What are some underrated yet well paid jobs that one should consider and why ?
What are some underrated yet well paid jobs that one should consider and why ?
Looking forward to seeing some interesting jobs I haven't really thought about. Bonus points if it's an IT job.
I have been working in power plants for over ten years. Entry level plant operators can make six figures with a high school diploma. At a decent plant, you'll be balls to the wall busy on 5-10% of your shifts, pretty steady with general routine stuff that's mostly just confirming that shit is normal 80% of the time, and the remaining 10% is in outages which can vary between busting your ass and waiting around but it's rough either way because you might be working every day for a few weeks. Every plant I've been to does 12 hour shifts with pretty frequent changes between days and nights, which is by far the worst part. You'll have an easier time getting in and moving up if you are pretty good with STEM stuff, but you're fine if you passed honors physics in high school. V=IR and PV=nRT will get you really far. Spatial reasoning skills are also really helpful.
I'm at a combined cycle natural gas plant where I started as an outside operator almost 3 years ago at $39.80/hour and am now a ZLD water treatment operator in the same plant at $52/hour; control room operators start at about $60/hour here. I had a really shitty 12 hour shift today so I earned every dime of that wage, but sometimes it's only like 4-6 hours of work in a 12 hour shift and a bunch of reading or YouTube in between while monitoring everything. Even the tough shifts are kinda good sometimes because I get to work the puzzle part of my brain.
What starting jobs does your plant offer right now? Are they hiring? I'm not interested but I am wondering if your experience is colored at all by a different job market.
Did you have any experience prior to 3 years ago?
My plant in particular has a roster of only about 30 people, only about 5 of which are what I would call entry level. Right now we're fully staffed, but every couple of years we get a few people who leave. We'll have probably two retirements in the next couple of years, and who knows who will say fuck this place and go elsewhere. But this is all for in-house stuff. I got into the industry as a contractor with a few different companies making less money and running harder for a long while, so that made me a much more attractive candidate. But really I just carry myself well and know how to sell myself and appear respectable even though I feel like a 10 year old trapped in a 35 year old body most of the time. Idk what I'm doing half the time, but neither does anybody else in this stupid world lol.
A super easy way to get your foot in the door for the industry is to look into companies that support outages. It can be irregular work that requires travel, but companies always need bodies just to be a general laborer. You might just be carrying shit for "skilled" workers for a while but you get familiar with processes and can find advancement opportunities from there. I started with radiological decontamination and radiation protection for nuclear plant refuel outages. Most of those guys seem to have like an 8th grade education, so it's pretty easy to stand out in a positive way and receive recognition.
Probably the best thing for my career to really get where I am was when I somehow talked my way into a job with a major company as a water treatment FSR to handle water treatment for a big nuclear plant. I learned a lot through that, and I'm still very much learning every day.
Not gonna lie: When I started reading your comment, I was fairly sure this was gonna be some kind of Simpsons joke.
Being a monarch or some kind of royalty seems to be excellent financially and often overlooked.
Economists don't want me to learn this one crazy trick, but now that I know, I'll get to work becoming a royal. Thanks to this advice, I'll be rich by the end of the week.
Brb building time machine.
All these poor millennials are buying too much avocado toast. Here's how I became a homeowner at 18 by pulling myself up by my bootstraps:
- Get your dad to spend 300k of his 1mil/year income on a house for you
Don't forget a religious figure head. Worked for Mr. Hubbard.
Trades. Become an electrician or a plumber or any number of other skilled contractor position. Financially you'll be set for life.
Helped change a water heater at my parents place. Got quoted 1k in labor. Took us a little less than 2 hrs of actual work to do it. Had to buy new flexible connectors and Teflon tape. Possible fire or water damage is no joke so i understand the hesitation to DIY, but the work is pretty straight forward.
Trades are absolutely a viable option. There will always be a need.
The difference between what you did and what a licensed plumber will do is liability insurance. If you somehow accidentally broke a pipe or something, home owner insurance might decide you're the one to foot the bill for repairs, flood damage included.
It is totally worth it. That being said, I did the same thing a month ago.
Well, idk about set for life. Most trades I know spend all their money on toys, and get too old physically before realizing that maybe they should've been saving for retirement all those years.
