated to the corporate social investment (CSI) programmes selected by the companies where they are employed.

However, some individuals believe that the tax and other social welfare burdens in SA rest unfairly on the wealthy, who already have vast numbers of employees to look after – both at work, and at home.

According to the Daily Investor, 978 140 South Africans, or 1.5 percent of the population, pay 60.9 percent of all personal income tax, and this is the government’s biggest revenue generator in our country. Further, 235 542 South Africans pay 33 percent of all personal income tax – and these taxpayers are worth gold to South Africa and fund most of the government’s social development and other projects.

The same article argues that wealthy people and their money are also highly mobile so, should tax rates increase any further, the country could lose them and their revenue-related contributions. For clarity’s sake, tax revenue was 19.8 percent of SA’s gross domestic product 20 years back in 2005; today, it is 24.5 percent of GDP.

Which side hustles should I invest my time in over 2025?

According to a piece on IOL, you can also make plenty of dosh in SA when you fully apply yourself to a side hustle. For those corporate bunnies with not an entrepreneurial bone in their bodies, this means pursuing a business initiative after hours/on weekends in addition to your primary source of employment.

The top five options to consider, currently, are:

• teaching English online to foreigners (up to R30k per month);
• creating video content for brands (up to R20k per month);
• driving for a ride sharing/delivery service (up to R15k per month);
selling fast-moving consumer goods on ecommerce platforms (up to R100k per month);
• freelancing in your professional niche for international clients (up to R50k per month).

While the figures mentioned in the brackets above are just estimates, it is vital that anyone with a side hustle registers as a provisional taxpayer – which means paying tax twice a year based on your estimated income. Whatever your earnings from a side hustle, it is never worth evading a tax pay-in, because the penalties you may be charged with are simply not worth the concomitant stress.