Who Earns what? The Best Careers in New Zealand

Highest Paying: Creative Industry

Graphic Designer

Salary

• A graduate graphic designer usually earns $32,000 to $50,000 a year.
• Intermediate graphic designers with three to five years’ experience usually earn between $45,000 and $65,000.
• Senior graphic designers with more than five years’ experience may earn $65,000 to $85,000.

Graphic designers are employed by

• Design and advertising agencies
• Print production and publishing companies
• Film and multimedia companies
• Web design companies
• Sign making companies

Knowledge required:

English Language

Computers and electronics

Fine Art

Design

Communications and media

Animator / Digital Artist

Average Pay

2D Animators and Digital Artists

3D Animators earn

“I love animation – starting off with a character and getting him doing something, bringing him to life. When I’m working, time just disappears”Simon Dasam

Entry Requirments

• Experience in animation or digital design
• a tertiary qualification such as a Bachelor of Creative Media Production, Bachelor of Design, majoring in visual communication design, or a Diploma in Animation.

Knowledge Required

English Language

Education and Training

Medicine and Dentistry

Therapy and Counseling

Psychology

Industrial Designer

“I have always loved the conceptual phase of doing a sketch on a piece of paper that captures some vision, and then months later seeing that physically translated into a 3D object or product someone could purchase. To me, the poetry in that is just fascinating. When I started the design programme, I just became more passionate about it.”Graham Brewster, Industrial Designer

Salary

• Graduate industrial designers typically earn between $40,000 and $50,000 a year.
• With one to three years’ experience, industrial designers usually earn between $50,000 and $70,000.
• With three to four years’ experience, industrial designers usually earn between $70,000 and $90,000.
• At a senior level, with five or more years’ experience and management responsibilities, industrial designers may earn $90,000 to $120,000.

Knowledge Required

Mechanical

Computers and Electronics

Production and Processing

Engineering and Technology

Design

Highest Paying: Social and Community Services

Health Services Manager

“I look after the relationships our organization has with an array of Māori health providers, including mental health, nursing, and health promotion services. The aim is that they have enough trust in me that we can talk about business issues… There are challenges in trying to get different groups of people working together, but it’s rewarding to know that I’m adding value to people’s lives by working towards a health system that is set up in such a way that it can best meet the needs of the people.”Matiu Julian

How to become a health service manager:

• A Degree

  Usually, to become a health service manager you will need a post-graduate degree in an area of health management

• Best secondary school subjects

  If you are a younger reader and are looking to choose subjects that will fit your further career, then taking English, accounting and economics will be perfect for a future career as a health service manager

• Prior experience

  A history in nursing or health work/ managing will certainly help you appear as a well qualified to possible employers, even if you don’t have a degree

Salary

• New graduates recruited into health services management roles usually earn about $60,000 to $70,000 a year.
• After four to five years in the role, you can earn about $100,000 to $120,000 a year.
• Experienced health services managers with 10 to 15 years’ experience and a postgraduate qualification can earn up to $200,000 a year.
• Medical administrators who are qualified and a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators earn between about $151,000 and $216,000.
• The most senior health services executives can earn more than $400,000.

Knowledge Required

Personnel and Human Resources

Clerical

Customer and Personal Service

English Language

Administration and Management

Occupational Therapist

Salary

• Occupational therapists with up to six years experience usually earn between $47,000 and $68,000 a year.
• Occupational therapists with up to six years experience usually earn between $47,000 and $68,000 a year.
• Occupational therapists working in private practice usually earn between $45,000 and $110,000 per year.

“I love working in a helping profession. You’re looking at people’s quality of life and if they’re unwell and disabled it’s about you helping them get back to engaging in meaningful activities.”Christine King

Job Opportunities

• The rise in elderly creating demand

  Demand for medical and welfare professionals has grown with the rising population of the elderly. This is a reason why future job growth, according to joboutlook.gov, is classified as ‘very strong’.

• Other possible jobs

  If an occupation therapist wishes so, they could move onto a more specialized career in burn management, hearing, mental health addiction, geriatrics or pediatrics.

• Competition

  Demand for highly qualified occupational therapists is quite high, however, this can cause problems for starting therapists, making it hard for them to get a job, due to their entry level experience

Knowledge Required

Education and Training

English Language

Medicine and Dentistry

Therapy and Counseling

Psychology

Manufacturing and Technology

Air-Craft Maintenance Manager

Pay for civilian aircraft maintenance engineers

• Non-qualified and apprentice aircraft maintenance engineers usually earn between $37,000 and $45,000 a year.
• Those with three to four years’ experience usually earn between $45,000 and $60,000.
• Senior aircraft maintenance engineers usually earn between $60,000 and $80,000
• Senior aircraft maintenance engineers in supervisor or manager roles usually earn between $70,000 and $130,000

Pay for Royal NZ Airforce aircraft maintance engineers

• Trainee aircraft maintenance engineers receive a recruit’s salary of $36,000 a year.
• Trained aircraft maintenance engineers can earn between $46,000 and $51,000.
• Senior aircraft maintenance engineers can earn between $50,000 and $63,000.
• Aircraft maintenance engineers in the Air Force also receive benefits such as free medical and dental work, and subsidized food and study.

Types of Employers

• Air Newzealand
• Aircraft design and maintenance companies
• The Royal NZ airforce
• The Royal NZ navy (working on helicopters)

• Aeronautical Engineer
• Electronics Engineer

Knowledge Required

Mathematics

Customer and Personal Service

Engineering and Technology

English Language

Mechanical

Electronics Engineer

Salary

• Newly qualified electronics engineers can expect to earn $50,000 to $65,000 a year.
• Experienced electronics engineers can earn between $65,000 and $110,000, or more.

Requirments for the job

• Tertiary Requirements

  Usually, to become an electrical engineer, you will need a bachelor of engineering or bachelor of technology.

• Secondary Requirments

  In order to enter tertiary level for electrical engineering degrees, you will of needed to complete NCEA level 3. Though it is not a prerequisite, studying maths and physics in secondary school will also be very beneficial to your overall level of skill as an engineer.

• Necessary personal qualities

  Motivated, Creative, Adaptable, Patient, Committed

• Useful past experience

  Previous work with electronics, past profession involving maths or physics, experience working with computers on a professional and/or complicated level

• Physical Requirments

  Electrical engineers are required to have good hand-eye coordination and good eyesight that is natural or given through aids such as glasses or contacts.

Knowledge Required

Physics

Design

Mathematics

Computers and Electronics

Engineering and Technology