I had a travel job broadly under the umbrella of trades, we were pulling like 85k+ between overtime and per diem working 6 days a week. Maybe 2 months into this job we were having some meeting about the upcoming 2 week break for Christmas and one of the younger guys makes some comment about missing out on hours and says 'man we're broke'.
I'm just sitting there like ???? I thought you guys were exaggerating about the $1k+ nights at strip clubs. I had already maxed my ira contributions and run out of things I could think of to waste money on.
An Arborist I knew made bank, but threw it down the sink with every paycheck.
Be sure to learn how to invest kids, compound interests pays well and you don't have to work doing something you hate if your money works for you.
This is not a universal truth. I am a union electrician and I make decent money but I am most certainly not set for life. It takes some significant overtime but it's not uncommon for guys to take home 6 figures.
Union trades. That's where the money is, unfortunately for this conversation few areas have full union coverage.
I've worked in NYC. You can not do much in commercial buildings without union help.
18 hours too slow, I was. Should've read the comment section before throwing my two cents in.
Learn FORTRAN, and you’ll be set for life.
COBOL
That sounded like outdated advice 20 years ago, and it still does, but somehow it still isn't... yet... 😅
And it never will be. The o̸͎̎̔͆͂̆͝l̶̨̠͇͉̺̃̿̈̌͐̇̆ͅͅd̷̛̤͔͍̼̟̭̏͐͌̌̚ c̸̫͙̫̰̜̝̒́̌̃̉̅ǒ̴̢̗̺́d̷̥̣͎́̐̅̒ͅe̶̥̾̽͐͜ endures, evermore.
I'm listening... Where will I use it?
Where will I use it?
In the heart of every financial company that has been around for longer than 30 years, lies old code.
The keys to their kingdoms are made from the old code. The old guard has a foot in the grave, and the finance people will pay through the nose to keep everything exactly how it is.
If you really want IT. Then telecom
Most people in telecom are old and are analog phone people, they don't know ip/sip and don't want to learn.
It's basically a small networking job that you never get calls on nights and weekends about and if you do it's a system you can reboot remotely. If it's not the system it's a switch and its someone else's job.
Telecom isn't sexy but it's still needed, no one's going into it as it's not 'sexy' and to be honest it's easy AF.
Telecom seems fantastic except it's really hard to get into At&T or Verizon at the moment
How would you prepare for telecom? I've got a background in IT and have been trying to switch to Software Engineering by learning React and TypeScript. Would the skills compare at all?
No idea if those skills would be transferable. I was on the small to mid sized biz side. Never worked for a provider or anything. Mainly managing, installing and configuring systems.
Once you understand the basics of telephony it's pretty easy. It's getting more complex now since it's all ip/sip based but because that's a skill that is lacking because everyone who does know that wants to be a network or security guy, not the phone guy/gal.
If you are working it now. Figure out who's doing your phones and express interest in learning. It's how everyone I know got into it.
System admin skills are key. Your script skills are great. Tons of good resources online. Check out teams, Cisco, 5nines, and their competitors
Tech support for factory machines. I used to work in a fairly modern (in terms of products) factory, and the SMT assembly machines were positively archaic. Most were decades old by the time I quit, they all had their own quirks, and very few people who could troubleshoot them. The factory was shut down every weekend, and getting the machines to talk to each other and the server on Monday mornings was a ritual just short of praying to the Omnissiah.
Piggybacking off this, CNC machining has a lot in common if you don’t mind getting your hands just a bit dirty. It’s a lot less manual labor than you’d expect and you typically won’t ever have to deal with a customer.
GCODE is simple to pick up the basics if you have any familiarity with 3D coordinates and many colleges will offer a fast-track course for around $2-3k. Depending on the area, some shops will even cover this cost while you’re starting.
I've done some gcode but moved onto other programming(mostly c# so completely different. One thing I HATED about gcode, I don't know if it was just my machines or gcode in general(most of mine were based on fanuc cnc controllers typically seen as top of the line) , we were not able to name variables.
I create a variable and assign it #315. What does #315 do? What does it mean? Who knows... Better have notes or comments to explain or your fucked. I can't say variable x_offset_tool_15 nope...just #315.
It wasn't when I took it, but condominium superintendent. I fell into it. It's very minor work since all the repairs are done by contractors. I'm just a homesteader essentially, I get up and make sure the property is cared for.
I get paid $50k a year plus benefits, pension, Union, and I get a rent free condo unit, free internet and cable, free phone.
