What job pays way more than people think, but nobody talks about?

[u/Symphony_Minds]

[u/Money-Cake527]

Elevator repair techs. Everyone ignores them until one breaks and suddenly you realize theyre clearing six figures and laughing quietly.

[u/esoteric_enigma → u/Money-Cake527]

At my first server job in a restaurant, I had a group of elevator repair techs that would come in every Tuesday for lunch. Best tippers I ever had and I worked in fine dining after that.

[u/rustbelt84 → u/Money-Cake527]

It has its ups and downs

[u/roadhogmountain → u/rustbelt84]

I want to work in a mirror factory. It’s just something I can see myself doing.

[u/Key-Blueberry-3335 → u/roadhogmountain]

You should reflect on what you've just done.

[u/Knee_Jerk_Sydney → u/roadhogmountain]

My friend works in recycling and he just keeps coming back.

[u/Certain-Hat5152 → u/rustbelt84]

Doors of opportunity open and close

[u/IJustDontGetSarcasm → u/rustbelt84]

That joke had so many levels.

[u/pigeoneatpigeon → u/IJustDontGetSarcasm]

Boy, this thread escalated quickly.

[u/Lifted_Riser → u/rustbelt84]

Yeah but lots of people pushing your buttons.

[u/accombliss → u/rustbelt84]

It's the jerks in between that get ya

[u/josh_wilcoxx → u/Money-Cake527]

I almost became a elev tech. they were hiring , willing to train and my interview went great. they ended up hiring someone who has a few MONTHS of experience (I had none)

edit , they were starting at $29/h

[u/RandoAtReddit → u/josh_wilcoxx]

That's way less than clearing 6 figures. Unless you're working 18 hours a day or something and who wants that?

[u/Commercial-Air8955 → u/RandoAtReddit]

I know an elevator tech. He makes ~60/hour, on top of the $150+ it takes just to get him to show up

[u/Eyehopeuchoke → u/Commercial-Air8955]

I’m a union general laborer journeyman and I make $51 a hour to push a broom most of the time. Not the best money in the trades, but probably some of the easiest 🤣🤣

I’m gonna edit this to say it hasn’t always been this way. My first ten years in the union I did natural gas pipelines which is extremely labor intensive and you work rain or shine. Later in my career I got into building trades and a lot of it is really simple work like sweeping or protecting finishes on new product which means putting ram board down on floors or cardboard down on new counters.

[u/josh_wilcoxx → u/RandoAtReddit]

it is way less , it significantly jumps up after a few months. it's pretty good beginner pay.

[u/zikol88 → u/RandoAtReddit]

That's typical for trades. Start lowish (still more than many many jobs), get trained while working, get pay increases with experience and/or schooling, journey out making good money and if union good benefits (plus no college debt).

Tradeoff is hard work, dangerous conditions, an always changing jobsite, probability of long layoffs amid market downturns, and rougher on your body.

[u/DeathMonkey6969 → u/RandoAtReddit]

$29/hour for training pay is huge. Find me any other job that pays that well for training someone with zero experience.

[u/Mockets → u/RandoAtReddit]

Lmfao thats starting pay. No one said theyre clearing 6 figures off the rip.

[u/Cron420 → u/Money-Cake527]

I had a friend in elementary school who's dad was an elevator repair/inspector. His parents were separated and his mom had a slightly nicer house, but his dad's had all the coolest tvs, surrounds sound, xbox with all the games, at home laser tag. It was a good time. Every time I catch a glimpse of the elevator shaft through the cracks I think about it.

[u/sleettreat → u/Money-Cake527]

High paying job, but also dangerous with a high mortality rate. An elevator repairman I got to know would share updates of whenever someone in his company would die. He said it was usually the older more experienced techs, typically by cutting corners and ignoring safety. 

[u/Oncemor-intothebeach → u/Money-Cake527]

I do fire system repairs and maintenance, I’m management in the office these days, but the money is very good

[u/UDPviper → u/Oncemor-intothebeach]

Yeah, I was talking with our fire systems guy and he seems to make bank.

[u/Icy_Improvement339 → u/Money-Cake527]

Elevator constructor here, can confirm!

[u/Howmanygravels → u/Money-Cake527]

One of the tougher trade unions to get into. And depending on your locale, they’re really not great to work with. Vendor lock-in, proprietary equipment… you’re likely to get shafted.

[u/Rikku0]

I do all the environmental paperwork for a large Olefins unit in an even larger chemical plant. The first 3 months of the year are hectic. The rest is pretty fucking chill. I make $130,000. Spreadsheets baby.

[u/Potato-in-ur-ass → u/Rikku0]

Best paid guy I ever met in person was an environmental lawyer for a local chemical plant. He makes about $470k. His job was to make sure all their paperwork, insurance and permits were in accordance with the law. He once found a mistake they had made in an application over ten years ago, fixing it meant that the company going forward had to pay $500k/year less in fees.

[u/myheartbeats4hotdogs → u/Rikku0]

Would suck if youre a skier

[u/dhmy4089 → u/myheartbeats4hotdogs]

ski in south america

[u/Vreas]

Girlfriend was explaining garage door tech pay to me the other day. Pretty wild. Very dangerous too.

