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60 Disgusting Or Dangerous Jobs People Can’t Walk Away From Because Of How Well They Pay
It takes a certain kind of person to take on a job no one else wants. Whether because it's dangerous, extremely stressful, or just plain gross, it seems it's better to remain unemployed than to risk it. In the U.S., a worker passes away every 104 minutes. It might seem surprising that someone would want a job with that kind of risk, yet someone has to do it.
So, if nobody wants to do a job, it should pay ridiculously well, shouldn't it? In many cases, that's true, and thanks to one person online, we can find out what exactly these jobs are. In a recent thread, one netizen asked, "What job pays ridiculously well simply because nobody wants to do it?"
Among the obvious contenders, like high-rise window cleaners and tower crane operators, you'll also find some jobs you might've never even heard about. For example, was I the only one who didn't know that underwater welders exist?
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#1
I used to shovel snow off rooftops in Sweden. It was extra work while I was in college but it paid insanely well for being something that required zero training. And there would be three of us. One street level to make sure people didn’t walk where we were dropping the snow, one on the roof shoveling, and one guy watching the guy shoveling making sure he didn’t fall off. So two thirds of the time you were standing around. Whenever the call came I would drop everything.
BarkingSquirell 1 minute ago
I saw three men doing that on a townhouse complex near me. No safety equipment whatsoever.
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#2
Underwater welder. One of the most dangerous jobs in the world. The risks of decompression sickness mixed with electric shock occurs which is why their safety protocols are very regimented and strict, and most only last 3 to 5 years because of the physical toll the job takes on their body. It's also one of the highest paying jobs in the world. If you aren't afraid of the deep or electricity and you want to make good money in a short period of time, this job may be for you. If not, probably a lot of other better ways you can make good money.
StrangeOne 14 hours ago
Welding, I hear, is hard enough of a skill to learn. Never mind doing it in a denser environment with ocean currents and around unpredictable sea life.
#3
Kitchen exhaust cleaner. Have cleaned full on globs of grease and vacuumed very disgusting looking water. Great pay gross work.
#4
Plumber. My dad’s a plumber and makes bank. Owns 2 homes, both huge and in beautiful locations. He said two things to me-no one wants to do this but once you see the money and realize you’ll always have a job cuz everyone needs a plumber..all the gross stuff just fades away.
#5
I was a crisis psychiatric nurse working with the most ill patients. It was extremely rewarding, but it was also very dangerous in my facilities. We were quite well-compensated for our area, and I would often receive nice bonuses for going in for a few extra hours
Daisydaisy 7 hours ago
Horrible things can happen to workers in this field. My sister worked in a forensic psych facility where, among other things, one of the nurses had her eyes literally ripped from her face. Huge compensation payout but that would hardly make it okay
#6
Dont know if its the case anymore but I had a neighbor back in the day that was a Bridge painter in NYC. Made giant money.
Apparently you have to be cool with crazy heights and not everyone is cut out for it.
Upstaged75 15 hours ago
Any job that requires you to be at extreme heights probably pays well. Because the majority of people don't want to do it, so the pool of workers is smaller.
#7
Air Traffic Controllers in the USA make a ton of money. They'll also take basically anyone, without any previous qualifications. They will FULLY train you, for free.
Why?
Because its one of the most stressful jobs on the planet. Hundreds of flights a day, tens of thousands of vital communications. Millions of lives that can be impacted by your mistakes. You barely get any breaks, have *truly zero* free time on the job. Not enough to do anything more than check the time on your phone.
You're a federal employee, meaning you're subject to bizarre restrictions and policies, like the fact you cannot legally go on strike.
The job is so pressuring you are required **by law** to retire at 56 due to the strain it puts on your body and mind.
Upstaged75 15 hours ago
Definitely not a job I would ever want to have. Having the lives of that many people in my hands would be a terrible idea. 😖
#8
High-rise window cleaner. The pay is good because apparently “having a completely irrational fear of falling” counts as a job qualification 💀.
Daisydaisy 7 hours ago
Or do you mean "LACKING a fear of falling" is the required job qualification?
#9
Tower crane operators in NYC make upwards of $450,000. You climb up in the morning and don’t come down until it’s time to go home. It's scary as heck all the way up there
#10
Saturation diving. Spend weeks at the bottom of the ocean and then swim out into the pitch black water to go fix or build something.