The free apartment saves me roughly $2500 a month on rent, in this ridiculous city I live in, so that alone makes this job extremely worth it
have you had to evict people yet?
Condos are privately owned, so any renters in the building are the individual unit owner's concern. I only deal with the common areas and amenities, if there's a flood in a unit I can shut off the water and call a plumber. If there are any other issues in a unit, I can suggest contractors for the owners to call. My job is mainly to coordinate contractors, keep an eye on things and make sure stuff is getting done.
If I ever have any residents who are causing issues, I just pass it up to the manager and condo board, so I don't have to deal with confrontations or anything like that.
How did you land this job and what country are you in?
I just took a job as a condo cleaning staff to make extra money. The fact that I was younger guy, who speaks perfect English made me kind of an elite hire for the cleaning industry.
So once a building needed a super while one was on vacation, I tried it. After that, I just got a call from the company owner one day saying a condo needed a live in super, so I went in for an interview.
All I had to show was that I have common sense and I'm able to put together an email/incident report.
General handyman is also a good job if you know what your doing. Lots of smaller condo associations would love a someone they can pay $40/hr to fix a mailbox, paint a sign, fix siding, paint a deck, replace shingles, change light bulbs, talk to contractors, etc.
That's amazing.
There are a lot more jobs in the medical profession than doctor or nurse. It's indoors so climate controlled. There's 2 yr programs that start out around 60k a year.
Unit Clerk here is a 4ish month course plus a practicum. GF is union and gets shift premium for working outside business hours.
If you learn graphic design and are good with IT then there's a lot of small companies that need an 'everything guy'.
You see them advertised as graphic design jobs but with executives assistant responsibilities in the descriptions.
UX / UI work lends itself to designers with IT skills in a similar way. I ended up falling into Business Analysis ultimately, but graphic design experience mixed with IT skills have helped immeasurably throughout the twisting path my career took.
Graphic Design skills are low key some of the most valuable in any field.
Electrician, especially if you're ok with relocating. So many places around the world lack electricians when the infra just keeps growing everywhere.
What's it take to learn to be an electrician? Like where do you go to learn?
Your local electrical union will place you in an apprenticeship.
In the IT field particularly, if you like programming, Ada and COBOL are easy to learn, not desirable for young people because they’re not fashionable languages, and pay well because the old people that know them are retiring.
If you learn to code in COBOL, there will always be demand for your coding skills. But you'll want to kill yourself because the only code you'll ever get to work on is half-century-old spaghetti that has absurdly high uptime requirements.
The course I took in college had 2 required classes for COBOL. A large majority of students did not like it, but I understand why it was (and still is) being taught. Huge demand. I enjoyed it at first, but then gradually started to dislike it, especially when getting into more complex problems. I'd have commically large files where 60-70% of the file itself is taken up by data definitions. Not to mention that the logic itself could probably be a fraction of the size in higher level languages... Not forgetting to properly tab your code was also hard to get used to. I'd consistently lose marks on that.
If you can learn to love it, it's probably a fantastic career path...
Those who do enjoy it, I really do envy you. I really did want to like it, but it just didn't work out.
I was thinking the same thing lately... Which organizations do you know of using these?
In the last fifteen years, I’ve worked at banks, insurance companies, and telcos on COBOL, and defence contractors and telcos with Ada.
There is always talk about replacing these huge legacy systems with something in Erlang, or Rust, or even Java (!); but some of these systems are more than fifty years old, with patches on patches, so in my opinion, replacement is going to be cumbersome and impractical.
Dental Hygienist. They make like $40/hour to clean people's teeth. It only requires an associates degree and you can get it from community college (aka cheap).
Dental hygiene is a pretty awful field for most people though - there's a lot of depression and heart problems from having to cause people pain (even if you logically know it's good for them). This is a great option for some people but if you consider yourself empathetic I'd urge some caution.
[off topic]
Try this book. "Discover What You Are Best At." Linda Gail. First half of the book is a series of self administered tests to see what you are good at. Things like math, mechanical problem solving, interpersonal skills etc. Second part is a listing of jobs that use those skills.
I’m curious about tests like this. I took a couple when I was younger and it pointed me a lot of places that had nothing to do with my current job. So I’m not sure how much value I place on them, but if it helps people point themselves in the general direction they want to go I guess that’s good.