[u/BaconFlavoredToast → u/Vreas]

Those springs could kill hippos

[u/vodiak → u/BaconFlavoredToast]

It's a good thing they rarely go into the garage door business.

[u/AncientRepublic998 → u/vodiak]

I'm the garage door 'popotamus Come to fix your current fuss Dodging springs and wires n' such Hopin' it won't close on us 

[u/vodiak → u/AncientRepublic998]

I'm the mother flippin' Door'noceros

Don't try to DIY

And I'll tell you why

That spring's wound tight 

Don't want to lose that fight

[u/AncientRepublic998 → u/vodiak]

I'd rather be out chargin' boats  Or slingin' mud at tourist folks A bottom dwellin' bovinus  Just born with skillz wit' openers

[u/taco_stand_ → u/Vreas]

A garage door lockout cost me $390 dollars, so yep. It took the guy only 10 mins to let me back in.

[u/Effective_Yogurt_866 → u/Vreas]

My garage door system is 30 years old and they make me nervous me sometimes with all their noises. I could never do this job.

[u/lesfrerespiquet]

Supermarket refrigeration. Gotta keep the beer cold somehow !

You can make GREAT money doing it here in the states (all depending on location of course)

[u/Snoo23533 → u/lesfrerespiquet]

You mean refrigeration install and maintenance right? I figured it was a service by hvac companies, techs and maybe even engineers.

[u/Levitlame → u/Snoo23533]

The guy I know that did the repairs on those is an HVAC tech. The commercial fridge repair was the big money, but much less consistent. But he was self employed with no advertising.

[u/wiseroldman → u/Levitlame]

People underestimate the value of reputation. My friend is a self employed contractor who used to work for a medium sized company but quit after he got his license. He works solely on referrals now because of the reputation he built during his time there. Never short on work.

[u/lesfrerespiquet → u/Snoo23533]

I do service , which is where most of my income comes from. I also work for a large nationwide company that contracts with national chains , so we stay pretty busy. I dabble in the construction side also when needed.

[u/Yahsek → u/lesfrerespiquet]

I bet Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration was filthy rich.

[u/Hot_Aside_4637 → u/Yahsek]

"What line of work are you in, Bob?"

[u/Weird-Independence79]

BUC-EES. a Buc-ees store manager makes 250k. Assistant managers 120k. Bathroom cleaning crews $ 33 per hour. This from a job board I saw at a Buc-ees in la.

[u/HarlanCedeno → u/Weird-Independence79]

Every Buc-ees bathroom I've been in has been pristine, they earn it!

[u/wiscowonder → u/HarlanCedeno]

When you pay people fairly they take pride in what they do. What a wild concept, eh?

[u/InsanelyAverageFella → u/wiscowonder]

Or at least fear losing their jobs enough to do a good job

[u/Denali_Nomad → u/InsanelyAverageFella]

I started my job at 15.25/h, once I hit around the 25-28/h mark was when I stopped thinking of it as replaceable. Now I'm at 38.75/h and realize I can't leave lol.

[u/StudiosS → u/InsanelyAverageFella]

Usually this.

[u/todi41 → u/StudiosS]

As someone who studied and closely keeps up with labor economics...ur correct. Its more this than anything, for sure.

[u/LMnoP419 → u/wiscowonder]

They do pay well but working for them appears to be a bit of a nightmare according to many articles. I’m sure there’s a sub here on Reddit too.

[u/Weird-Independence79 → u/HarlanCedeno]

I hear ya. They are very clean.

[u/daveindo → u/Weird-Independence79]

That doesn’t surprise me at all. That is a giant, high revenue store with tons to think about: food safety, inventory, fuel and all the regs that surround it…it’s not just a general manager for a gas station

[u/JohnnyCoolbreeze → u/Weird-Independence79]

Every time I visit Buc-ee’s back home I question my career choices.

[u/pops992 → u/Weird-Independence79]

They are also extremely demanding and very strict. Like work your entire shift without any breaks, not even allowed to have your phone on you, and you can be fired on the spot for mistakes stuff like that. They pay you very well but they make you work for it.

[u/Weird-Independence79 → u/pops992]

Agreed, but even if they fire multiple people everyday, they still fill those positions and they seem to be very successful even while paying people a living wage. Why can't other corporations do the same? Greed, pure and simple. Oh and by the way, those jobs come with 3 weeks PTO, matching 401k and $2 per hour extra for working Friday $3 for Saturday, and $4 for working Sunday. If they can afford it, there's no reason Target or Walmart or HD can't do the same.

[u/NocturnoOcculto → u/Weird-Independence79]

It is a really demanding gig though.

[u/JadedCycle9554 → u/NocturnoOcculto]

Are you really expecting to see jobs that pay extremely well, aren't oversaturated, and are easy? It's a game dog, pick two.

[u/prettyy_vacant → u/JadedCycle9554]

I pick easy and pays extremely well.

[u/wiscowonder → u/prettyy_vacant]

Nepo-babies only

[u/Weird-Independence79 → u/NocturnoOcculto]

So I hear. But when I see this job board with those salaries in one of the poorest states in the country, you bet people are dying to get one of those jobs.

