Blink-182 famously sang, "Work sucks, I know." So, when redditor u/puffmonkey92 asked, "People that don’t fucking hate their jobs and make a decent wage, what do you do?" I knew I had to read the comments and find out which jobs people actually like.
Here are some of the most-upvoted responses:
1. "National Park Ranger. Thirty-two years and counting. As with any profession, there are still bad days."
—u/ThndrChicken
"I did two seasons with the [Forest Service] as a wilderness and trails ranger but declined a position in 2020 because of fuck-ups due to covid — decided it wasn't for me and wanted to make more money. Well, I'm coming back around to the idea because I'd rather love my job and make ok money."
2. "I am a kennel attendant. I care for and feed both dogs and cats. One of my daily requirements, if I have time to do it, is literally to play with a dog/cat or puppy/kitten."
"It’s called animal enrichment. It’s meant to help prepare them for a life outside the shelter. Doesn’t even feel like a job."
—u/RathGodofWar
3. "I am the only IT guy for a family-owned business. They know nothing about computers, so as long as everything is running smoothly, they leave me alone. I only put in about 45 minutes of actual work every week."
"I got into a position like this fairly recently, and the toughest part was coming to terms with not working hard every second after years of working hard every second."
4. "I’m an accountant for a bank. Good salary, great benefits, tons of PTO, and all holidays off."
"It’s not particularly exciting, rewarding, or fulfilling, but it gives me the security and freedom to make my life as exciting, rewarding, and fulfilling as possible."
5. "Electrician. It’s hard work most days, but satisfying seeing it all lit-up and functioning properly."
"Knowing my work will still be in service many years from now feels good, and seeing customers marvel at their new light fixtures looking great is a good feeling."
6. "I work at a pet store (only supplies, no animal sales) and make $18 CAD/hr."
"That might not sound 'decent,' but it's better than minimum wage with no meaningful increase in responsibility (aka stress) compared to any other retail worker. In fact, my work environment is lower stress than any other retail/food job I've had, and the owner has a keen interest in our well-being. Yearly raises, Christmas bonus, profit sharing, get paid our full scheduled shift if it's shortened or canceled for weather, aiming to become a living wage employer with promises to increase wages beyond that so long as the business continues to grow.
Plus, no one asks 'why' if I turn down a shift or decline to stay later. Respect for personal time is huge. I'm treated like a human being, not a robot with no life outside work."
—u/creepmachine
7. "I work in the pathology lab at a hospital. I process blood and biopsy samples onto microscope slides for the pathologists to read. I love it! I feel like I’m helping people, even though I never meet them and they have no idea who I am."
—u/gobstopper84
8. "I got to work at JPL [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory] for 35 years, designing and flying deep space missions. Galileo, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Stardust, Solar Probe, InSight, and others. It was an exceptionally fun job even when it was hard. And I met a whole bunch of very smart people."
9. "I make good money owning a nice dog boarding facility on my property. I do doggie daycare twice a week in addition to 24/7 boarding; picking up happy dogs around town is pretty damn fun. I love working at home, with dogs, and running my own business."
10. "I'm a paralegal at an attorney's office. I essentially do all the writing and research for cases and assemble the files and information an attorney needs for trial."
"I thought about going to law school, but during my internship clerking for the county courthouse, I found that people with Bar cards were working clerk jobs like me, saying there's too many lawyers out there to get a job. I decided that throwing down six figures on law school and not even having a job guaranteed at the end is too big of a risk, and instead got a paralegal certificate for a fraction of that price, and have been doing paralegal work for 10 years now. It's not crazy money by any means, but $40k+ a year supports me and my family, and that's fine by us."
11. "I work in a log yard in Oregon. Log trucks come in and are unloaded. The load is rolled out on the ground, and I scale the logs. I measure the lengths and diameters, calculate the gross volume in board feet, and make deductions based on defects such as frost seams, insect damage, burn scars, lightning strikes, etc."
" I work outside, so it can be rough in the winter/summer, but it keeps me moving, and it's an interesting gig. Been doing it about six years now."
12. "Massage therapist, ~70/hr. I work 2.5 days a week and bring home ~950. I am in an incredibly supportive environment, clients are great, love my coworkers."