I was easily able to push the test I did in high school to exactly what I thought I wanted to do with my life. It said cook/chef which for me made sense at the time I was spending 3-4 hours a day in the school kitchen making the meals for the students and teachers.
It definitely taught me I didn't want to spend my life in a kitchen. Too many drunks and chain smoking assholes in kitchens.
HVAC. Takes just as much to learn as other trades but you make way more money.
If you have both the skillset and the mind for it, red team cybersecurity is super interesting, but it's hard to get into and even harder to do well
I was super interested in getting a job in cybersec, especially red team. But unfortunately no one wanted a fresher like me when I graduated.
Then things led to one another and I found myself working as a web developer. I'd still jump to a good cybersec job if I ever land one.
Database Administrator (DBA) can be a lucrative position with a low barrier to entry. Can bridge nicely into data science/AI if you want to go that route. Data is the new oil, and AI/LLMs are the refineries.
Machinist, electronics, or glass shop at a large university. Half make more than most professors (although that isn't saying much)
The finance sector has been good to me, worked at the same place for 8 years, was well paid, got laid off due to cutbacks as my skills were not needed anymore, but got a good deal and am now at another finance company earning more and doing more interesting stuff.
My roles have all been in IT.
If you don't mind, what set of skills got you employed ?
I don't mind, I have two trade school educations in IT, both dealing with networks, one also focusing on Windows servers, active directory, stuff like that, the other focused on Linux.
I then started working at helpdesks, and at my last job I started as a helpdesk technician, and wuickly got tasked with managing their Linux systems in addition to being part of an advanced internal helpdesk dealing with everything from ordering equipment to configuring AD policies and Microsoft 365 systems while also being a VIP tech for the top managment.
The VIPs and Linux stuff was never the main focus, but I learned a lot, and combine that with my personallity of being patient and positive I had a great time and made a huge impact on the company.
I can't say too much about my current place of work due to NDA, but there is a lot of work that needs to be done, and I have tried to hit the ground running.
Please also not that this is a European perspective.
If you want advice on what you should focus on to improve your chances, I can share a few insights...
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Right now, IT is moving everything to the cloud, you don't have to like it, but you have to deal with it.
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This does not mean that traditional skills from running servers are useless, it jist means you need to apply them in other ways.
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Networking can't be completely run in the cloud, even if the management portal is located in the cloud, you still need switches, routers, access points and firewalls on site.
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Linux will suddenly pop up, learn how to navigate it, how to manage files, especially permissions, learn the basics of vi and nano, vi exists on every normal Linux system, nano is not uncommon and is far easier, but it is not uncommon to find it missing on servers.
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Working with AI is a fad right now, it will be of less improtance in the next years, but new AI and LLMs are constantly being improved and users will learn how to use the tool more effectively, learn how to use it now, so that later when it matters far more you will be prepared.
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Most improtantly of all, have an artistic hobby outside the computer, it is increadibly improtant to have a creative outlet, for me it is photography, I bought a Panasonic Limix S5 with several lenses last spring, upgradibg ftom the Lumix GX80, and I get rid of a lot of stress by taking photos, and it is fun to show my coworkers my new photos and gear.
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IT in finance sounds wonderful. I would love to target an SRE position at the big banks but that's too far off right now
I cant comment on the ubiquity of these jobs. But I work for a (non us) national government organisation with a union. Pay is the same the country round so living in a relatively major city with significantly lower cost of living than the majors means I get a pretty damn good quality of life, better cost of living and job security out of less money than some jobs.
Its not just the dollar figure but what it gets you and where.
Offshore seismic survey. The positions vary in title, but technician, observer, seabed logger, etc are, quite honestly, easy as fuck. If you're able to display reasonably good troubleshooting skills and adaptability to a "different" kind of job, you're golden. Pays quite well too. Your background certainly plays a role, but it's more about being the right kind of well-rounded personality.
Pros: Computers, heavy machinery, robotics, nice people, loads of travel, nice ships (most of them, at least), five weeks at home to do whatever you want, well paid.
Cons: Five weeks offshore gets tiring, you sometimes find yourself in the shittiest shitholes in the world, the work can be really repetitive and boring, and if you're unlucky you will find yourself on a ship with shitty food.
Source: I used to be one. Now I hold a more specialized supporting role instead. Been in the industry since 2008, and before that I had no fucking clue what I wanted to do with my life. It didn't take me long after to figure out "what I want to be when I grow up". I'm now 41, not quite a grownup, but I definitely am happy with my career.