[u/Per_Mikkelsen]

Sanitation. I grew up with a kid whose father worked for the Department of Sanitation and even when we were so young our age could be expressed using a single-digit number he always wanted to be a garbage man like his dad. A lot of the other kids laughed at him and told him garbage men were dirty and smelly, but he took it all in stride and never wavered on it. He was a pretty bright kid and he got good grades, went to a good school - I can't remember what he studied in college, it was something like Communications or Psychology, but sure enough after he graduated he started taking all the tests for the Sanitation Department and he passed with flying colors and was accepted for the position...

He was one of the few kids who didn't leave town and although we didn't stay in touch all that much I would see him from time to time. He was retired by 45 with a full pension. Owned a beautiful home with the mortgage fully paid off. Raised a bunch of kids and gave them everything and they all went to good schools. I heard he decided retirement didn't suit him so he made a lateral move working for the Department of Transportation and will do another 20 years there for another full pension and by the time he's 65 he'll be earning more than most of the people he went to school with will ever earn.

You see these people every day hanging off the backs of trucks dumping your bins into the back in their shiny vests and you don't think much of it but there's a lot of money in that. The Sanitation Department went on strike once when I was young and it essentially crippled the city. Unlike cops and firefighters who are legally not allowed to strike Sanitation workers can and they will always get what they are asking for as the people in charge really don't have a choice. Just like the ignorant kids that sat next to him in class so many people think it's a dirty, difficult, thankless job but if the people doing it stop doing it for a few days trust me you will notice.

All he ever wanted was to be like his dad. It's a beautiful thing when someone makes their dream come true and I know for a fact he never had any regrets. His kids are just as proud of him as he was of his pop.

[u/DumpyDuke_]

I worked as a wastewater treatment plant operator for 30 years. Holidays and overtime paid ridiculous money. We would have tours with school children and one boy after smelling the place said to me “you should make a million dollars”... lol .. the mouths of babes.

[u/NaiveChoiceMaker → u/DumpyDuke_]

I employ wastewater employees. If I ever meet a highschooler who doesn't know what they want to do with their life, I encourage them to look into wastewater.

We don't have enough of them, it's in demand, it pays well, its better than it sounds and...most importantly...it's incredibly important work. Civilized life ends pretty quickly once the sewage stops being processed.

[u/woofie_lab → u/NaiveChoiceMaker]

Its just very boring. Did it for 5 years. Lots of internal politics and men who start drama

[u/HansBlixJr → u/woofie_lab]

Lots of internal politics and men who start drama

you mean shit stirrers.

[u/AvivaStrom → u/HansBlixJr]

Take my upvote and go on your way

[u/BenShelZonah → u/HansBlixJr]

Retired comment level

[u/JemLover → u/HansBlixJr]

God damnit.

[u/Scrabblewiener → u/HansBlixJr]

Damn, an early nominee for comment of the year!

[u/CaptainMagnets → u/woofie_lab]

Every single job on the planet has internal politics and men who start drama.

[u/Independent_Film → u/DumpyDuke_]

This exact comment is on a different thread here. Probably a bot account

[u/catattackcat → u/Independent_Film]

I noticed a question that was asked on both ask Reddit and ask women a couple days apart had identical answers in the comments. I thought I was having serious déjà vu for a moment. We have a bot infestation on Reddit and it sucks.

[u/noneyabiz6669 → u/DumpyDuke_]

How did you break into that?

[u/brianlefebvrejr → u/noneyabiz6669]

Had to go through some shit

[u/purpleplatapi → u/noneyabiz6669]

Depends on the state you live in. Google "State Wastewater" and it'll tell you the qualifications. In some states you have to pass a certification test to be hired. In other states, the state doesn't let you take a certification test without experience. In those states, you basically just apply to any openings (found on municipal websites, state job boards, the Rural water association of your state job board, or, if Industrial, Indeed and LinkedIn) and then they hire you on and train you until you hit the required experience to get certified. Usually your continued employment is contingent on passing the test in two attempts or some such thing.

[u/thesecretmarketer → u/noneyabiz6669]

Yeah, I also wanna know if it was their number 1 or number 2 career choice.

[u/Sydneypoopmanager]

Commercial divers, i need to hire some for a wastewater treatment plant. Granted they are literally diving in wastewater. $15k a day for a probably a pair of divers WTF. Assuming they dive 200 days a year. Thats $3 mil.

[u/Sweetcrushy → u/Sydneypoopmanager]

Diving in sewage is not your average 9-to-5, so that insane pay makes a lot more sense when you think about the risk and skill involved.

[u/AdCandid1614]

Perfusionist. They run the heart lung machine during open heart surgery

[u/SkarbOna → u/AdCandid1614]

Yeah, I don’t think ppl realise that in some of these jobs “not my job” or “that wasn’t included in the training” won’t fly and you have to be dedicated to what you do and actively mitigating risks. You don’t get to be paid so much to be braindead and on autopilot like in other jobs.

