Lately the number of job postings that include salary is going up, which is pretty good news for anyone who's looking for a job. But even though more employers are finally revealing pay up front, still only about 12% of job ads contain salary info. This secrecy leaves workers in the dark and makes it hard to tell if a job is high-paying or not.
So when u/fidgit86 asked, "What do you do that you earn six figures?" in r/financialindependence, they got a truly eye-opening array of responses. Here are some of the top-rated and most interesting answers:
1. "I build and fix power lines and play with high-voltage electricity."
2. "I fix broken air conditioners. But the ones for skyscrapers and hospitals."
3. "I have a very niche skill set with a specific software made by a company I used to work for and was hired by a company that uses a completely different software that my previous employer also made. My days consist of one or two meetings where people complain about the software, I validate their feelings by agreeing with them, and they seem satisfied. I have no idea what I am doing and am waiting for the other shoe to drop."
4. "Flavor Chemist."
5. "I drive a tow truck in metro Atlanta and clean up wrecks on I-285 & I-75. It's a lot of hours, and being on call sucks, especially working nights. But I'm at $100K so far this year. It'll be my best year yet. Hope to finish the year around $160K."
— u/eekawi
6. "Sales for a food company. Didn’t start at six figures, but at year 6 of experience is when I hit a six-figure salary before bonus."
7. "Community College Professor."
8. "Mining engineer. The trick is to do a job nobody wants to do."
9. "I know a traveling nurse that made 150K last year."
10. "Union elevator mechanic; it has its ups and downs. Also, I walk a lot of stairs."
11. "Stenographic court reporter. Basically, I listen to legal proceedings and translate spoken English to written English using a weird code at uncomfortably fast speeds. And then I have to do a bit of research and spot-checking afterward to ensure everything is spelled and formatted correctly. My clients are lawyers and judges, so I get to charge the same kinds of fees you see in the legal world. And it's a rare skill that's still heavily relied upon for the time being."
12. "I run a handmade jewelry business. Most people would never suspect (might not even believe) the money I make doing this."
13. "IT. Not a coder, and my degree is totally unrelated. I just keep getting certifications for the hot technology. AWS Cloud currently."
14. "I don’t see anyone posting this, and there’s actually a huge shortage in the industry…AUTOMOTIVE COLLISION REPAIR. I have been in the industry for almost 15 years — did 2 years of trade school and was working in the industry in my first few months of school. There are multiple positions that make over $100K, both in the shop and in the office, and there are tons of related, off-shoot positions that pay well also. PDR techs make great money, for example. Usually takes about two years of really hard work to get anywhere, but if you work hard and can treat people around you with respect, you can make a good living without a degree after that. Highly recommend it."
15. "Operations management. Running warehouses and the like."
16. And finally, "UPS driver. $38 an hour, $57 with overtime. Made $103K last year delivering boxes."
Do you know of any other high-paying jobs that people might find surprising? Tell us all about them in the comments!
And for more stories about money and careers, check out the rest of our personal finance posts.