When it comes to choosing your career in Kenya, the best decision is to select the highest paying careers, this will assure you job satisfaction and handsome pay. Some careers like teaching, front office, customer care and related courses are not worth your attention, they are the worst paying. Best paying jobs come with a monthly salary of Ksh 80,000 and above.
It is important to arm yourself on vital information on marketability of various university courses before you settle on one. This will boost your chances of making it in life.
From a list of 300 courses offered by Kenyan universities, we arrived at the following courses as the best and most rewarding.
Piloting
This is one of the most involving professions in the country,but it comes with huge rewards. To be qualified as a Pilot, you need at least four years to learn all the aspects of piloting. Kenyan pilots are among the happiest professionals in the country.
These are people who eat life with a big spoon and draw huge salaries.One of the Pilots I know very well earns a monthly salary of Ksh 890,000 plus other benefits.
The average monthly salaries for pilots in Kenya is Sh 300,000
Architecture
Are you good in drawings? Then don’t leave this opportunity pass you.Architecture is one profession which has its own class; people who pursue this course are among the richest guys in the country.
The profession requires talent, dedication and aggressiveness to make it to the highest level. One advantage of pursuing Architecture is that you can easily employ yourself without necessarily working for many years to acquire experience.If you are employed though, the starting monthly salary must be above 100k
Law
Lawyers are paid enough to feed their families and neighbors; they also engage themselves in side hustles that supplement their already huge salaries.
In order to qualify as a lawyer, you must study undergraduate level for 5 years then proceed to Kenya School of Law for a Diploma Course in Law, which takes at least one year.
The first thing to do after the mandatory Diploma is to practice in a Law firm to gain sufficient experience to represent clients in court.
The most successful lawyers in Kenya(Paul Muite,Ahmednasir Abdulahi and Cliff Ombeta) make as high as Sh10,000,000 per month.
Medicine
It usually takes one at least six years to complete a course in Medicine and Surgery in Kenya. A qualified doctor can either employ himself or seek a job with a private or government institution. World over, doctors are a respected lot because of the crucial role they play in the society.
Despite spending most of their time in unfavorable environment, they are one of the happiest lot due to the salaries and benefits attached to them.
In Kenya, Medical Doctors secure jobs immediately after graduation. This is contributed by lack of enough Doctors to work in various hospitals and health facilities in the country.
Starting salary for a Medical Doctor in Kenya is around Ksh 100,000 per month ,but the salary is likely to increase exponentially based on the work experience.
Statistics/Actuarial Science
Few people pursue this profession because it’s highly analytic, but one secret which the ones who have succeeded in it don’t reveal to you is how much they earn. Actuaries compete with Doctors in terms of salaries.
Though this course is regarded as one of the toughest in academic circles, it’s one of the most rewarding.
On the other hand, Statistics is another high paying profession in the country.The graduates are absorbed in all sectors of economy because of the diversity of the skills associated with statistics and research
When pursuing Statistics you’ll be required to familiarize yourself with SPSS,MySQL,R,STATA,Excel,Word,SAS,Epi info and many other statistical tools for analysis.
Starting salary for a statistics graduate in Kenya is Ksh70,000 per month.
Engineering
Engineers can either employ themselves or seek employment in private or government institutions. It’s rare to find an Engineer struggling financially unless he is not aggressive enough.
The most marketable Engineering specialization in Kenya include Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Civil Engineering and Structural Engineering.
Starting salary for an Engineer in Kenya is Ksh 90,000 per month.
Finance/CFA
Financial Analysts are the best paid professionals in the entire world and Kenya is not exceptional. Though completing CFA professional papers is an uphill task, landing a well-paying job is very easy.
A Chartered Financial Analyst can work in Banks, Investment companies, Insurance companies, Stock brokers or in Research companies.
Politics
Kenya is run by politicians and the fact that they make and amend laws put them in the best position to award themselves hefty perks. An MP for instance earns Sh.1, 200,000 per month compared to a teacher who earns a meager Sh.30, 000 per month.
If you have honey coated tongue, then try your luck as a politician.
Journalism
It’s heavily rewarding especially to the ones who work in popular stations like Citizen TV,KTN,CNN,BBC and NTV.Some journalists like Janet Mbugua earn Ksh.800,000 per month.
Though not all journalists are happy,majority are enjoying the benefits which come with the journalism profession.