Upstaged75 15 hours ago
This is basically the same as the other one about underwater welding. Divers live in hyperbaric chambers aboard a ship or underwater habitat pressurized (NOT at the bottom of the ocean) to match the target depth they'll be working at. Once they're saturated they don't have to go up and decompress after each dive, which takes a long time. They can stay that way for about a month while working underwater every day. You couldn't pay me enough to even think about it! 😖
#11
The people who repair wind turbines make a lot because of the danger .
Upstaged75 15 hours ago
There's that well known picture of 2 technicians embracing on top of one of these while it's on fire. The fire prevented them from being able to access the stairs so they both perished up there. Sadly they knew they were going to d.ie and there was nothing anyone could do to help them. It happened in The Netherlands. 😢
#13
Sailing, whether it be fishing or cargo vessels, you make a bunch of money because no one wants to be out to sea for 3-6 months at a time
Alex Meurissen 10 hours ago
I have a few friends who do this, and the pay is just normal. nothing crazy. But, they do save a lot of money, being on board where you can spend no money :)
#14
Lineman are paid pretty well especially emergency response crews. It’s hard work, heights, being carried through the air via rope and harness out of a helicopter to energize and update transmission lines, barehand and live line work… lots of stuff is dangerous.
#16
Roofing. My wife is a RN and I make more than double her full time pay 🤯.
#17
Oil field work is in the middle of nowhere, and it's very physically taxing. It pays really well, but your lifestyle suffers
Owen 4 hours ago
As a life long sailor, and having worked in marinas and boatyards, I am trying to make the jump to this kind of work. But it does require a certain kind of lifestyle, and a certain kind of person. I'm 38 and untethered now that I'm single, and have no kids. I could work a few years on an oil rig.
#18
Touring with major bands as part of the road staff / crew.
You often work 16+ hour days, and leave your home for months at a time, but stay in the business for more than a few years and you can clear six figures while only working 7-8 months a year.
Lyone Fein 16 hours ago
Very physically demanding, and you often have to deal with people who are intoxicated.
#19
Crime scene cleanup. Knew a few guys (and girls) who did this. Made great money. Definitely not for everyone but make great money.
#21
Distribution Center freezer order filler. -38 degrees moving as fast as possible picking and stacking heavy boxes. 12+ hour shifts. You can make around 40$ an hour if you’re the fastest. Not sustainable tho. You will get hurt and you will be miserable inside and outside of work. Great for a young guy for 2-3 years to stack money up. It is an extremely hard job mentally and physically.
Geoffrey Scott 9 hours ago
I was told by a guy who worked in a cold environment it's quite easy to nod off at the wheel driving home, especially on hot humid days.
#22
Oil platform workers. while the work (in itself) is difficult, the circumstances in which the work is done amplify the difficulty substantially.
Crystalwitch60 9 hours ago
Oh n if you happen to be a woman working in those rigs the men are bullies mostly think nothing of abusing the women etc, very cut throat out there .
#24
Alaskan fishermen. It’s lonely from what I hear
Cool fact about it is that the founder of raising cane’s worked on them so he can start his own company because no investor liked his idea. Which is pretty insane.
Upstaged75 15 hours ago
If you've seen the show Deadliest Catch you know how hard this job is.
#26
Anything involving electricity, it's insanely dangerous and risky, one wrong move and it's lights out.
#27
Foundry work. It's hot, dirty and dangerous.
Rali Meyer 8 hours ago
I was an electrician in a foundry. Got €1 extra per hour for danger pay and dirty environment. Back then €7,50 base, plus €1 (in 1985 it was DEM 17,00, but I converted it for you)
#28
Merchant marines — under the US flag at least. Straight out of the four-year college program, you can make $140,000 a year. Captains make at least an excess of $300,000. If you move up to harbor pilot, then it's between $500,000 and a million
#29
In Australia we have “traffic controllers” earning more than qualified doctors depending on if they work overtime and nights.
These are people who’s sole role is to stand by a road with a sign that says “STOP” or “GO” whilst road construction is going on, and to turn it around occasionally to let cars through. It may be the most mind numbing job in the planet but it’s quite well paid.
Upstaged75 15 hours ago (edited)
We have the same people in the US but they're not that well paid. I always feel bad for them because people are so impatient.
#30
Lighthouse operator.
#31
Software devs on legacy systems. It's not ridiculously well compared to other devs but for how obsolete the tech is, it pays quite well - because nobody wants to learn that old stuff.
#32
Accountants. Trust me, most of them don't like it either.
#33
Court reporting/stenography!