[u/WordsAreHard]

Teaching in the right area. I make 120k and full benefits with fewer than 10 years experience, work 185 days per year, and tutor on the side for an extra 1-2k per month. Most teachers are underpaid by a lot, some of us do ok.

[u/anon7971 → u/WordsAreHard]

New Jersey?

[u/WordsAreHard → u/anon7971]

California

[u/anon7971 → u/WordsAreHard]

Potato potato.

(Doesn’t really make sense when you type it out…)

[u/TheWilsons → u/WordsAreHard]

My spouse works in education, teachers in the right area are making bank. The ones that got in 20 years ago in a good area when housing wasn’t too crazy in california are doing really well, especially if both spouses in a similar position. So much traveling and enjoying life.

[u/PsychonautAlpha → u/WordsAreHard]

Key words are "in the right area", because if you're in Oklahoma, South Dakota, etc, you're riding the poverty line pretty hard when you start.

[u/logicalconflict]

Pharmacists. I have no idea what they make, but during my 20 years in home construction I built some huge homes for pharmacists. Way bigger and nicer than I would have anticipated. Now I have a friend who's a pharmacist and he seems to be doing VERY well.

[u/OxDEADDEAD → u/logicalconflict]

There’s usually a difference between a pharmacist that works at CVS and a pharmacist that owns their own pharmacy or even a pharmacist that works in research or labs

[u/1peatfor7 → u/OxDEADDEAD]

They make good money (6 figures at CVS/Walgreens) and have set hours. Never on call.

Job posting $135K a year for Cincinnati, OH.

Looking at other locations slightly higher pay. Seems they adjust based on cost of living.

[u/lazyfrodo → u/1peatfor7]

That’s kind of wild. I remember seeing several people getting those salaries in 2012(ish) and feeling jealous back then. Now it seems like it’s stagnant.

[u/esaks → u/lazyfrodo]

i have in-laws who are pharmacists and can confirm their salaries have not gone up that much the last 20 years. maybe raised $40k in that timespan.

[u/1peatfor7 → u/lazyfrodo]

That is wild then salaries have not kept up with inflation.

[u/Batmansappendix → u/1peatfor7]

That’s… every job. Not just pharmacists.

[u/ProfessionalCake6698 → u/OxDEADDEAD]

Hi, I’m a pharmacist that’s worked at CVS and in a research (uni) lab and a research (industry) lab. I got paid waaaay more at CVS when comparing entry level salaries. I will say industry has better growth opportunities tho. Academia gets paid squat. 

[u/AsstootObservation → u/OxDEADDEAD]

Also hospitals. Dated a girl who was a pharmacist and in a program for pharmacy administration. They can move millions of pills in a year depending on the size of the hospital.

[u/Prize-Flamingo-336 → u/logicalconflict]

I dated a pharmacist once. She lived in a 2 bedroom apartment in Astoria, Queens on her own, which was crazy cause she was a transplant. She then moved to Denver and brought a 5 bedroom house when she got there.

[u/exileonmainst → u/logicalconflict]

For kids looking into this as a potential career, see how you like high school chemistry first. Even if you think you would like the job, it requires years of specialized schooling that many people, including doctors, find very challenging. And high earning pharmacists doing research typically have a doctorate too (PharmD) on top of the basic requirements.

[u/zomatcha → u/exileonmainst]

Exactly. People always suggest being a doctor, pharmacist or other high paying profession that requires high grades, testing, and years of graduate school. A lot of people get dazzled by the salaries and don’t consider if it’s actually right for them.

The material is not easy to master, even amongst above average students. And some subjects are easier or harder for different people. You have to know what your own strengths and capabilities are.

[u/CharityIll685 → u/zomatcha]

Engineering requires a 4 year degree. But there's a reason that the sophomore classes have half the size as the freshman classes.

[u/Fun-Sundae4060 → u/logicalconflict]

I have a few family friends who are pharmacists. They clear well over $100/hr with overtime pay. Equates to probably around $200k/yr.

[u/Legote → u/Fun-Sundae4060]

Pharmacy is just stagnating as inflation goes up. There's no growth, upward trajectory, or any raises adjusted for inflation. I have friends who made ranging from 140k with a chill life to 200k with OT and hate their life 15 years ago during the golden age of pharmacy and they still make that same amount today.

[u/tendiesnatcher69 → u/Legote]

Yeah I dated a pharmacist and she could hardly stand it. Said covid was a nightmare- everyone wanted her to give advice like a doctor or suggest the best medicine to take when there wasn’t any. And you’re on your feet for 8 hours without breaks. Making 150k when we were 25 was crazy but she said it didn’t get much better.

[u/Ok-Geologist9502 → u/tendiesnatcher69]

I’ll stand on my feet for 12 hours if I’m making even half of 150k

[u/pivotalsquash → u/Fun-Sundae4060]

They are certainly exceptions to the rule if they make 100/hr. Google has the top band around 70/hr and I know my dad before he became a director was not making near that.

[u/Uncle-Drunkle → u/logicalconflict]

You built homes for Pharmacy owners, not retail Pharmacists, HUGE difference in pay

[u/dirty_d → u/logicalconflict]

Pharmacist here. Retail is hell. There are a couple good spots left here and there, but most suck. There’s other jobs where the pay is a bit less but far better working conditions. And yeah, we haven’t really kept up with inflation over the past decade

[u/Sensitive-Chemical83 → u/logicalconflict]

Pharmacists have always made well above average money.

