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“It’s Literally A Dream Job That Almost Nobody Knows About”: 40 Underrated Jobs With Decent Pay
There are professions that carry a certain degree of prestige. Doctors, lawyers, and entrepreneurs are some examples that would evoke nods of approval at their mere mention.
On the other hand, some careers are often overlooked because they lack the same glamour. However, what most people don’t realize is that these occupations are actually excellent ways to make a living, whether it’s because of the salary or the work environment.
This list features some of those examples, as shared by people on Reddit. If you happen to be looking for a career change, here are some jobs to consider.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Plumbers make good money and they're usually pretty happy with their jobs, as long as they can stay away from s**t pipes.FreshHotPoop:As a plumber, I make more money than a lot of my friends who went to college. It’s also extremely fulfilling to help people with their problems, which are often emergencies. It’s a good feeling.
Rose the Cook 4 months ago
Chinese parents look down on trades for their children. Everyone wants their kid to become CEO of a huge company but who do they call when there is a problem? A lowly tradesperson.
RELATED:
#2
Garbage collectors. Not glamorous, but stable income, benefits, and mostly outdoors!YounomsayinMawfk:This job is coveted as f**k in NYC, there's a wait list to get hired. I know someone from high school who left a high paying Wall Street job to work in sanitation.whaletacochamp:Specifically drivers. Usually union positions. Hours are early but not long. Pay is great.
#3
Forester.
I spend a ton of time walking out in nature, helping people, get to continuously learn new things, and do work that is personally fulfilling. It’s also rated as the happiest career out of all industries in the US.
Yet somehow less and less people are going into it, and most people I meet think it’s the same thing as a park ranger, which it is not.
keyboardtek 4 months ago
Hasn't DOGE killed any federal spending for forest management as the Republicans have zero concern for the environment?
#4
Dental hygienist. 2 year program and salary of about $70,000.nobleheartedkate:I don’t envy those people at all. They not only are exposed to disgusting biohazards all day, they also suffer from back, neck and wrist problems from repetitive motions.
Olive Moon 4 months ago
The most amazing Dental Hygienist, that I saw for years, had to change her job because of back problems.
#5
I know a couple of guys who fix power lines. When a storm comes though, the overtime pays for another vacation.tdvx:Yeah, $60/hr base pay with double time once you pass 40hrs, triple once you’re working sat/sunday on the end of an 80+ hour week, then it’s 4x when there’s hazard pay from storms.
That’s $11,760 gross in a week if you’re doing a week of 12hr shifts repairing lines after a winter storm.
The catch is you basically sell your soul to the union while you take every shift you’re told to, to finish your apprenticeship the first 4 years. Most guys are on the road 360+ days their first 4 years. Hard to do if you’ve got a family to look after.
After that though you can pick and choose your jobs if you don’t want to go all over the country and you can take months off, some guys only work a few months a year.
Papa 4 months ago
The last two paragraphs are not universal. There are two local power companies in the area where I live. Their employees work locally, and are home every night. If there are major storms (like a hurricane) they might travel to another location for a few days, but that's unusual. I don't think they get paid that well either though.
#6
I’ve been driving milk truck for two years after working oilfield for 20 and I wish I found this 12 years ago. 80% the money, work 4 on 4 off, home every night and getting paid well for taking short drives in the country to pretty farms. Enough physical movement to keep my body up and great comadarie between drivers.
#7
USPS and UPS drivers.YounomsayinMawfk:You gotta be careful though to not wreck your body. I know a former UPS driver who's on disability now bc the job destroyed his hips and back. Luckily, they provided great health insurance.whaletacochamp:My high school girlfriend’s dad was a UPS driver and they had a nice house and a lot of nice things. I believe he told me he brought in 6 figures and this was in the 00s. But he was like never home between thanksgiving and Christmas
JayWantsACat 4 months ago
My cousin was a UPS driver and his single income put his wife through school. She left him after she graduated but that's neither here nor there. I won't get into the specifics but I have the same benefits as UPS drivers through my current employer (I do not work for UPS) and the benefits are some of the best in the US. I'm not saying just good for the US, but good, in general. And the union is one of the biggest and strongest and only growing. Sure, depending on the route, you can wreck your body. But as you move up in seniority you can bid for easier routes as they open up. The pay is very good, you get a pension, and you have the option to pay for the same health insurance after retiring for relatively low cost. There's a reason why UPS drivers seems to be happier and more caring for your packages than those who work for other companies, life Fedex.
