CuriositiesJUN 27, 2022

30 People Share What Great-Paying Jobs Are Often Overlooked

Greta Jaruševičiūtė and Liucija Adomaite

With inflation reaching record highs, and economic crisis looming above us, our lives are getting tighter. Most people are already feeling it: from increased rent and ridiculous gas prices, to things many people took for granted, like morning frappuccinos and sushi takeaways, now becoming luxuries.

So when every little penny counts, you gotta hustle. In order to get us all some ideas how to survive in this gloomy economy, we looked at these two illuminating Reddit threads (this and this). People are sharing overlooked yet well (some unexpectedly!) paying jobs that desperately need workers right now, so it may give you some ideas for money-making career prospects.

Psst! After you’re done, be sure to check out our previous article about the easiest legal ways to make money on the side!

#1

30 People Share What Great-Paying Jobs Are Often Overlooked

Self employed cleaning services (i dont know exaclty what to call it)

My parents started getting paid $35 an hour cleaning a community center to ~$50 from cleaning offices.

My mom started it then my dad joined in to help her with the hours and taking care of the house and kids.

Eventually my mom got good contacts, and started cleaning the offices of managers from factories, Sacramento politicians, and stuff alike.

Can't express how proud i am of my mom. She turned all those shitty Hispanic cleaning lady jokes into something brag worthy.

Eva_NERV, suicide_chewbacca

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142points

#2

I work as a lunch lady.

I get school vacations off, summers off, and weekends. No nights, or even really afternoons, it's amazing. I also get benefits, and every year I get a raise, so between the money and the time off, the job is 100% worth it.

Charliekat1130, Maryland GovPics

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93points

#3

Garbage collectors in New York are paid up to $112k, a solid salary considering you don’t even need a degree. Sounds like a nice fallback plan for me.

BenRS7, Kenny Eliason

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83points

If you've ever wondered what are the highest-paying jobs out there in this crazy job market right now, pull your seat closer.

According to recently updated data shared by Indeed, the top 3 best-paid jobs are as follows: cardiologist with a national average salary of $351,827 per year, anesthesiologist with $326,296 per year and an orthodontist with $264,850 per year. Understandably, these jobs are not something you can easily swap your career for and require years of preparation.

#4

If you have a strong stomach, cleaning up death and crime scenes pays very well and requires little education.

too_generic, Spotless

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66points

#5

Plumbers, they can charge 100$ an hour easy because people are stupid about regular things.

PabstyLoudmouth

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54points

#6

Great money in pressure washing/exterior cleaning.

Also, gutter cleaning. $100/hr is no problem on gutter cleaning. Requires no skill, and minimal equipment. If you’re ever broke, buy a ladder and clean gutters.

mikehocksbig, Kronoxic

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54points

If you are still wondering what career path to choose, it’s wise to look at the most in-demand jobs right now. According to indeed, based on 1M job postings, machine learning engineers who’re responsible for programming and deploying machine learning solutions have the biggest demand in the market. These careers have had a 344% growth in job postings since 2015, making it the top in-demand job right now. The average base salary for a machine learning engineer is $146,085.

#7

Mobile crane operator, union guys pull over 200k and its a trade thats pretty easy on the body.

anon

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50points

#8

I’m a gardener. There’s a serious lack of folks willing to do manual labour in the outdoors year-round. Most commercial properties have to maintain a certain amount of green area in our city. Hospitals and other places like that need legitimate crews to do the work with professionalism (no cat calling or spitting or swearing etc) including bonded employees and good insurance and equipment etc.
As a result we are in demand and we get paid surprisingly well. No university education needed, low barrier to entry, great pay and job security.

Whyevenbotherbeing, Joey Genovese

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50points

#9

I'm a petsitter & I make pretty good cash from it during the busy times (summer & holidays) for very little effort in some cases. I've been doing it for a few years now & after busting my a*s & whoring my time out to clients & their critters I've built a great client base and can relax a bit now. Of course I work a full time job too, petsitting isn't steady enough to rely on but I can make an extra $5-600 a month when it's busy. It gets hectic figuring out the timing between the two jobs sometimes but it's so worth it. I'm currently petsitting for a week, $245 to hang out with two adorable dogs, eat their food, drink the wine they bought me, and relax. I love what I do.

isecretelyeatbunnies, Humphrey Muleba

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49points

The second most in-demand career is a full stack developer. This position requires a person to have a wide skillset and be able to work in front and back-end development with a variety of programming languages. Indeed states that these developers are in high demand, capturing 828 out of every 1M job postings. Full stack developers earn an average salary of $114,316 per year.

#10

Waterslide tester, the rides are already confirmed to be safe enough for humans to ride. You're basically getting paid to ride on a safe waterslide and give feedback.

3x3master, Iker Urteaga

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49points

#11

I was a bathroom attendant in a fancy restaurant. Made hundred of dollars a night in cash to do next to nothing.

FireAndBees, Anwar Jibawi

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43points

#12

Collecting golf balls. Saw on the news a guy makes over $250,000 traveling around and using scuba gear getting golf balls.

throwaway55555mmm, Ioan Sameli

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42points

The third most in-demand career right now is realtor. Realtors play an integral role in helping people to buy and sell property. There has been an incredible 138% increase in job postings for realtors since 2015, which should be surprising considering the booming real estate market. Although most realtors work on a commission basis, the average salary earned is around $96,820, Indeed states.

#13

Technical writing. If you have the ability to take complex technical information and simplify it according to the reading audience, you can make well over $100K annually.

People ridicule English degrees until they find out how much can be earned as a technical writer.

WriteAway1

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39points

#14

Medical illustrator.

You know like the anatomical drawings in scientific journals and such, the people behind that make a pretty good living. My friend dated one for a while and I was surprised how well she was doing.

-eDgAR-, Double-M

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37points

#15

Skill trades. You don't need a 4year degree. Some programs are less than a year. Not everyone needs to be an engineer. Go be a welder, electrician, machine repair, or a pipe fitter.

level 1 XIGRIMxREAPERIX

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36points

#16

I drive machinery in a coal mine in Australia. I make about 170k. Even our new trainees are paid pretty well, about $48 per hour. I think it ends up being close to 90-100k. Easy money for sitting on your a**e in an air conditioned cab.

stupidperson810

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32points

#17

Becoming a locksmith changed my life. Well paid and I get to help people out I love it

winterparkroadside

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32points

#18

Utility lineman. There is a developing shortage nationwide due to baby boom retirements. It's well paid base, but the overtime is fabulous.

prophet583, Western Area Power

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26points

#19

Court reporting. Stenography is a tough skill to learn, but plenty of court reporters earn over $100k. And no college degree required (although most CRs will need to be certified).

tracygee, Saúl Bucio

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22points

#20

UPS drivers can make close to 100k if you stay there long enough.

The_Balding_Fraud

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21points