#34
Programming in languages like Ada or COBOL.
#37
Entry level position, 17/18/19 yr old on a drilling rig with a good attitude and good crew to work with iñ Western Canada çan bring home 120k first full year with some luck weather wise. 3-5 years in again with some luck and work 200k as a driller. Maybe make Push if plays the game and some health problems in his company add up.
Child support, gambling, illicit self medication, truck payments, Constant days to nights shift change with 2 or 3 weeks straight of 12 hr days for majority etc... make sure you are not going to be leaving until the wheels fall off.
#39
Quality and regulatory affairs in highly regulated industries (pharma, med device, aerospace).
#40
Sewer system maintenance worker. Not the guy who runs it, but the mechanic who maintains it. That specific guy gets a LOT of cash.
#41
Deepsea underwater repair diver (saturation diving). they rely on a small pipe which is called a diving bell to repair underwater oil rig pipes while it gives them air and the resources needed to surivive down there. Pays extremely well and will easily make the worker a millionaire if they can do it long enough.
Cons? Tons pass away. One of the most dangerous jobs on earth. fatality rate is like 200 workers gone for every 100k workers. pays like 3k a day or more depending. so its like everytime they clock in its about a 1-2 percent chance they d*e that day.
#42
Tech writer. Most boring job on the planet and most people would rather take a bullet than stare at a blank sheet of paper they need to fill.
#43
As a scaffolder in Alberta i do alright for dropping out tenth grade just have to be willing to climb on 2 inch tubes in plus 40 to -40c conditions sometimes both the same day and work 14 or more 10 to 12 hour days in a row away from family at a time while staying in man camps these industrial companies build to house workers
you got the heights, heavy lifting, and being away from family half the year but 100k can be made in that time
and a don't do family or friendships so work 4 months and sit on my backside live cheap enjoy myself i will work the winter when its too cold to enjoy the outdoors anyway relax the summers.
#45
In my area of Northeast Pennsylvania, law enforcement. Many departments pay high 80-90s to start with some in the mid-100s within a few years. On top of a 20-25 year retirement/pension.
#48
Changing the lightbulbs on 1200 foot tall radio towers.
nottheactualphoto 1 hour ago
I've done that, but the tower was only 700 feet. Fred, that's 213 meters.
#52
Elevator Mechanic. Talked to a guy about his job, he said he's making a good living.
#54
Sewer and septic tank workers.
Going into confined spaces full of human waste, toxic gases, and rats… yeah, the pay has to be solid because almost no one willingly signs up for that.
#55
Septic tank maintenance. Those companies almost always also operate mobile bathrooms for concerts and that. Crazy stuff, no one wants to clean waste lol so it pays well.
Geoffrey Scott 9 hours ago
It's not like you have to MOP it out, Trucks with vac systems, etc..
#56
You can make 6 figures as a coal miner.
#58
Those jobs where you have to stay in the open ocean for months cleaning those petroleum pipes or whatever. Don't know the specifics.
#59
Corrections Officer.
Upstaged75 15 hours ago (edited)
Definitely NOT well paid in the US. Unless you're the Warden or something like that. I saw a news piece about how one prison in the South has trouble hiring enough CO's because people can make more money working at Walmart. Both places are about equally as dangerous. 😁
What do you think ?
Lyone Fein 16 hours ago
Almost every single job mentioned on this list is entered *twice*. Let's do a better job editing, OK?
David Paterson 1 hour ago
I am so glad to see this. I've often felt that people who do jobs that nobody wants to do, like sewer cleaner, should be paid more than people who do jobs that everyone wants to do, like president. I'm doubly glad that hot glass workers, ironworkers and foundry workers made the list, because you couldn't get me to work in an industry that close to third degree burns.
AskMeAboutMyPoorJudgment 15 hours ago
#42 "That job where you do something, don't know the specifics" lol BP "writers" DGAF
Lyone Fein 16 hours ago
Almost every single job mentioned on this list is entered *twice*. Let's do a better job editing, OK?
David Paterson 1 hour ago
I am so glad to see this. I've often felt that people who do jobs that nobody wants to do, like sewer cleaner, should be paid more than people who do jobs that everyone wants to do, like president. I'm doubly glad that hot glass workers, ironworkers and foundry workers made the list, because you couldn't get me to work in an industry that close to third degree burns.
AskMeAboutMyPoorJudgment 15 hours ago
#42 "That job where you do something, don't know the specifics" lol BP "writers" DGAF
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