#8
Cemetery plot sales rep. Totally under-hyped, yet the pay’s to die for, and the work environment is so quiet you’ll never hear a complaint. You spend your days selling eternal real estate to folks who can’t argue back….
#9
I didn’t realize it when I started and your mileage may vary, but MRI technologist.
You’re not a doctor, but you’ll clear 6 figures in a major metro. It is one of the fastest growing parts of healthcare and keeps the administrators happy because it’s a money printing department.
Four of my colleagues are late 60’s early 70’s are still choose to work PRN. I think that alone speaks for the working conditions. I work 3 days a week and go home leaving my work, at work.
The schooling is hard enough to keep you marketable, and the job is hands on enough to keep AI from replacing you.
Scotira 4 months ago
Sorry to rain on your parade, yet this is sadly not true. We do get a good salary however our job is on a fast track to become redundant. Why? Bc we are expensive. There are already hospitals where the MRI tech controlls up to 6 machines simultaniously without ever laying hands on the patient. That work is being done by someone who costs half of what we do. The tech sits in a hub with screens and and plans sequences and supervises the images. There will come the time this can be done automatically. I don't know about the situation in the US in Switzerland we try everything not to let our job go extinct. To hide from the truth is not going to make the problem go away. One way or another this job will change and in a not so distant future. 🤷♀️😢
#10
Lawn mowing. I make ridiculous money running a landscaping and lawn care business (5%/95%). It’s hard to overestimate how much people will pay to avoid physical labor.Good-mood-curiosity:not avoid physical labor--save time. Lawn maintenance can take a full day between the work and the recovery after and a weekend is only 2 days, if that. Time is the most precious thing we have and people pay a lot to own their time
#11
Trade jobs. Everyone's chasing degrees but plumbers and electricians are quietly raking it in!
icarusislit:
Any trade jobs right now little to no school debt and making great money in example $100k in Missouri St. Louis area not fantastic but will definitely get you started.
marianne eliza 4 months ago
I think that accredited trade schools should be part of the university or city college systems.
#12
Repairing slot machines. I'm currently at $32/h and the benefits package and vacation time is incredible. Some days are busy, but last year I managed to read a few books on shift.
Our on call was taken away over covid. Used to be on call until 1am for lotto stuff and progressive slot wins.
It's definitely interesting. Lots of travel involved. My region looks after 3 casinos and a LOT of VLT and lottery sales sites across central Alberta. I started out as an electrician, got tired of construction and transitioned over to this.
Petra Peitsch 4 months ago
It depends, where are you living.. In Vegas, Sure! In some town in Iowa .. not so.
#13
If you want a high paying job, like the mathy side of finance, want to work on interesting problems, but don't want to work 90 hours a week as a glorified PowerPoint jockey, I suggest looking into becoming an actuary.turnthetides:From what I understand it involves hundreds to potentially thousands of hours of intense studying just to become — an Excel Jockey.labounce1:Can confirm. My brother is an actuary. I refer to him as his Excelency
Sharleen Taylor 4 months ago
Finance Accountant here, almost ready to retire in a few years. If I had to do it all over, I would have gone into forensic accounting.
#14
My stepbrother is a self-employed delivery driver, he absolutely loves it. I'm not sure how he does it, but he has an amazon app that picks his own hours and picks from predetermined routes for pre-set payments. Never seen him stressed or skint honestly.
#15
Fire inspector in big cities.
Gavin Johnson 4 months ago
Yep, that’s a small fire. Yep, that’s a big fire. Nope that pile of ashes is no longer a fire. Yep, that’s a car on fire. Nope that’s a cigarette, it started with a fire though. How hard can identifying fires be?
