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Have you ever felt like you were underpaid at your job? Well, seriously. Imagine - you work hard all day, spend all your energy, and most likely get much less than that guy over there. It's like that, don't you agree? And the most interesting thing is that the "guy" who works less but gets more, according to others, may be you.

In fact, everything in this life is relative, and this or that profession, depending on various angles, can seem both completely low-paid and with an unreasonably high salary. It depends on the country, on the level of education, and a number of other factors. But there is still a whole pool of professions whose representatives, by all accounts, are still criminally underpaid in almost every country.

The AskReddit community once asked members just one simple question: "Which profession is criminally underpaid?" The resulting thread got 31.1K upvotes, as well as 19.6K various comments, which, of course, indicates how painfully sensitive this topic is for many people.

In the original thread, as we have already noted, there is a huge number of comments, so Bored Panda compiled a selection of the most popular and often-mentioned ones. Apparently, these professions are indeed dramatically underpaid all over the world. In any case, feel free to scroll to the very end and, perhaps, if you don’t find an option you'd like to add, you may for sure leave it in the comments section.

More info: Reddit

#1

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Janitors.

They clean up all our s**t, get no respect, and are sometimes some of the chillest people I've ever met. We should pay them more.

Lord0fHats , Michael Saechang Report

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MGlenn
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’d like to see “janitor” and raise with “school custodian”. They are the unsung heroes of our system. They not only clean up the messes, they always have a smile, a kind word, and a fist bump for our kiddos

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#2

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Any caretaking position. From personal experience, I can loudly say that mental health and behavioral techs are VERY underpaid. Working in a job that regularly sends people to the hospital due to assault by clients, has a very high burnout rate, and very high secondary trauma is HARD. Not to mention, people in these roles are caring for individuals that their family/parents cannot handle and they are supervising 4-10 of these individuals at once. It takes a HUGE toll on your mental health, and it barely pays the bills. Being in charge of safety for those that do not have an interest in keeping themselves safe is rough. I’m sorry, but $15-$17/hour is not enough.

Also, these jobs don’t require a college degree most of the time. From what I’ve found, however, you are not paid enough nor do you have the mental energy or time to finish your degree due to working very hectic (often short staffed) hours. This keeps people stuck in the same workplace forever. HR (who is meant to be your advocate) has often never been on the floor and has no idea what the job often entails.

Fine-Caterpillar-952 , agilemktg1 Report

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Emiloy
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is in the best interest of the whole community to pay caregivers well. Most of us will need their services someday. I for one want my future caregivers to be well paid and well supported. (Also for their own sake of course - all workers deserve fair compensation and a good life)

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#3

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver People who grow and harvest your food

bubble_baby_8 , Brian Boucheron Report

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Ray McArdle
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's really sad. If you had to cultivate and harvest your own food, you would appreciate their value. My executive vice-president earns $800,000 a year just passing information from his Senior vice-president to another executive vice-president. And he gets to do that from home.

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#4

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Basically any profession that requires you to work with vulnerable people

Raven123x , Honza Soukup Report

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Lonecoolman
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I WORKED ONE ON ONE AND IN GROUP SITUATIONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS. BEST JOB EVER!!! MISS IT SO...WHEN I RETIRE, THAT IS WHERE YOU WILL FIND ME, BACK IN THE SCHOOLS HELPING WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND ALSO GENERAL POPULATION STUDENTS.

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#5

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Social Workers. They see abused/neglected kids all day, awful living conditions, desperation and poverty.
Hands are tied with the ridic amount of red tape, etc.

Soul sucking job that makes one lose faith in humanity very quickly.
No amount of money is worth the nightmares they must have at bedtime.

cindi201 , Pedro Ribeiro SimõesF Report

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$cagsy
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Then, when you have a caseload of 45+ and you should only have 20, you overlook something and you're thrown under the bus. Why have you got more than double your caseload? Because nobody wants to work under those conditions. It's high pressure, underpaid and harrowing.

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#6

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Every one who is govermentally decleared "essential" when covid hit.

Extra eddit: this counts double for People who are on or near the minimum wage when covid hit, had to do dangerous work and got a pat on the back, a pin, or a "thank you email" while company's profits soared.
And People in healthcare and emergency services!

Bregolas42 , Matt Hecht Report

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Ray McArdle
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Who knew? We used to think a "hero" was a soldier wearing military fatigues, striding through an airport. Then, a worldwide crisis hit...

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#7

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver I made 9.50 an hour as an EMT.

Never ask “why is there an EMS shortage” around me I will go OFF

Lost-Speech6674 , https://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_hecht/ Report

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#8

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Vet techs. $15-22 an hour for doing everything a nurse does, just on furry patients.

chicagowago , Austin Community College Report

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Lisa H
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not to mention a lot of places require an associates degree, which takes two years to get, at least where I live.

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#9

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Childcare at any level -- especially preschool and early childhood educators. Being able to adequately manage and empower children is an artform.

