🏆 2026 Job Rankings

Highest-Paying Entry-Level Jobs in Utica, NY (2026)

If you are comparing highest-paying entry-level jobs in Utica, NY, this guide uses Careerclev salary benchmarks built from the latest official BLS wage baseline to show where early-career pay starts strongest in the Utica, NY metro area. Because BLS does not publish a dedicated entry-level wage for every role, the ranking uses lower wage percentiles as a transparent proxy so the projected pay picture stays realistic for new and junior workers.

From the current ranking, Chief Executive leads at $154,089/year, while Pharmacist stands out for employment depth at about 260 workers. That contrast helps you weigh pure pay against the size of the hiring market.

📅 Updated April 2026📊 Modeled salary benchmarks🇺🇸 Utica, NY · 12 jobs ranked⏱ 12 min read
1
Chief Executive
$154K est.
2
Architectural and Engineering Manager
$133K est.
3
Physician Assistant
$135K est.
4
General Dentist
$140K est.
5
Computer and Information Systems Manager
$127K est.
#1 Job
Chief Executive
$154K
Jobs Ranked
12
top roles
Data Layer
Metro
Careerclev salary model
Top Employment
90
employment estimate
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Highest-Paying Entry-Level Jobs in Utica, NY: Full Ranking

If you're targeting high-paying jobs in Utica, NY, Chief Executive sits at the top of this 12-job ranking at $154,089 per year in Careerclev's current salary model. From there, the second spot belongs to Architectural and Engineering Manager at $133,262, which helps show whether the pay curve drops quickly or stays fairly tight after the leader. On entry-level pages, Careerclev uses lower wage percentiles as a transparent proxy for starting pay, because the public source data does not offer a clean entry-level field for every role.

1
SOC 11-1011 · Management · 90 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
100% benchmark
$154,089
official baseline $181K
2
SOC 11-9041 · Management · 70 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$133,262
official baseline $163K
3
SOC 29-1071 · Healthcare · 130 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$135,306
official baseline $138K
4
SOC 29-1021 · Healthcare · 70 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$139,619
official baseline $178K
5
SOC 11-3021 · Management · 230 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$126,668
official baseline $154K
6
SOC 29-1051 · Healthcare · 260 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$117,531
official baseline $133K
7
SOC 11-2022 · Management · 180 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$117,077
official baseline $161K
8
SOC 29-1171 · Healthcare · 210 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$119,177
official baseline $138K
9
SOC 15-1221 · Technology · 150 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$111,135
official baseline $135K
10
SOC 11-3121 · Management · 110 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$113,757
official baseline $142K
11
SOC 17-2061 · Engineering · 90 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$115,861
official baseline $152K
12
SOC 29-1229 · Healthcare · 100 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$120,352
official baseline $225K

What Chief Executive Does

Before the pay ranking means much, it helps to understand the work itself. Chief Executive sits at the top of this guide because it combines strong pay with the work profile described below.

Communicate and coordinate with management, shareholders, customers, and employees to address sustainability issues. Enact or oversee a corporate sustainability strategy.

Chief Executive Salary Trend

Chief Executive leads this ranking on current pay, but the national salary trend helps show whether that pay ceiling is being reinforced by steady wage growth over time.

Careerclev's current 2026 estimate applies an annual modeled growth rate of -1.5% from the last confirmed BLS benchmark year, using wage history and employment outlook where available.

2026·$179KEstimated
$186K
2020
$180K
2021
$190K
2022
$207K
2023
$185K
2024
$182K
2025*
$179K
2026*
Official Data
May 2024 BLS
20202026 trend (est.)
3.6%
Forecast method
Trend + outlook model

* 2024–2026 values are modeled estimates extending from the last confirmed BLS benchmark. The last confirmed BLS figure ($185K, 2024) is extended with recent wage trend history, employment outlook, and tech-market signals where available, then replaced when official data is published.

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Highest-Paying Jobs by Category

High pay in Utica, NY is not concentrated in a single career path. The leading roles span Management, Healthcare, Technology, and 1 more . That mix helps show whether the local labor market rewards specialist clinical work, technical depth, executive management, or a broader spread of roles. Each row below shows the top-paying role within that actual SOC category rather than an assumed one.

CategoryTop JobSalaryEmploymentPrep Signal
ManagementChief Executive$154,08990Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
HealthcarePhysician Assistant$135,306130Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
TechnologyComputer and Information Research Scientist$111,135150Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
EngineeringComputer Hardware Engineer$115,86190Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Entry-Level Pay Signals

A high median salary only tells half the story. What matters for career planning is where starting pay actually lands. Because BLS does not publish a clean entry-level label for every role, Careerclev uses lower wage percentiles as a transparent proxy. Chief Executive shows an estimated early-career pay signal of $154,089, compared with a long-run median of $181,227. In turn, that gap gives a better feel for both long-run upside and how quickly a role starts rewarding experience.

JobEntry ProxyMedian SalaryPrep PathTypical Education
Chief Executive$154,089$181,227Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Architectural and Engineering Manager$133,262$162,642Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Physician Assistant$135,306$138,109Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
General Dentist$139,619$178,077Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Computer and Information Systems Manager$126,668$154,322Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Pharmacist$117,531$132,672Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Sales Manager$117,077$160,661Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Nurse Practitioner$119,177$138,032Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Jobs With Strong Demand

Pay ceilings matter more when the local labor market is deep enough to generate real openings. In Utica, NY, Pharmacist combines a salary of $117,531 with roughly 260 employed workers, which makes it one of the more accessible high-pay options on this list. By contrast, some specialties rank higher on salary but operate as narrower niches where openings are harder to find and entry paths are longer.