#16
I work as a route driver for a vending machine company. I drive a truck around and fill vending machines at different businesses. This year I’ll make double the median income for my state. $30-$35 an hour about 7-8 hours a day. If I get done early, I go home early. I’m commission so it doesn’t affect my pay. Flexible schedule, low stress, good bosses. I have no complaints about my job! Definitely something to look into.
#17
Auto body, good pay, good hours but you have to work, sweat and get dirty.
anon:
Working in a genuine car garage. One that pays well and treats everyone right. That's definitely under hyped.
#18
My job, "management consultant"
I earn six figures and my only real task is to listen to my boss whine. That's it.NeverFence:I did a stint as a consultant in my industry, and in almost all the cases I advised my clients to fire me because in my capacity as a consultant it was my opinion that I was a waste of their money, usually because they wouldn't implement any of the advice I gave them. And, like you say, would basically just whine to me about things. Typically, at first, they would be interested and open to the ideas, but when it came time to actually implement them they would often just be like 'well, you know what, we've always done it this other way so we're gonna keep doing that' .... but they hired me because their status quo was verifiably .... not working...
Michael Largey 4 months ago
When management says "We brought in consultants, and they all said (blah, blah, blah), there is no reason to suppose those consultants said anything of the kind.
#19
Environmental Health
A registered environmental health specialist (REHS)--in some states known as a registered sanitarian/RS (antiquated terms)--has a wide career path. It's a sister branch of public health, but instead of dealing with individual cases of illnesses/conditions we deal with the environmental influences of them.
There are 26 disciplines that fall under "environmental health". The most widely known is retail food inspection, what most people would call a health inspector. Fun fact: in most US states there is no official title of "health inspector"; we are almost all REHSs. Restaurant inspections are one of the many things we do.
Also under environmental health:
pool/spa regulation
solidwaste/landfill regulation
medical waste reg
tattoo reg
onsite wastewater (septic) design and regulation
vector control
hospitality and childcare reg
In addition we see things like radiation/noise/light pollution, air quality, and water quality. We have a hand in wastewater treatment.
Get tired of one thing? Move to a different discipline. If you are in a smaller town you'll likely handle multiple or all disciplines. We are also in high demand due to a quickly aging and retiring workforce. Not as many people go in environmental health these days and a large portion of those still here are at or near retirement years.
Most EH jobs are in government but there are private sector jobs out there, too. I know someone that went to work for Apple overseeing their corporate food program. Some work for ThermoFisher. There are private inspectors for large food chains. You do not need an environmental health degree--I have a bachelor's in biology--but do need some background in science.
#20
Welder, not many people want to earn their living under a welding hood. It's been a great and rewarding career for me culminating in an excellent career I now have in the maintenance department of a large domestic automotive manufacturer.
Petra Peitsch 4 months ago
Yeah, if you have any affiniity to work in construction, became a welder. The best job, without having to go to university, and making debts in form of student loans. Not so rare, you"ll earn more, than the architect of a project you are working on.
#21
I never see anyone talk about Sales Engineers. I’ve been one for about 12 years now, and have been 100% fully work from home since 2016. Any software company that sells software usually has them, and not just the big ones either. My specialty has been in the early stage (pre series c) startups. Because the companies are so small, there’s usually very little hierarchy in management. I usually have one boss (head of GTM or head of sales) and then just the CEO.
If you’re good, there’s almost no micromanagement, the hours are amazing because generally if you’re not on a customer call you make your own hours. So I can spend mornings with my son, walk my dog whenever, go to the gym whenever, as long as it’s not during a meeting.
You’re a technical resource but not a coder, and obviously the best SEs have excellent presentation and sales skills.
I make $190k base and $270k total OTE (base + commission). If you exceed quota you hit accelerators. I’ve seen some SEs make $300k from a single commission check.
It’s literally a dream job that almost nobody knows about….
