One’s annual net income is considered by some as the meter of success. The higher your income is, the more successful you are. So there’s no surprise why many soon-to-be college students choose a career that will land them to one of the highest paying jobs in the technology industry.

Setting what job pays the highest is easy by merely looking at the average annual salary. What puzzles many is why that some tech jobs surprisingly pay better than others? Apparently, there are certain factors that affect how much is earned by what profession.

Money. Specifically, it is the amount of money at stake. People who risk and earn more money tend to get higher pays. Compare the research scientist who gets about $105,000 to a computer support specialist who gets roughly $47,000.

Why the significant difference? Well the former earns and risks millions for his boss with a single correct or wrong analysis while the latter only works as a support and does not risk or earn that much money for his boss.

Supply and Demand. Why does a systems software engineer in Arkansas paid about $130,000 while the same professional in New Jersey gets only about $103,000? They are in the same profession but Arkansas has only 40 of them while New Jersey has 3,500 of them. The former has high demand but few supply while the latter has more than enough to satisfy its demand.

Job Security. It’s a common notion that the higher the risk, the higher the potential income. A computer programmer for local government, earning about $54,000, is fairly safe in his job compared to a programmer working for the mining industry who earns $84,000. The extra thousands of dollars should be worth the risk of being laid off when the mining company closes at anytime.

Getting one of the highest paying jobs almost always starts with the right education. After all, well-educated professionals like those in the medical field are not getting $220,000 out of luck, but because they started their career with the correct college degree.