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We often talk about jobs that don’t pay enough. Service industry employees are typically a top-of-mind mention, where people do the grunt work, yet they may need to take another job just to get by. 

We don’t often discuss professions that pay way too much for the required work. Give yourself a few seconds to think, and it would likely take you a short while to make a list of five. 

If you’re still racking your brain, here are some responses to a Reddit thread from a while back. While many on this list are reasonably expected, some may surprise you.

#1

Young woman recording a video using smartphone on tripod, illustrating jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do. Influencers, this includes celebrity and actors. In this world only one thing is worse than elite rich scum, those who pretend to be.

Ryderslow , cottonbro studio Report

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    #2

    Man in blue suit gesturing with hands, discussing controversial earnings in jobs that shouldn’t be this high. Televangelists preachers. University sports coaches.

    RevolutionaryLow20 , Inside Edition Report

    #3

    Woman with long dark hair sitting on sofa indoors, discussing jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do. Being a celebrity (famous for being famous, not the people with some degree of talent).

    Aycheeeleloh , Fulwell 73 Report

    #4

    Middle-aged businessman in a blue shirt reviewing documents, reflecting on jobs earning more than they should online. CEO, no one is performing that job deserves hundreds of millions of dollars. Most of the time performance is due to the size of the company and actions taken by lower level leaders.

    ShriekingMuppet , Getty Images Report

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    #5

    Woman in a business suit presenting job salaries on a screen, discussing jobs that earn more than expected online. Life coaches

    When my family moved cities when I was 5 our new neighbours had kids the same age as my sister and I so my dad wanted to meet them (he did not want his girls around weirdos). When he met the mother she asked what he does and vice versa. She told him she’s a life coach. His response was “what the hell is that?”. She stopped letting her kids play with us.

    Blizard896 , A. C. Report

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    #6

    Businesswoman smiling at a laptop during a meeting, illustrating jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do. Hedge fund managers. Once the fund is up and running, they don't do much outside of hyper-expensive lunches and dinners, all paid by the fund. They make many millions, but the grunts are the ones that actually pull the sled...

    candidly1 , Andrea Piacquadio Report

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    #7

    Person lying on couch with a book covering their face, illustrating jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do. The a******s that write self help books. Motivational speakers. Dhar Man.


    Fight me.

    Negative-Fortune4362 , Lina Kivaka Report

    #8

    Football coach shouting instructions to players on the field, illustrating jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do. Government funded coaches (in several states the highest paid public employee is a coach for a sports team).

    wooter99 , football wife Report

    #9

    Pharmacist in white uniform organizing medicine boxes on shelves illustrating jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do. Pharmaceutical reps.

    Kiylyou , Getty Images Report

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    #10

    Woman analyzing documents at a desk with dual monitors, representing jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do. Health Care “administrators” . They administer none of the health care and typically represent a parasitic growth within the hospital.

    midnightmoose , Getty Images Report

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    #11

    Two coworkers discussing documents and working on a laptop highlighting jobs earning concerns in office setting I’m surprised no one has said consultants. Especially management consultants. Here’s a PowerPoint saying you should fire 100 people and get more market share, now please give me $500,000.

    kaminaripancake , olia danilevich Report

    #12

    Person with glasses talking on phone while working at desk, representing jobs earning more than expected online. I would say ceos but generally I even just upper management at all is making exponentially more than the actual laborers.

    Very-Big-Rat , Kaboompics.com Report

    #13

    Man with beard and vest presenting in front of a projector screen about jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do. Edu-celebrities.

    They are the people who spent two years in the classroom, couldn't handle it, then started some online blog/following with some appealing catchphrase. They get paid $3000+ per speaking gig that districts fork up and force teachers to listen to.

    walterpsherman , Yunus Tuğ Report

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    #14

    30 Jobs That Pay Way Too Much And Don’t Make Sense To Many People Pretty much every investment banker and other finance bro.

    WaitUntilTheHighway , Thirdman Report

    #15

    Woman wearing headphones working on laptop in small office booth, illustrating jobs and earning perceptions online. I work in digital marketing as an account manager. All I do is respond to emails and Skype people all day. I make over $100k a year just relaying stuff in emails and Skypes. We generate leads off co-registration sites like the c**p where you can win a gift card if you spin the wheel then answer a million questions and your data is sold 10 times. It's all b******t and I have no idea why it pays so much.

    whitch_way_did_he_go , Walls.io Report

    Never miss a story that brings joy to the world. Follow on Google News

    #16

    30 Jobs That Pay Way Too Much And Don’t Make Sense To Many People Lots of stuff in Banking. There is no way the wages and bonuses justify what they do. It’s just semi informed gambling.

    dodgycool_1973 , Kindel Media Report

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    #17

    Two men having a discussion in an office setting related to jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do. Recruiters. My DevOps jobs pay around 200k - 250k a year, they get 10%-20% of that for making some calls and setting up meetings with hiring managers. Come to think about it, I am also overpaid for my job.

    average_pornstar , Rony Gonzalez Report

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    #18

    Older man working on laptop outdoors surrounded by plants, illustrating jobs and earnings discussions online. Royal expert. Because any money someone pays you for that job is already too much money.

    Murogordo , Marcus Aurelius Report

    #19

    Man in suit speaking passionately at podium, illustrating jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do online debate Politician of any level.

    What_Is_Wrong_Mate , Mikhail Nilov Report

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    #20

    30 Jobs That Pay Way Too Much And Don’t Make Sense To Many People Token white person at a Chinese company. When I used to live in China you could get a job at Chinese companies to make it look like they had foreign collaborations. You had to dress well and sit at a desk. Pretend to work only when tours went through. Otherwise game, study, whatever. A lot of sitting on a chair on a stage with a bunch of Chinese executives during awards/presentations.

    mrhoof , Andrea Piacquadio Report

    #21

    Couple dressed in winter clothes looking at a house outdoors with a for sale sign, discussing jobs earning too much. Realtors

    Me: I need to pay off a bond for 20-30 years with blood sweat and tears.

    realtor: ‘sells’ house in couple of weeks by sending couple of emails, gives tour of house. “yeah, like I’m gonna need like 5-10% commission of that 30 years.

    primiR , Getty Images Report

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    #22

    Car salesperson in suit talking to female customer in car, illustrating jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do. Car sales people, any company executives, and politicians.

    nemowasherebutheleft , Antoni Shkraba Studio Report

    #23

    Woman reviewing color swatches at a table, illustrating jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do concept. I worked for a business that had a full-time office space designer.

    The job of this person was to plot out cubicles for the company's employees in a CAD program.

    anon , Yan Krukau Report

    #24

    Young woman working on laptop in bed, illustrating jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do online discussion. Me. I make $100k to manage a small team. They do all the work and I just sign off on some decisions every couple weeks. Everyone loves me because all the work they do and I watch YouTube/Reddit all day.

    discostud1515 , Tim Samuel Report

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    #25

    Actor in a suit pointing forward with a serious expression, illustrating controversial jobs earning high salaries online. People always jump on footballers when talking about stuff like this, yet never mention actors, when people like Will Smith and Tom Cruise are getting £20M per movie.

    anon , Columbia Pictures Report

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    #26

    Woman in glasses stirring coffee, representing discussion on jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do online My last job in college, before starting my career. I was an overnight shelter staff for transitional housing. Since these clients were basically back up on their feet by the time they arrived, they were pretty self-sufficient. I was paid about 25% higher than other night-shift jobs I could get at the time, and on most nights all I had to do was make one pot of coffee. The rest of the time I could watch TV, play video games, do personal chores, etc… The one job that I know was better was their overnight sleeper, since we had to have two staff at all times. As implied, this dude made a well-above minimum wage rate to just sleep there on the weekends.