Super-414 , Andrew Seaman Report

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Jen T
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I 100% agree with this, but as a single mom who seriously struggled when my kids were in daycare, I wonder how this could be fixed without plunging more people into poverty? Maybe roll them in with the school system so they get government funding? Regardless, it should absolutely be fixed. Those of you who watch other people’s kids are saints.

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#10

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Librarians.

A Librarian requires a masters degree so that they can start at a salary that barely competes with Target these days. I see social worker on this list, and want to point out that libraries are often the place the city/town sends people when they do not have the funding or facilities to deal with them otherwise. It's also the place that many people come who are in need of social workers and social services, and librarians are the ones that connect them. Government wants people to fill out taxes online? Great - where do you think the less fortunate are accessing computers? Who do you think is helping them figure out how to fill out these forms? Is your country still fighting a war on drugs, instead of providing safe access and care for the addicted? Guess where they are shooting up. Is some billionaire funding 'grass roots' campaigns to get on boards and generally complain about any information that jostles their world view? Guess who is operating on the front lines of that culture war? The list goes on, but there are a good number of librarians on reddit, and I'm probably already triggering them, if they haven't hit their breaking point already and started filling out that Target app.

albanymetz , Danielle Duke Report

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flutterbyy
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd love to live in a world where librarians hold more positions of power.

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#11

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Teaching.

Going into a violent inner-city place, trying to get people to even care about the subject never mind doing the work with half your caseload people whose parents have ankle bracelets and the other half are Karens upset you don't automatically give out A+ because they want little Tanner to go to Harvard and you're standing in the way.

Having to buy your own supplies because schools are criminally underfunded, and expected to have an expensive master's degree. AND be underpaid and expected to work free overtime to do things like clubs and sports.

And then oni top of that, some near-illiterate Yalie fake Texan thinking your job needs to be scored like salespeople hitting quotas, as if teaching people is on par with manufacturing or some other endeavor that can be judged entirely on its own merit.

And you realize the only people who make it are people who teach TO THE TEST. e.g "the answer to the upcoming test is A for question 1. Remember that. 1 - A. And then question 2, that will be B. 1 - A, 2 - B. Remember that. And then going in after hours under the cover of darkness to use an eraser and a pencil to change the scores so you can actually get enough of a merit bonus to afford food.

JackPhantomOfficial , watchsmart Report

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WordWeaver
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No amount of money could lure me back into a classroom. Actually teaching and the kids themselves were the only lights in the darkness. Totally toxic apart from that.

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#12

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Public Defenders. I have a private law practice. The public defenders make a fraction of what guys like me make, know criminal law inside and out, and carry obscene caseloads. The system would break down immediately if they went on strike. Which honestly they should.

The_Wyzard , Cal Injury Lawyer Report

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#13

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Firefighters in some places, you'd be very surprised

laconic_turtle , morgenstille Report

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Kat Walls
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yup. My husband is fire/EMS and makes a whopping $14 per hour and that's after 5 years of service and a promotion

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#14

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver People in wildlife/conservation

jcarbolynn , U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region Report

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Berdarien Brown
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I looked into this about 15 years ago. They were at the time paid around 16k per year starting out. When every person you've got to deal with has a weapon.

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#15

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Hotel housekeepers

Proper_Protickall , PortoBay Hotels & Resorts Report

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Shane S
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The level of gross they have to deal with is amazing. Humans can be disgusting creatures.

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#16

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Nurses and the whole care sector in the UK.

These are the people who look after you when you need it most. They clean up your poop, clean your open wounds, are someone you can talk too and for some people, the only human contact people have all day.

MiddleAgeCool , idalingiFollow Report

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$cagsy
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Totally agree. Understaffed, underpaid and underfunded. Clapping once a month isn't anywhere near enough.

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#17

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver I'm sure most wouldnt agree but grocery store employees. It's their job to make sure you can get a multitude of foods and drinks and supplies for living, all with a smile on your face because evil corporate demands it, while also being expected to know where everything is at all times no matter what you actually work there, all the sales and how to use them, while sick people who gives ZERO f**ks about anyone in the world continue to go outside and get these minimum wage people sick. While also being berated by some of the rudest people who take their anger out on these people

Aetheldrake , Governor Tom Wolf Report

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#18

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Grave shift fast food and food service in general. Anything grave shift. Almost no one does that shift because they have better options and it is always an adult doing it, not some kid working for fun money due to labor laws.

Any care that requires wiping human butts.

katansi , petzoj Report

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BadCat
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When you're working in fast food you also have to clean the s**t and p**s off toilets, too.

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#19

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Teacher's aid. I get headbutt, kicked, scratched, bitten, spit, kick, thrown up on, and peed on for less than 700 every 15 days. The parents are worse.

Box_Of_Props_Mario , Adrien Nguyen Report

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chrysalis_1 avatar
WordWeaver
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Agreed - no one deserves to be treated like that. Teachers and aides are not miracle workers.