—u/cheezywhywhy
"I was a massage therapist for 10 years, and I miss it so much! It was the least stressful job, and I got away with only working four 5-hour shifts a week. The physical part of it eventually ended my ability to keep massaging, and now, I have a stressful office job in management."
—u/BugsyBelle
13. "I’m a colorist. It’s like Photoshop for movies. I love it. But I feel very lucky to have this job, and to be successful in the industry."
14. "I’m a statistician and work with a government agency. I particularly really enjoy not having to interact with too many people."
"I studied economics and applied statistics in university; plus, I did a bunch of research assistant jobs while studying to give me some experience in working with real data before graduating. After that I worked in an unrelated industry for a couple years before finally landing on this job. TBH, a lot of people think this is a boring job, and I can understand why 'cause this is a very desk-bound job. But I’ve been working here for over seven years now, and I enjoy everything about it (except for some office drama here and there), and I enjoy working with numbers, charts, and formulas."
15. "School janitor. $30/hour. 40 hours a week, 12 months a year. I get a shitload of awesome medical/dental benefits, paid vacation, sick days, every provincial and federal holiday off paid."
"However, the real perk that I fucking love is that I work alone. Once the teachers leave, I have the building to myself. I see my boss once a month, if that. I just show up, put on my favorite podcasts, do my job, and go home, and money shows up in my account twice a month. I might speak 100 words a shift. It’s absolutely glorious. About the only thing I don’t like about it are the crappy hours (3-11 p.m., followed by 7-3 during the winter/spring/summer breaks, but you get used to it)."
—u/Arctelis
16. "Not for everybody; but I am a lighting designer. Days are long, but there’s something amazing about finishing out a day by making a musician's show look as incredible as they sound."
"Used to tour, but hopped off the road because my partner and I had a kid, so now, I’m working at local venues, and while you don’t build the same relationship as you do on the road, working a different show every time you go in means needing to be prepared for anything. It’s all very rewarding, and while the days can be super long, they’re very rarely dull. And I mean, I get paid to go to concerts, so that’s also a nice touch."
17. "I work as a housekeeper at a motel. I love my job. It allows me to work alone, I can listen to my music, and I enjoy making order out of chaos. Also, the money's pretty damn good. Because of the way our pay is structured, I make more than double the standard amount in this industry."
18. "Oilfield mechanic; I get to fix tangible problems every day. Get paid well. The best thing about my career is my schedule: 14 days working and 7 days off."
—u/yesdeere
19. "I worked in construction doing flooring for 25 years. I was always excited when the weekend came to an end and looked forward to the work week."
"My wife got to stay home and raise our kids. We went on three to four vacations a year. Put both my kids through college. So satisfying to be able to work with your hands every day and create something beautiful in someone's home that will last for years to come. Then cash a nice paycheck for all your hard work."
—u/brandonbolt
20. "I'm a therapist. Dealing with insurance is the worst, but it's a small part of the job."
"The pay is usually livable. It's pretty easy to find work in most states. I'm in private practice now, so I take flexibility over benefits. I've always had supportive supervisors and a good community of co-workers when I did agency work. You hear some deeply fucked-up stories, and it can be draining to hold space for people's trauma, but these things happen, and it feels good to be a support to the people that have lived them."
21. "I’m an estate buyer, I travel all over the country buying people's stuff. Antiques and whatnot. Pays well, and I don’t spend a dime on travel, rental car; even my food is paid for. I just show up to an event and buy. It’s wonderful, and I get to see a lot of cool stuff I’d normally never see."
—u/Based-Chad
22. "I'm a librarian, and part of my job is organizing and creating workshops for children/adolescents regarding STEM. So, I get to fiddle around with 3D printers, laser cutters, and all kinds of cool things."
"On the side I also do graphic design and build websites since my previous job was web developer.
My job is different every day, and since I work for the government, the benefits are really good. Only downside is the pay, but I'll gladly earn a little less to do a creative job where I can basically do what I want."
—u/Teukneugels
23. "I still work at the same place I did when I hated my job. Realized most of it was mental, and not appreciating how good my life was. Not saying that's always the case, but most people just aren't able to count their blessings."
—u/Oshester
Do you have a job you love? Let us know about it in the comments!
Some comments may have been edited for length or clarity.