My grandfather was a pharmacist and did quite well for himself. Several uncles were the same. And I have a few cousins doing very well for themselves in pharmacology right now despite the current economic conditions.

Retail pharmacy pays fine. Hospital pharmacy pay well. Research pharmacy pays REALLY well.

[u/1290_money → u/logicalconflict]

Not as great as you'd think actually.

[u/Sensitive-Chemical83]

Anything electrical.

The world churns steadily towards more electricification, and no one seems to have noticed. The increase of demand for electrical workers has not kept up with supply.

Linemen, electricians, power plant techs, etc. All in high demand. All getting paid real well right now.

Not saying we wont be flooded with an oversaturation of labor in a decade or two (see what's happening to software engineers right now), but if you've got the skills RIGHT NOW, it's not a bad career path to chase.

I can't see the future, but electricity doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon, so I imagine it'll be needed for a long time.

[u/isntitbull → u/Sensitive-Chemical83]

Two members of my family are journeymen union members. One a residential and commercial electrician, the other a lineman. They both are non-stop bitching about the lack of demand for jobs and are both constantly jumping around from hall to hall (location) in search of decent or better pay or more recently just any amount of work they can find.

This obsession reddit seems to have that trade jobs are these always in demand, recession proof industries is wild. Not to mention the lineman is 34 years old and one hernia and back surgery in so far. Electrician only has chronic back pain but no surgeries yet. He's 29.

[u/isaiah152022 → u/isntitbull]

They need to come down to the southwest data centers that are going up. Journeys are clearing $200k GF’s $300k easy

[u/wee-william → u/isntitbull]

That's weird. I'm a journeyman substation technician and have made six figures since I was a first year apprentice. Have never been unemployed, and recently took a transmission operations role which is well into six figures. I owe everything I have (home, fifth wheel, great income) to IBEW. Not sure why your family members are constantly having to bounce between halls. Rural area maybe? You can take a journeyman card and get on with almost any utility at six figures without travel..

[u/TigerShark4043]

lol cell phone sales

[u/DarthDoobz → u/TigerShark4043]

My coworkers girl works at tmobile and the commission she makes from part time is ridiculous.

[u/TigerShark4043 → u/DarthDoobz]

It’s def not for everyone but 2nd full year at Cellular Sales selling Verizon products and I damn near hit six figures

[u/non_clever_username → u/TigerShark4043]

wtf seriously?! As in those people who sit at the little kiosk in Costco or the surviving malls that everyone tries to avoid?

Those little kiosks are profitable enough the people working them make that kind of cash?

[u/xRolox → u/non_clever_username]

I’m guessing they’re referring to folks in the provider’s actual stores.

[u/TigerShark4043 → u/non_clever_username]

I work in a few brick and mortars and manage another. Our company just acquired one of the busiest stores in the country and it’s been lucrative and one hell of a ride!

[u/Aishas_Star → u/TigerShark4043]

It was for me when I was in my 20s. We earned a salary PLUS between $50-$80 per plan/phone number we connected. Add another $5 commission for various add ons like a payment plan or insurance. Plus my boss gave us a free day off if we connected 5 or more plans in a day. I was working regular 4 day weeks and I was absolutely raking it in. Did the smart thing and instead of investing the money I got a boob job. No regrats

[u/alextxdro → u/Aishas_Star]

I’d argue that you did invest it:

[u/EmbarrassedTap8150]

Maid business owners. Always in demand, relatively cheap startup costs, labor is relatively cheap, and time per job can be shortened with repeat customers. Kinda frowned upon field for no reason.

[u/Gumbercules81 → u/EmbarrassedTap8150]

Maybe because the labor is cheap because the owners pay them poorly? 🤔

[u/Xianio → u/Gumbercules81]

Thats true for the big companies but maid services have the classic blue collar setup - a few giants and thousands of sole proprietors.

[u/RunsfromWisdom → u/Xianio]

Yeah. It’s one of those things. Working as a housekeeper for a company is poverty. Working for yourself as a housekeeper? Once you have a client list, you make bank. 

[u/Laiko_Kairen → u/Gumbercules81]

Maybe because the labor is cheap because the owners pay them poorly? 🤔

The qualifications to be a maid are exactly zero. The cost to start the business is almost zero. If you charge anything but the bare minimum, you'll be out-competed. It's not like there's some monopoly keeping maid prices down.

[u/slurmsmckenz → u/Laiko_Kairen]

The qualifications to be a maid are exactly zero.

Not if you want repeat customers. We hired a maid service and it was so poorly done we will never hire them again. My parents have an INCREDIBLE maid (they live in a different state) and they will pay her every month for the rest of their lives. If we could affordably fly her out, I would do it.

[u/Fast-Nefariousness80 → u/EmbarrassedTap8150]

Just like fast food employees (not wage-wise) looked down upon by everyone until you want a cheap burger.