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#20

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Paramedic.

haditwithyoupeople , Chris Gladis Report

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#21

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Cooks and chefs

TKzLegion , Robert Kroos Report

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Queenie-Poo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For real. My husband is a professional cook. His salary is ridiculous considering the ridiculous number of hours he puts in.

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#22

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Resident physicians. Some make less than minimum wage for 80 hour work weeks despite saving countless lives.

rono258 , Masa Israel Journey Report

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Jiminy
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They make between 4,5 and 6k per month before taxes in Germany. Minimum wage is 1,5k... Nurses and other health personnel on the other hand...

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#23

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Scientists, imagine studying 10 plus years, holding the highest academic title possible and earning less than most common 9 to 5s that require little to no education. But hey, its honorable right.

One-Light , Korye Logan Report

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K W
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And this is why I told my 8 yr old son he should look at computer science if he wants to be a "scientist". Gonna support him no matter what he chooses but in the US it's not worth the education cost for low pay. Especially going into higher ed with the pressure and politics, and the expectations to be completely broke and struggling while earning a PhD.

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#24

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Lab techs, we do so much work for doctors to get to the results and never get any recognition for it. Drawing blood, performing quality controls, run stats and bring blood when there is a big trauma.

CheAbi , Army Medicine Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Phlebotomists are the ones that draw the blood and take other samples, lab techs analyse the samples and run diagnostics. They both need each other and are both vital services. Pathology is actually one of the most important diagnostic tool in medicine.

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#25

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Cps or prison work. I worked at a group home with jdc kids at a direct care facility. We made $10/h. I make more at walmart now and I get hit with way less chairs now.

Alexastria , Global Panorama Report

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Glitterati
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you for acknowledging police. Non US cop family here and actually the pay is ok, partly because the training is excellent. It’s a formal qualification with 8 months full time study at the academy, including extensive community engagement and human rights training. It’s unionised and regulated. That said, the things they have to do and see are beyond our worst nightmares. No money can make up for that. Edited to add a person on meth tried to murder my cop husband. Attempted to strangle him. If it weren’t for his partner who was able to get the guy off he’d be dead. Guy had two hunting knives in his waistband he wasn’t able to reach. He was badly injured but alive through sheer good luck. I earn the same as my husband and nobody tries to murder me at work.

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#26

Administrative assistants. They literally do everything and anything to keep a place running. They know everything from the top down but get paid a fraction of what everyone else does as the profession is still seen as lower education and a less important role in the company. We have to know our bosses' jobs as well as our own and need to cross-train across the company. OH! We know all the secrets as we all talk to each other.

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Question everything
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I totally agree with this one. Some administrators run a company virtually on their own, the only thing they can't do is make executive decisions but are responsible for everything else, while getting paid peanuts.

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#27

I think any job that pays below or at the poverty line for that region is criminal underpaid. When corporations have employees relying on government assistance and other poverty aide organizations that is an indirect form of corporate welfare. The excuse supposed "low skill" entry level job or just any job that's paid like a entry level job) are "just for students living at home" is so narrow-minded and dim-sighted, and manipulative to deflect societies attention to the actual problem for people argue about.
Every job that is paying below the liveability line is underpaid.

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WordWeaver
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Absolutely! US and anywhere like that - it's just greed at the top. Australia has just elected its first Labor government in decades (equivalent to Democrats but more union oriented). The previous regime deliberately destroyed the apprenticeship system and did its best to undermine unions. Results? Now we have a trade skills shortage, no good pathway to carbon neutrality, undermined alternative power industry, poor infrastructure and huge national debt. Oh, and poor international relationships.

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#28

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Pilots. Yes, older pilots do well but new pilots have to take on so much debt, only to make maybe $600/week. What many people don’t realize is they get paid for flight time, not actual time. And they are limited to something like 100-120hrs a month of flying, if they are given it. That, and regional pilots are often away from home for days on end due to their routes. There is a lot of “paying your dues” for decades in that profession

justhp , ryan.dowd Report

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Tristan Van Nocker
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

$200k tuition for a 4 year degree. My first job paid roughly $30k a year and was based on how many hours you could get since I was paid by flight hour. Took 10 years of living as cheaply on my own as I could to pay off that debt. Thankfully I did get pay raises as my experience increased.

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#29

School Counsellors.

All day they listen to people's problems without judgement, and where I live they only get paid minimum wage.

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#30

Person Asks: "Which Profession Is Criminally Underpaid?" And 30 People Online Deliver Architects (and I don’t mean the Hollywood big name single owners of the big firms architects, I mean the 98% of the other architects who work under them or in smaller firms)

Magneto-X , Andrew Gustar Report

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$cagsy
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hmmm, is there any chance that you might start designing buildings made of brick or stone again please? I'm really tired of all this glass and steel that has a 15-year lifespan. It's a fool's economy.

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