Top 10 Best Paying Careers In Kenya Today

By Lilian Wamaitha

Landing a well paying job in Kenya is never easy.

In the midst of high unemployment rates, most Kenyans even after landing a job will want to be paid well.

But which jobs pay well in Kenya and which ones should you stay clear of or treat as a side hustle?

In this article I am going to highlight the ten best paying careers in Kenya and some of their salaries.

Best Paying Careers In Kenya Today

1. Medicine

Hard to believe it due to their numerous strikes, but medical practitioners really earn well in this country.

So well that the entry level salary for a medical intern is Ksh. 45,000 and as you advance in your career, chances of earning ten times more than that are really high.

And the best thing about this career is that you are always guaranteed a job after graduation.

2. Accounting & Finance

They are the custodians of an organization’s money and so they need to be paid well. CPA holders therefore have something to smile about.

And companies will always be hiring accounting and finance professionals even as the other industries remain dry.

If you love numbers and are not sure what career path to take, maybe you could think about venturing into finance and accounting.

According to the Kenya National Bureau Statistics 2013, the average salary of a person in the finance industry is 100K.

An entry level accounting or finance professional will earn somewhere between 40-50K.

3. Politics

This answers your question as to why renowned journalist like Mohammed Ali and the likes of Jaguar would want to venture into politics. It remains one of the best paying careers in Kenya today.

The lines include government official, political analysts, political activists, commentators, advisors and more.

County Assembly Members or MCAs if you would like take home a basic salary of 144K while the MPs take home over 600K.

No bad, right? All you have to do is convince voters that you have their best interests at heart and stick to your promise.

4. Marketing another one of the best paying careers in Kenya

This is one of the fields that is very unpredictable but established marketers make a lot to make it one of the best paying careers in Kenya.

Entrusted with promoting the company’s brand and promoting a positive image, marketers have a lot on their plates.

They enjoy a salary plus commissions and most of them in the banking and insurance sectors are really leaping big.

5. NGO & Civil Societies

Talk of flexibility of work and a good salary, Kenyans in the NGO sectors are among the highest paid.

Whether it’s the UN, USAID, World Vision, these organizations do know how to value their employees.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2013 Economic Survey, the average salary of NGO workers is 194K.

See Here >>> Top NGOs In Kenya To Work For Today

6. Careers in IT

With numerous technological advancements, this field continues to grow attracting a large number of professional.

Most organization cannot do without IT and some of them have to outsource which doesn’t come cheap.

7. Lecturers

The flexibility in this line of career is admirable and some of the lectures can easily find work in the numerous universities in the country.

The only down side is that you will have to endure long hours of study.

However, you can still become a part time lecturer at the some of the small colleges and as your career advances you will find better opportunities within the education sector.

8. Media professionals

Another one of the best paying careers in Kenya, media presenters be it reporters, cameramen, news anchors or writers still earn well to make it a well paying career.

9. Best Paying Careers In Kenya – Engineering

Kenya is striving to keep up with the rest of the world and therefore a need for engineers.

It however matter what your specialization is but with new advancements in the market means that you get to earn higher.

For instance, electrical engineers do not earn the same as civil engineers.

10. Careers in the aviation industry

Pilots remain some of the best paid professionals in Kenya as well as the entire globe and the same goes for captains.

Air hostesses also take home quite a generous offer considering that with some airlines you only need a form four certificate to join.

Maybe you want to change careers, do something you love or just simply earn better.

These are some of the best paying careers in Kenya today that you can venture into. Some of them will take years of studies and investing quite a lot but they are worth it.

Read Also >>> Best Paying Companies in Kenya

The writer is a Communications & Digital Marketing Officer at Career Point Kenya. Email her at lilian@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke.