25 Jobs Pay $25 an Hour

If you work a salaried position, the numbers you're most familiar with are probably the ones that show up in your bank account. When you're used to getting paid a certain amount of money every year, it's unlikely that you've boiled your compensation down to what you're earning per hour.

The national mean average salary is $42,504, according to the National Compensation Survey. That boils down to $3,269.54 per month and $817.38 per week*. Divide that by the standard 40-hour workweek and you're making $20.43 per hour. Not too shabby, eh?

If you think $20 an hour is good, what about making $25 an hour? If you work the standard 40-hour workweek for all 52 weeks of the year, that puts your earnings around $52,000 per year, which is well above the national average.

So who's earning more than $20 per hour? Here are 25 jobs that pay $25 or more per hour and that are predicted to have high job growth through 2016**:

1. Loan officer
What they do: Authorize commercial, real estate and/or personal credit loans.
Hourly wage: $25/hour
Mean annual salary: $51,601
Job outlook: Average job growth at 11 percent ***

2. Self-enrichment education teacher
What they do: Teach nonacademic courses like self-improvement, which don't lead to a job or degree.
Hourly wage: $25.07/hour
Mean annual salary: $42,476
Job outlook: Much faster than average job growth at 23 percent

3. Forensic science technician
What they do: Collect and analyze physical evidence on weapons and substances to help criminal investigations.
Hourly wage: $25.28/hour
Mean annual salary: $52,576
Job outlook: Much faster than average job growth at 31 percent

4. Writer and editor
What they do: Write and/or edit scripts, stories, publications, advertisements and other materials.
Hourly wage: $25.46/hour
Mean annual salary: $53,000
Job outlook: Average job growth at 10 percent

5. Radiologic technologist and technician
What they do: Take X-rays and CAT scans; inject nonradioactive materials in patients' bloodstreams for analysis.
Hourly wage: $25.57/hour
Mean annual salary: $52,416
Job outlook: Faster than average job growth at 15 percent

6. Medical scientist
What they do: Research human disease and how to improve overall human health; they often conduct clinical trials and investigations.
Hourly wage: $25.64/hour
Mean annual salary: $53,331
Job outlook: Faster than average job growth at 20 percent

7. Producer and director
What they do: Make all creative decisions involved in producing and/or directing movies, TV shows, plays, commercials or other productions.
Hourly wage: $25.66/hour
Mean annual salary: $53,381
Job outlook: Average job growth at 11 percent

8. Detective and criminal investigator
What they do: Carry out investigations related to suspected or known violations of Federal, state and local laws.
Hourly wage: $25.86/hour
Mean annual salary: $53,787
Job outlook: Faster than average job growth at 18 percent

9. Accountant and auditor
What they do: Analyze financial and accounting records for individuals and businesses; prepare tax statements.
Hourly wage: $26.06/hour
Mean annual salary: $54,020
Job outlook: Faster than average job growth at 18 percent

10. Adult literacy, remedial education and GED teacher and instructor
What they do: Educate adults and out-of-school children on remedial education courses like literacy and language; teach preparation courses for the General Education Development test.
Hourly wage: $26.19/hour
Mean annual salary: $43,742
Job outlook: Faster than average job growth at 14 percent

11. Training and development manager
What they do: Plan and direct growth and training activities for staffs of organizations.
Hourly wage: $26.32/hour
Mean annual salary: $54,746
Job outlook: Faster than average job growth at 16 percent

12. Curator
What they do: Manage educational and public museum activities, conduct research programs.
Hourly wage: $26.49/hour
Mean annual salary: $53,561
Job outlook: Faster than average job growth at 18 percent

13. Aircraft mechanic and service technician
What they do: Find and fix mechanical problems in aircraft engines and parts.
Hourly wage: $26.74/hour
Mean annual salary: $56,035
Job outlook: Average job growth at 11 percent

14. Audiologist
What they do: Evaluate and treat individuals with hearing and related disorders.
Hourly wage: $27.27/hour
Mean annual salary: $48,047
Job outlook: Average job growth at 10 percent

15. Art director
What they do: Create designs and presentations; oversee workers involved in art work, layout design and copy writing for visual media like magazines, books and newspapers.
Hourly wage: $27.35/hour
Mean annual salary: $56,882
Job outlook: Average job growth at 9 percent

16. Budget analyst
What they do: Analyze budgets to make sure they are accurate, complete and comply with regulations; examine budget and accounting reports to control expenditures.
Hourly wage: $27.39/hour
Mean annual salary: $56,233
Job outlook: Average job growth at 7 percent

17. Auto damage insurance appraiser
What they do: Assess the costs of vehicle damage to determine insurance claim settlements.
Hourly wage: $27.75/hour
Mean annual salary: $57,200
Job outlook: Average job growth at 13 percent

18. Economist
What they do: Research, plan and strategize solutions to economic problems.
Hourly wage: $27.77/hour
Mean annual salary: $65,957
Job outlook: Average job growth at 7 percent

19. Environmental engineering technician
What they do: Develop ways to prevent, control and correct environmental problems like pollution and waste treatment.
Hourly wage: $28.79/hour
Mean annual salary: $71,157
Job outlook: Much faster than average job growth at 25 percent

20. Architects, except landscape and naval
What they do: Design various types of structures, including but not limited to houses, office buildings and factories.
Hourly wage: $28.85/hour
Mean annual salary: $62,828
Job outlook: Faster than average job growth at 18 percent

21. Health educator
What they do: Teach healthy programs and behaviors to individuals and communities to promote an overall healthy lifestyle.
Hourly wage: $29.11/hour
Mean annual salary: $58,768
Job outlook: Much faster than average job growth at 26 percent

22. Surveyor
What they do: Establish property boundaries; take exact measurements of all aspects of a piece of land for engineering, construction and mapmaking purposes.
Hourly wage: $29.20/hour
Mean annual salary: $60,736
Job outlook: Much faster than average job growth at 24 percent

23. Occupational therapist
What they do: Implement rehabilitative programs to disabled people to teach them homemaking, vocational and daily living skills.
Hourly wage: $29.57/hour
Mean annual salary: $58,590
Job outlook: Much faster than average job growth at 23 percent

24. Financial analyst and adviser
What they do: Advise public and private institutions on their investment programs.
Hourly wage: $29.66/hour
Mean annual salary: $60,659
Job outlook: Much faster than average job growth at 37 percent

25. Instructional coordinator
What they do: Formulate instructional material and coordinate educational content to develop curricula and conducting courses for educators in specialized fields.
Hourly wage: $29.76/hour
Mean annual salary: $54,001
Job outlook: Much faster than average job growth at 22 percent

*Averages were found by dividing the annual salary by 52 weeks (in the year).

**Salary information according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hourly wages and annual salaries were computed based on mean number of hours worked each week and year, which vary per occupation.

***The average growth rate for jobs is 7 to 13 percent through 2016, according to the BLS.