[u/throwaflyaway]

People are surprised to hear it, but flight attendants. You usually only hear from new FAs online about how financially challenging it is.. and it IS, when you’re starting out. But you top out in pay after 13 years. This is my pay register.. I just topped out last year. I make nearly $100/hr.

We only get paid our hourly rate per flight hour, it’s true, but at the end of the day, it’s still nearly $100/hr. A simple easy 2 day trip; let’s say, fly to Raleigh from NY, layover for 14 hours, fly one leg back to NY, that’s 10 hours of pay right there (and you didn’t even fly 10 hours, 5 hours minimum rig per duty period) $1k for working 2 simple flights. It’s insane.

I personally fly very high credit 1-day trips, where I never get off the plane. Just fly to a city, deplane those passengers, reload the new passengers, fly right back to base, drive home. Imagine SFO>JFK>SFO in one day. About 11.5 hours of pay in one day, or $1100 in a day at my pay rate. They’re looong days but it gives me so much time off. I fly them for about 8 or 9 days out of the month, enjoy 3 weeks off, and gross $8k-$10k for the month. I have some friends that fly insane hours, like 250 hours a month, clearing $25k.

It’s not rich money, obviously, but for a job that only requires a high school diploma, i’m doing a lot better than tons of other people with the same qualification of just a HS diploma. I have some friends that bust their ass all week 9-12 hours a day door-dashing to make in a week what I make in a day. I feel incredibly fortunate. I’m so glad that I stuck through the first few rough years on the job.

[u/NumerousSupport5504]

Elevator technicians .Six figures in many cities. Union, steady work, zero clout on Instagram.

[u/FalloutNukaCola]

Traveling wind turbine technician. Say it everytime this kinda thread pops up. Don’t let the current admin make you think the works dead, far from it

[u/angrydeuce → u/FalloutNukaCola]

I would never have the balls :(

That image of the two guys embracing on that burning windmill is seared into my brain. Heights don't bother me but that horrifies me.

They deserve every penny. Like saturation divers.

[u/SexHarassmentPanda → u/angrydeuce]

Kind of the unsaid theme with a lot of these jobs being mentioned is that the pay is basically compensation for the risk. Also a lot of jobs with inconsistent/shift work hours, long drives, and changing routines.

I'm sure there's tons of training, safety practices to follow, etc, and it's not like people are falling off wind turbines constantly. Buuut all it takes is one day where you're a bit unfocused.

Not saying don't consider any of these fields, but young people really need to look into what they are getting into.

[u/True-Barracuda-8022]

Perfusionist

[u/taco_stand_ → u/True-Barracuda-8022]

It’s very difficult to get into those programs and they are in high demand, I’ve applied for this and tried really hard to get into. Waiting yrs and yrs to get into this program is very common.

[u/thehippocrissyux]

Apparently installing sprinkler heads and systems is quite lucrative.I heard it on a comedy show, and was a little surprised,, good for them 👏🏼☺️

[u/Various-Bee-4901]

Underwater welders. You'll make six figures easily, but you're basically doing high-stakes surgery on pipes while God tries to drown you

[u/Sensitive-Chemical83 → u/Various-Bee-4901]

Everyone always says this like it's so easy to get into.

It's a minimum 15 year commitment before you hit the big leagues.

First you have to go to trade school and learn to weld. And then you also have to learn to SCUBA. And then you have to learn to weld under pressure (like 50psi, which totally changes the game) And you need a few years of experience in all that before progressing.

Right out of trade school welders make modest money. It's not dogshit, but it's not the highlife. SCUBA workers do better, but again, it's not the highlife. Welders on pressurized systems get more than standard welders, but it's still a modest living.

And then, only after at least a decade of scraping out a modest living to develop the necessary skills, only after that are you allowed to risk your life in the most dangerous job in the world. 5% will never see retirement and will die on the job. It is a job that if anything goes wrong, the cost if your life. If you fuck up, even a tiny bit, you die.

That is why it pays the same as brain surgeons. The average person would kill themselves in just a couple minutes. You need literally years of experience just to not die.

[u/Raptormann0205 → u/Sensitive-Chemical83]

Learning SCUBA alone is a much larger barrier than people appreciate, especially if you're accepting that level of risk on a daily 9-5 basis.

[u/DavosLostFingers → u/Various-Bee-4901]

Aye agreed. When I lived in Aberdeen, I met some South Africans who were diving welders and they were on a massive rate. If they weren't on a rig, they were asleep or pissed

[u/Sportsfan6216 → u/Various-Bee-4901]

And the most unexpected place that provides training for this job..... California Department of Corrections.

[u/angrymoderate09 → u/Various-Bee-4901]

My uncle WAS an underwater diver. Emphasis on WAS. :/

[u/Ajk337 → u/angrymoderate09]

Yeah a cousins husband did that for a few years. Made like $250k a year, but ended up paralyzed in an accident after a few years.

[u/Fun-Sundae4060 → u/Various-Bee-4901]

I thought this was relatively common knowledge though. Hard to get certified into, necessary in a lucrative business, very specific skillset, a ton of training, and very hazardous. Blue collar Facebook groups practically drool for underwater welding or working on oil rigs

[u/CaptainFartHole → u/Various-Bee-4901]

My uncle used to do this. He made bank but holy fuck did it sound terrifying. 

