• Median pay: $79,900
• Top pay: $115,000
• 10-year job growth: 19%

It's not all fun and games for video game designers. Much like movie directors, they're responsible for the entire creative vision of a project, and lead a team of programmers, designers and artists, to realize the vision.

What's great: The industry is relatively new, so it's still a very innovative field. "The opportunity to define a new medium of expression comes along once or twice a century and you get to be a part of that," said video game designer Warren Spector. --J.E.

Quality of life ratings:
Personal satisfaction: A | Benefit to society: B | Low stress: A

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