Tommy DePaul 4 months ago
Along the same lines - pharmaceutical rep. $400k/year. Bankers hours. You "sell" to docs. Con: you have to look like 70s flight attendants.
#22
Paralegals. Get enough experience under your belt and you're making six figures and it's a nice quiet environment where you can pretty much work on your own but collaborate with others when needed. Listen to music while working when possible. Good benefits at better firms. And in a large enough market you can job hop every 3 years and how's that level of experience that's needed.
Oskar vanZandt 4 months ago
AI is going to be implemented across this industry in the very near future... No more need for paralegals.
#25
From what I understand, most government jobs, even the janitors. Steady pay and a state pension. How can you beat that.
keyboardtek 4 months ago
Well the Republicans are slashing many government jobs, so that statement is out of date.
#26
Government bean counter.
Bruh be the system or be worked by the system.MrBleak:Second this. I work in an air conditioned office, get great benefits, never have overtime, and make good money.
michael Chock 4 months ago
Even easier now. Just say "yes" to president orange and you may be the next attorney general.
#27
Bricklayers. Refuse people.
Oskar vanZandt 4 months ago
I'm thinking this is a job you do with an eye of retiring at 50... Very tough on your body, especially joints.
#28
Aircraft Dispatchers. Specifically for major US airlines. Good pay, mostly low stress except on bad weather/ATC days, and lots of time off + airline benefits. It’s one of most unknown careers in aviation. They essentially are repairable for planning and managing/monitoring flights for their respective airline.
#29
I like being a teacher. Good hours, middle class pay, union and benefits, and honestly my work environment is pretty nice most of the time.
Maybe I've just never had a good job before so I don't know, but I don't mind it.
keyboardtek 4 months ago
From the articles I have read these last few years, most teacher's salaries are barely a livable wage.
#30
Air traffic controller.. very cool work environment.. especially enroute controllers. The pay is very good on the high end of the federal scale, and great job security and benefits.. you can also put in for transfers anywhere there's a controlled airfield.
Atc requires fluent English to be used between pilots and atc system wide. The reputation for atc to be high stress is not necessarily true. The workers are very professional and highly skilled which makes for a much more relaxed, quiet and respectful "mission oriented" work environment which for some potential air traffic controllers is a good fit you don't really find in any other profession. Hs degree to get started.. need to become familiar with airway operations, airport design and management, piloting various aircraft (don't need to fly them just the basics of aircraft ops, navigation, emergency procedures, and other interesting stuff).
Another big test item: weather, which is probably the most heavily emphasized test subject in all of airway science and atc. Truly a career path worth looking into if airplanes and flying are your thing, or you just want a great career with a lot of upside potential and plenty of time off to recharge and find a hobby.. like flying gliders or the new personal aircraft hitting the market next year (supposedly, but looks good for 2026!).. that's all I got.. good luck.
Petra Peitsch 4 months ago
Never ever would I manage the pressure of having hundreds lives on my hands. A few seconds of "brain-fart", would end the lives of more hundred people. I highly appreciate their work.
#31
NDT technicians. You inspect things in oil and gas, power plants, pipelines etc, ultrasonics, radiography, eddy current, mag particle etc. Part time in the field, part time in the office, full time work or shutdown work. You can work union and get all the juicy benefits plus guaranteed wages. It can be dirty but the work is more brain than brawn, and even a seasonal shutdown worker can make $100k just working a few months a year. I work full time and make just shy of $300k most years, a bad year like last year was $215k.
#32
Accountant.-myeyeshaveseenyou-:Came to say this, I’m not one, I should have been as everything I was good at in school pointed that as being a good choice for me. But I thought it sounded dull and boring so I studied civil engineering instead. I was quickly overwhelmed and dropped out. I like making spreadsheets for fun, basic accounting I’ve done for some jobs I’ve worked in has been the most enjoyable part of my job. I kick myself a lot for not picking accounting as my career as honestly I think it would be perfect.