High value crop consultants - good ones can make a surprising amount of money (200k+) This isn't your dumbfuck row crops like corn and soy. Think fruit trees, nut trees, viticulture, vegetables, organic production etc.
Many college graduates have a job offers their junior year. Anymore you'll want to have a double major of biology/Ag.
What country are you in?
Trades generally make a decent amount. Masonry, carpentry, welding, transportation, electrical, plumbing, waste management, etc all have decent pay rates in most first world countries with codes and regulations.
Communications and drone operators might have a future career, depending on the job and company.
I'm in India. Everyone I talk to just recommend either working as a developer or working abroad.
They do have a reason for saying this though. The average electrician , plumber and carpenter that they know are all make enough to survive but not enough to lead a lavish lifestyle. People who work in waste management and transport usually make even less than electricians and plumbers.
Maybe things are changing these days, I'll have to talk to the right people to get a better idea..
That makes a huge difference. You're going to get mostly West-specific answers that will be useless over there.
Learn ServiceNow or any other cloud based platform. Get on LinkedIn and build a recruiter relationship. You'll be drowning in jobs.
Where in india
Industrial PLC is probably good money. Building and maintaining all the industrial automation.
https://80000hours.org/ probably has information relevant to you, and they do have specific comments about IT roles, and many careers they talk about are related to computers in some way.
Honestly, some of the trades sound great. I really do miss back in the day when Discovery wasn't complete trash and Mike Rowe wasn't a complete loser, Dirty Jobs gave me a lot of respect to the often shit upon working class.
US government jobs. Find something you're interested in, get some education, take the civil service exams, profit.
When I was early 20s, I wanted to get rich quick. Followed my dad into insurance, even though I had no interest or sales skills. Learned a lot! And dad was a stunning salesman. Made about every penny off referrals, because he hooked people up with products that worked for them, not a monolithic company. (He represented 20 or so firms.)
Yeah. Easing into IT worked out, and I'm doing well, but looking at where I'm at 30 years later, fuck me, I should have stuck with forestry and been a ranger. I'd probably be retired by now and raking in pay. Benefits out the ass, all that. Imagine how healthy I would be after 20-years of ranger work! I'm OK now, despite a "sinful" life. :) Then I could retire to my dream job, being a campground host at a national or state park. LOL, live on a lake and tell the kids to keep it quiet and keep the beer on the downlow. Walk around killing the occasional fire ant mound.
And while we're at it, US military. God. Damn. I could have learned IT properly, retired after 20-years in, came back and consulted for the DoD. My bf in high school went in a fat body, came out hard, spent a couple of years active, then went National Guard.
Retired after a few years in, and then once a month on exercises, he's fucking loaded. Retired at 39. Collects classic cars for kicks.
And for those of you who think "military" = "combat", LOL no, most of you couldn't get into combat if you tried. He only saw "light" combat in central America, in the early 90's (we were not in El Salvador, did not happen!) He got in the fight because he begged for it.
Nobody should join the US military.
As a vet I can't recommend the military
The military sounds like a great job except for the whole - supporting the US government murder and exploit third world countries and enforcing even more inequality in the world - thing. (Yes, even if you're not actually holding the guns)
Inherit rich.
Best job yet, and you can start a company at the age of 20 and get a 2-page spread in Forbes about being a self-made young entrepeneur with your parents in the background!
Teach yourself cad. Get a 3d printer. Print a portfolio you designed yourself.
I've taught myself CAD and am getting pretty competent at it. I've been 3d printing since 2014 so I'm proficient there too. I've designed lots of functional parts to solve problems for myself, and I'm getting more into doing pieces for costume design.
What type of 3d printed stuff is actually profitable to sell? Every time I consider trying to monetize it a bit I go shopping around and think that there is no way I can design something that is a better quality or at a lower price than what is already available. Then I think about the hassle of having to manage printing and shipping and dealing with customers on top of my normal job and I think that it isn't worth it.
You are correct, it isn't. Even doing custom prints for people comes with way more hassle then it is worth.
Ones I’ve experienced because of healthcare and would’ve otherwise not really known about—
US tech CT Tech Xray Tech Medical Simulation Tech/Actor (this varies, can also be IT. Med sim centers need a ton of IT) ECMO Perfusionist