Very Deep Market
Pharmacist
$117,531
260 employed
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training. in a job zone five: extensive preparation needed pathway.
Very Deep Market
Computer and Information Systems Manager
$126,668
230 employed
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training. in a job zone four: considerable preparation needed pathway.
Strong Market
Nurse Practitioner
$119,177
210 employed
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training. in a job zone five: extensive preparation needed pathway.
Strong Market
Sales Manager
$117,077
180 employed
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training. in a job zone four: considerable preparation needed pathway.
Strong Market
Computer and Information Research Scientist
$111,135
150 employed
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training. in a job zone five: extensive preparation needed pathway.
Strong Market
Physician Assistant
$135,306
130 employed
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training. in a job zone five: extensive preparation needed pathway.

Salary vs Employment

The highest-paying job is not always the largest market, and that distinction changes the practical calculus. Chief Executive leads on salary at $154,089, while Pharmacist supports roughly 260 workers locally, a useful sanity check before committing to a long training path for a role with limited local openings.

Chief ExecutiveSOC 11-1011
$154K
90
Architectural and Engineering ManagerSOC 11-9041
$133K
70
Physician AssistantSOC 29-1071
$135K
130
General DentistSOC 29-1021
$140K
70
Computer and Information Systems ManagerSOC 11-3021
$127K
230
PharmacistSOC 29-1051
$118K
260
Sales ManagerSOC 11-2022
$117K
180
Nurse PractitionerSOC 29-1171
$119K
210

How to Choose a High-Paying Job Strategically

Salary rankings are a starting point, not a decision. In Utica, NY, the gap between Chief Executive at $154,089 and the early-pay signal from Chief Executive at $154,089 shows why access, market size, and training timelines belong in the same conversation as the headline number. That is where this page becomes more useful than a simple ranking list.

1
Match salary to access realistically
A high median means little if there are only a handful of openings per year. Check the employment estimate alongside the salary. A role with 260 workers in Utica, NY is fundamentally easier to enter than one with a few hundred.
2
Factor in education and licensure timelines
Some of the highest-paying roles on this list sit in prep bands such as Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed and often pair that with expectations like most of these occupations require graduate school. for example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a ph.d., m.d., or j.d. (law degree).. Build that timeline into your planning before targeting the salary ceiling.
3
Separate entry pay from long-run upside
The entry proxy column in this guide gives you an early-career anchor. A role that starts at $154,089 and scales to $181,227 offers a very different career arc than one that starts and peaks near the same figure.
4
Check the work before chasing the pay
Compare the day-to-day work with the training path before you commit. A role can rank highly on pay and still be a poor fit if the work itself does not match the kind of problems, environment, or responsibilities you want.
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Next Pages to Read

High-pay rankings are most useful when you read them alongside the core salary guide, the career entry path, and a few nearby role comparisons. That turns this page from a ranking into a better decision route for chief executive.

FAQs

These questions cover the practical parts of the ranking: how entry pay is estimated, why wage fields sometimes differ by source, and how to compare the top salary with the real size of the job market.

What is the highest-paying job in Utica, NY?
Chief Executive is currently the highest-paying role in this ranking at $154,089 per year in Careerclev's current salary model, built from the latest available BLS OEWS wage baseline for Utica, NY.
Is the entry-level pay data directly from BLS?
Not exactly. BLS publishes wage percentiles rather than experience-level labels, so Careerclev uses the 25th percentile (or the low-end wage where available) as an entry-pay proxy. It is a transparent approximation, not a direct label.
Is Utica, NY a good market for Chief Executive?
Utica, NY is a strong metro market for Chief Executive. BLS data shows an employment estimate of 90 workers locally, with a median salary of $181,227. A deeper employment count generally points to more active hiring, which improves access alongside the pay ceiling.
How much preparation does Chief Executive usually require?
Chief Executive is currently tagged as job zone five: extensive preparation needed in the O*NET prep model. The most common education signal is most of these occupations require graduate school. for example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a ph.d., m.d., or j.d. (law degree)., while the training path is described as employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training..
Does the top-paying job also have the most openings?
Not always. Pharmacist may support a deeper employment market than the #1 salary role, which can make it more practical for job seekers despite a lower pay ceiling.
How should I compare salary with accessibility?
Use the ranking salary, entry-pay proxy, employment estimate, and preparation path together. The best target is usually the role that balances strong pay with a realistic path in.
Can a lower-ranked job be a better target than Chief Executive?
Yes. A lower-ranked role can be the better choice if it has a shorter prep path, stronger entry pay, more openings, or a work profile that fits you better than Chief Executive.
Why do some high-paying roles look hard to enter?
Many top-paying roles sit behind longer training, licensing, or related-experience requirements. That is why Careerclev shows preparation signals next to salary instead of treating all high-paying jobs as equally accessible.
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Data Sources & MethodologyRankings use Careerclev salary facts built from BLS OEWS wage data and extended through Careerclev's current salary projection model where applicable. National pages use U.S. aggregate data, state pages use state-level data, and city pages use the BLS metro dataset behind the largest-city public label. Category labels are derived from BLS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) major group codes, while prep-path notes come from imported O*NET job-zone and career requirement data where available.
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