Also my cousin is an accountant for s large global firm, gets flown all over the world for work. I know this isn’t typical of an accounting job but man I wish I could go back and tell 18 year old me that it’s not a boring option, life is only boring if you let it be.
keyboardtek 4 months ago
My daughter is not quite a CPA, but she has had a few jobs managing the customer and expense accounts for a variety of businesses. She generally works from home. Very low stress work. Perfect for people with social shyness.
#33
Installing high rise sprinkler systems.
Bi.Felicia 4 months ago
What are high rise sprinkler systems,. exactly? Maybe it's something similar to an in-ground irrigation system, that happens to be on the roof of a high rise building??
#34
Recruiting. I had no experience and was lucky enough to get into a great agency and successful local office. After two years I was making $150+ and then I moved to large tech company and with my RSUs I make over 200k. I have long hours for half the year and the other half is easy. I use a lot of skills and have a lot of influence. The job is more than people think it is if you work hard and have business acumen.
#36
Enterprise sales. No real formal quals and mostly on the job training. Make over $500k a year.
#37
People s**t on insurance but if you get in the commercial side of the business it’s pretty interesting trying to find solutions for client problems, rarely work over 35hrs a week and make 6 figures.
keyboardtek 4 months ago
Six figure income selling insurance? I always did think they were trying to oversell me insurance. Now I know why.
#38
Compliance specialists at banks or at fintech companies. You can work your way up without a college degree starting as a bank teller or customer service agent, it only takes a few years to get to six figures, and chief compliance officers can make several million dollars a year.
Ffion Jones 4 months ago
This is not true in the UK. To earn 6 figures you need to be practically at the top of the tree
#39
B2B sales jobs in boring industries.
person (i think) 4 months ago
I had a friend who basically brokered and sold train axels around the world!
#40
Programmable logic control technician. There aren't any degrees just certifications. They get paid tons because there are very few of these technicians.
Downside stay out of refineries, they will a**se and grind hours out of workers. Plc techs get good hours working in automated agriculture and similar positions. Job hopping for higher pay is great right now. Those positions are strictly 8 hours.
#42
B2B, SDR, or warm lead B2C sales.
Look, I know you don't like it, but if it's with a stable base salary, interesting product and fun, and competitive sales pipeline, then its f*****g awesome. I keep finding interesting jobs all over the place, which gives this.
#44
Corporate Executive Assistant. Experienced assistants make 125k or more and often move jobs with their boss. but you can be on call long hours. Many of them now work remotely.
#45
I feel like being the backup kicker on a football team or something like that seems pretty decent if you save your money. You get like the ULTIMATE fan experience, you're super close to the game and the players but you just might never do anything important (except for that ONE play), your body seems less likely to get wrecked etc.
#46
Auto sales .. been in for 12 years worked all positions from floor to finance to dept head .. can’t beat it. I have no degree of any kind and make more income than all my siblings who have engineering degrees and student debt lol
Child of the Stars 4 months ago
I briefly worked in sales and hated every second of it. I don't care about the pay, I am NOT a good sales person!
#47
CAD Drafter. And get a job with 9 month certificate or just knowing how to use cad. Pay is good get to work inside and can make excellent money in 10, 12 years if you bust your butt.
Auntriarch 4 months ago
Mr Auntriarch is a freelance CAD draughtsman. The downside is there's either too much work or not enough. The upside is it's just the job for someone who doesn't like people very much.
What do you think ?
Arthur Waite 4 months ago
This article needs a dictionary to explain wtf all the ABC terms mean, maybe even what country as well.
Oskar vanZandt 4 months ago
Any jobs that do not involve "hands on" work(like the trades) are all at risk of being made redundant by the rise of AI...
SchadenFreudian Psychology 4 months ago
I already have an unglamorous job with decent pay. 🤷🏻♀️
Arthur Waite 4 months ago
This article needs a dictionary to explain wtf all the ABC terms mean, maybe even what country as well.
Oskar vanZandt 4 months ago
Any jobs that do not involve "hands on" work(like the trades) are all at risk of being made redundant by the rise of AI...
SchadenFreudian Psychology 4 months ago
I already have an unglamorous job with decent pay. 🤷🏻♀️
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