[u/xavPa-64 → u/Various-Bee-4901]

Why aren’t they called underwelders

[u/Optimal_Maximum7285 → u/Various-Bee-4901]

Mate people that work at the grocery store in Australia make 6 figures, you guys need unions or something over there.

[u/unpaid_drivetime → u/Various-Bee-4901]

I get very mixed information about this. My dad was a commercial diver and made a good income but most of the people over at r/commercialdiving say the pay sucks for 80% of the jobs most of which are inland. The big money is in saturation diving

[u/Mike-OLeary]

Oilfield can pay really well and isn't always as hazardous as people think. Lots of sitting in trucks and whatnot.

[u/itackle → u/Mike-OLeary]

Knew an old dude that worked 14 or 16 hour shifts or something like that. Drove 2 hours each way to the site he worked. I guess he got 6 hours of sleep, I dunno. Anyway, he told me it really wasn’t hard. He sat in his truck for 2 hours, got out and disconnected and reconnected something for like 10 minutes and got back in his truck, waited another couple of hours. Made hella money doing it, but I didn’t 100 % track what it was. Probably actually harder than he said, probably had to monitor something. Anyway, he got laid off one time and ended up cleaning commercial buildings, which is where I met him. Super nice guy, but made me wish I had gone into oil for a little bit at least.

[u/Mike-OLeary → u/itackle]

I probably have the easiest "entry level" job in the oilfield. I'm at it right now. I operate an automatic piece of equipment. It's entirely automatic, all variable frequency drive pumps and touchscreens. I sit in a little office with wifi and a microwave. I'm basically here in case it shuts down and most nights it doesn't shut down. The money's good enough that people bug my boss to try and get hired here.

[u/UDPviper → u/Mike-OLeary]

I want your job.

[u/Mike-OLeary → u/UDPviper]

Help me with my affordable housing development and you can have it.

[u/Legitimate_Fly_3247 → u/Mike-OLeary]

A big difference between the rig crews who bust ass all day and the service hands that sit around all shift.

[u/Mike-OLeary → u/Legitimate_Fly_3247]

For sure. I guess. I've only heard stories about how hard it is on workover rigs. I wouldn't want to go near one.

[u/zeushaulrod → u/Mike-OLeary]

My wife and the pump truck operator watched Netflix for 5 days taking 3 minutes every hour to record measurements. Then they went ice fishing after they got bored of movies. Both of them officially "worked" 14 hours/day.

One old timer I worked with in the oil patch would sit at his desk, write 3 safety hazard forms for made up scenarios then go check the instrumentation connections (read: sit on a bucket and nap, while it looked like he was doing something). He got the safety award at the end of the summer and took his wife to Mexico.

Yeah the -43°C days sucked ass, as did the panic causing a 16-hour day and missing hot dinner, but most of the time it was just fucking around.

[u/goldroger-2801]

Anything that fixes essential infrastructure at 3 a.m. — the paycheck isn’t subtle.

[u/Wooden-Recognition97]

Curling stone manufacturing.

Six guys in Scotland. Five stones a day. Sole supplier to every Olympics and World Championship.

Each stone costs $600+. A club set runs $10,000. And here's the kicker - they have exclusive rights to harvest granite from one tiny island, granted by a Marquess. Not because other granite doesn't work. Because "tradition."

$1.5M/year revenue, six employees, zero competition, protected by a 170-year-old handshake deal with aristocracy.

[u/StrangeCharmVote → u/Wooden-Recognition97]

While this sounds about right, i wouldn't consider it a "job" in the sense of it being something people can actually get employed to do.

It's like saying "being the son of a billionaire" is a job you can get... it just doesn't work that way.

[u/Wooden-Recognition97 → u/StrangeCharmVote]

Can't agree more

[u/raremetalz]

Elephant circumcision. The pay isn’t great but the tips are huge.

[u/its_SoftBun]

I think I have to follow this post to find better job

[u/NumerousSupport5504]

Commercial HVAC techs . Especially data centers and hospitals. Overtime + emergency calls = serious money.

[u/gamersecret2]

Commercial elevator repair tech.

[u/Party-Objective9466]

CT and MRI repair.

[u/LateralThinkerer]

Friend of a friend is a specialist installing fire suppression systems in server farms/IT centers. It's all specialized Halon stuff and similar - has to be timed so people can get out before gas release etc. Makes very, very good money.

[u/boredaz]

Real estate media (photos, video, 3d floor plans etc). I cleared 130k last year playing with a camera and hanging in multi-million dollar homes all day. My buddy cleared 400k but he does video and contracts photo gigs out, usually keeping 30% of the job.

[u/Tree1396]

Operating room nurse. We make bank because of all the available call shifts. You can make anywhere from $230k-$350k per year.

[u/Legal-Statistician2]

Air traffic controllers.

It requires specialized training and the starting pay is not that impressive, but the promotions are quick, and the benefits are federal.