Also,the popularity of online marketing has increased demand for Social Media Experts are on demand .Most companies have started embracing social media and if you are good in Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn and other social media platforms you’ll easily secure a good position.
Computer Science/IT
Computer Science is highly rewarding in Kenya particularly for professionals who are highly gifted in programming.Some of the companies who employ these graduates-IBM,Microsoft and Google- pay their IT experts salaries of up to Sh.1.5 million per month.
Monitoring and Evaluation
The course is very good for people who intend to work in NGOs and United Nations.The contents will expose you to research,Data Analysis,Data Entry,Data Manipulation and project design.
It’s one of the few courses which are less flooded in Kenya because many citizens are not aware that it’s marketable.
Investment Analysts/Research Analysts
These are people who work in stock market.They are very few individuals who have have a qualification in CFA.
These people are hot cakes in Kenya.
One exciting about the profession is that they don’t search for employment,employers come for them.
Real Estate Project Manager
This is another well paying career in Kenya.A real estate manager oversees construction projects and also perform feasibility studies.This person is well renumerated in Kenya,and according to latest salary survey,an individual at managerial level earns Ksh 400,000.
To be a real estate project manager,you have to possess a degree in real estate,architecture,urban planning or structural engineering.
Software engineer
I have singled out this one because it’s a special course.In this era of software development and mobile applications,software engineers are in demand. Companies like Google,Facebook,IBM and Safaricom would do anything to have you as one of their employees.Once you are recruited,unlike other professionals, you negotiate salary based on what you feel is good for you.
Most of these companies pay fresh graduates up to Ksh 400,000 starting salary.
United Nations Jobs
United Nations is another well-paying institution. At UN,regardless of the degree course you pursued in college,you must earn the same as any other employee at your level.
We have discussed salaries of UN employees in Kenya before,but here is the breakdown.A fresh graduate earns Ksh 250,000-Ksh 400,000.An individual with a masters degree earns average salary of Ksh 600,000 while those with PhD earn up to Ksh1.5 million.Imagine this salary is not taxed.
More interesting is that if you manage to go to the field,per Diem is Ksh 30,000 per day.
NGO jobs
NGO also pay well,but slightly less than UN.The average salary of employees at NGOs in Kenya is Ksh 110,000.
NGOs are particularly ideal for people like secretaries and front office staff,M&E officers,statisticians,communication,conservationists and policy.
While other institutions pay front office staff as low as Ksh15,000 per month,it’s hard to get a secretary earning less than Ksh 40,000
Forex dealers
If you are employed by any bank in Kenya or stock broker as a dealer,then you will walk home a happy person.Banks pay these people very well.For your information,this is the only job you are guaranteed bonus at the end of the year.
A bank like cooperative or CFC stanbic pay dealers up to Ksh 350,000,but the average salary is Ksh180,000.
Business Analysts
Finally,we would like to introduce a very unique title.Well,business analysts earn almost the same salary as financial analysts but their is slightly lower.
In Kenya,if you are lucky to have this title,you’ll earn not less than Ksh 100,000 as a fresh graduates.When you accumulate more than 3 years’ experience,no one should pay you less than Ksh 150,000.
Mechanical Engineering
With a degree in Mechanical engineering, you will start your own mechanic and make over Ksh 300,000 monthly.
Remote jobs
Remote jobs pay in dollars,they are among the highest paying jobs in Kenya.Those who have done these jobs for a couple of years make over Ksh 150,000 monthly.
Pharmacist
Pharmacists working in pharmaceutical companies and hospitals make over Ksh 200,000 per month. Pharmacy is one of the best courses to pursue in Kenya.
CEO
CEOs in Kenya make up to Ksh 10 million per month. If you rise to the position of CEO you will be sure of making over Ksh 300k monthly. Some companies pay bonuses on top of salaries.
Marketing Director
This is another well-paying career. The more you make sales the higher your salary. A Marketing director earns Ksh 400,000 to Ksh 1 million monthly.
Online influencer
Online influencers are those people with high following on social media, they have pages and accounts with millions of followers. Most of them earn more than Ksh 100k monthly.
HR Manager
HR officers may not earn as much as their seniors. When you rise to management level,the salary is decent.HR Managers earn at least Ksh 150,000 monthly.
Procurement
Procurement is another area that pays very well. Getting a job is hard but once you have it,you will make money through tender awards and your salary.In a month,you will make over Ksh 200,000.
Quantity Surveying
This is one of the most underrated course but very rewarding. Quantity Surveyors are rich in this country.