    Hugh_manateerian , Alex Boyd Report

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    #27

    Young woman in pink blazer typing at a typewriter, representing jobs with surprising earnings according to people online College administrators specifically high level ones - dept head level.

    glow_blue_concern , MART PRODUCTION Report

    #28

    Person holding a crossword puzzle book, representing jobs and work activities related to job earnings online discussions. My mom once got a job as a civilian contractor working for the federal government. She was an accountant, and they put her in the department that managed a certain kind of ICBM... that had just been slated for destruction as part of one of the big arms-reduction treaties in the mid-80s. She had a computer at her desk but didn't have login info to use it, so she spent her days doing crosswords. Whatever that job paid, it was definitely overpaid.

    libra00 , Ross Sneddon Report

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    #29

    30 Jobs That Pay Way Too Much And Don’t Make Sense To Many People Advertising. My brother used to work in it and earned double what I ever could. He was working from home before the WFH movement and set himself up the living room so I couldn't watch my cartoons. He spent 5 hours a day easily just scrolling through Facebook. 'Market research' he called it.

    broccoliforbrains , Mikael Blomkvist Report

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    #30

    30 Jobs That Pay Way Too Much And Don’t Make Sense To Many People OnlyFans "content creator".

    No one's giving me money to look at my bumhole :(.

    wulfgold , Liza Summer Report

    #31

    Most people on local school boards. Check their salaries...they should be public. It's sad.

    Risktobloom Report

    #32

    News studio with cameras, lighting, and a presenter working on a laptop, illustrating jobs earning more than expected. Cable news anchors. A few million dollars per year just to read a teleprompter.

    DeathSpiral321 , Brad Weaver Report

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    #33

    Person coding on multiple screens at a desk illustrating jobs that shouldn’t be earning as much as they do online discussion. This might be a hot take but my cousin works in coding and tech and one time told me his job is "100% overpaid." What he does really isn't difficult coding it's just in high demand, but he told me that what he does for the time and energy is probably overpaid.

    everleighclaire , Mikhail Nilov Report

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    #34

    Landlords. They do literally nothing,just own land.

    therobohour Report

    #35

    I got paid $46 an hour once to juggle in parades for Vail resorts. Honestly, it was way too much but I couldn't turn it down because I was making $10 an hour as a ski/snowboard instructor.

    skib900 Report

    #36

    One night I babysat three kids for about 2 hours or so. The kids went to bed when I got there, and the parents had left dinner out for me, so all I did was eat their food and watch their TV and pet their dogs.

    When they got home the mom paid me $100. I told her that was way too much. She slurred "Don't worry about it, I'm drunk." And then I noticed her fly was down.

    So that was the most over paid job ever lol.

    ohmygoyd Report

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    #37

    Two construction workers in helmets reviewing building plans, discussing job site details related to jobs earning income. Mother. F*****g. Contractors.

    $200-$400/hr and I still have to check all your f*****g work and herd the group of you like a bunch of g*****n cats? And cater your f*****g lunch? And nothing is going to be on time for my f*****g client because your documentation is all a*s backwards?

    In other news, I'm in the middle of a very stressful construction project at work.

    anon , Andrej Lišakov Report

    #38

    Park ranger holding a stop sign in a desert landscape, illustrating one of the jobs earning more than expected online. Lollipop sign holders (stop/slow signs) in Australia, there on like bloody $60 an hour!

    anon , Joshua Tree Na Report

    #39

    I'll be honest. Mine. I'm a busboy in NYC and I make $20-$30 an hour and just take shots with my coworkers all the time.

    edit: Your downvotes look much nicer on my brand new 27" retina imac. ahhhhhh the color fidelity.

    anon Report

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    #40

    Professional woman in a business suit checking phone and adjusting wireless earbud in an office setting, discussing jobs earnings online. Diversity and inclusion managers.

    SkynetProgrammer , Antoni Shkraba Studio Report

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