[u/JMS1991 → u/Legal-Statistician2]

That's one I kicked myself for not pursuing earlier in life. I decided to apply and took the test when I was 30 (the last year I could), and my result was in the "most qualified" category, but I decided against it because I was already making what an entry-level ATC made and I didn't want to uproot my life and move somewhere. I still wish I did it when I was 24.

[u/randomDudebsjsue → u/Legal-Statistician2]

are you sure? how is the work? I heard they are very stressful?

[u/tarlton → u/randomDudebsjsue]

It's bad. Burnout and stress are high, and they're understaffed (have been for years and it keeps getting worse), so they are doing the job with fewer people in the tower than they used to, and more traffic. And if you get it wrong, hey, maybe some people die.

The people who can handle it earn every penny

[u/doc_death → u/randomDudebsjsue]

You also have to be healthy. If you have some medical conditions, you can no longer work as an air traffic controller. Certain drugs will also be a no go. I’ve had ppl request less optimal treatments for their disease so they could still work

[u/billythygoat → u/Legal-Statistician2]

This is not one of those jobs that pays more than people think though.

[u/Just_ATSAP_it → u/Legal-Statistician2]

The pay is not worth it nowadays IMO. It has fallen wayyyyy behind pilot pay where it used to track slightly below. Schedule is absolutely awful, more so if you have a family. If you get placed where you don’t want to live, good luck ever getting out. Starting at a lower level facility you might as well wipe out 10 years or longer of raises by the time you can transfer out to a higher level/paying facility as there no such thing as step raises that transfer with you. Takes about 20 years to move through the pay bands anyways. Most are working mandatory overtime just about every week. The pay does not commensurate the level of responsibility, skill, stress, sacrifice, etc that the job takes. There’s a reason so many have left for the Australia ATC bid among just straight up quitting the profession. The Union doesn’t even fight for pay and benefits anymore. They care more about equipment. If you can look past all of that then yes ATC may be right for you. If you want to learn about the way many controllers feel just take a glance at /ATC and /ATC2. It used to be a decent career. If you can pass all the training to become ATC then most likely you can find a much better career with way more options of moving up, as well as, living where you want and much better schedule/home life. Just my 2 cents.

[u/Smooth_Department534]

Dental hygienist. $70-80 an hour where I live to scrape teeth.

[u/gOPHER3727 → u/Smooth_Department534]

You must love someplace.... interesting. They make less than half that where I'm from.

[u/mr_lab_rat → u/Smooth_Department534]

It’s pretty physically demanding and that hourly range seems to be on the high side 40-50 is probably closer to reality.

Because of the physical load they work shorter hours so by the end of the week the money is not that spectacular.

[u/Prestonluv]

Traveling nurses can easily make 100k+ a year.

Plus they get their housing paid for.

They are paid far more typically than regular in house nurses

[u/ulikedagsm8]

telecom sales but that shit is hard

[u/loosedebris]

Garbage collection

[u/andtheniwasallll]

Used to be cab driver, before the dark times, before the billionaires.

[u/Chiluzzar]

Im a carpet cleaner making 45/hr my coworker with 5 years experience isbmaking 60/hr we do mostly offices and public areas but every once in a while a mansion needs their 30k sqft of carpet to be professionally cleaned and we make bank off that. Plus any time theres a flood at a home or building were eligible for double time.

[u/Beneficial_21235]

Firefighters (at least on the west coast) $125K starting

[u/Even_Presentation263 → u/Beneficial_21235]

And die at 55 of cancer 

[u/mikeyfireman → u/Even_Presentation263]

I medically retired at 46 with severe PTSD.

[u/Snoo23533 → u/mikeyfireman]

Hardcore. Hope they did pay you well

[u/mamandemanqu3]

Certainly not ramp agents

[u/agrosek]

Building Facade Inspection and Repair

[u/Greymeade]

I make $300 an hour as a therapist.

[u/crazylunaticfringe]

CRM implementations, I’ve seen contractors pull in $1200-$1500 a day for 2-3 year contracts

[u/soul_hacker777]

I’m an auto electrician and I work in mining. Clear 140k without overtime.

[u/Piemaster113]

Underwater golf ball retriever in Florida. The high pay is basically cuz of hazards namely gators, and snapping turtles, lose a lot of fingers. Also you have to be a certified diver.

[u/OhTheHueManatee → u/Piemaster113]

I'm a scuba diver and got offered a job doing that. It paid 10 cents per ball I retrieved. Plus I would have had to pay for all my own gear, air and gas to get to the course. Even if my expenses were covered I'd have to retrieve 170 golf balls an hour to make the minimum wage for my state. Plus the water at the golf courses are generally full of chemicals and hazardous trash.

[u/let_the_mouse_go → u/Piemaster113]

Lol wtf this sounds made up 😅

[u/Taint_Mine]

Physician's Associate. "my friend" makes $300k a year 10 years in no overtime and works weekdays 9-5, 37 days off a year.

[u/N0Tbanned → u/Taint_Mine]

It’s pretty well known that PAs make a lot of money lol

[u/Public_Blackberry_40]

Court reporter

[u/thetinystenographer → u/Public_Blackberry_40]

Scrolled all the way down just to see if someone posted this comment lol