
What are some overshadowed careers that pay well? - nitropie
Careers that might never cross someones mind when reviewing their options. Great salary. Nice benefits.
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CoffeePython
It's bound to come up in almost every conversation about this topic online
nowadays but skilled trades can be great. Especially if you plan to own your
own service business. I'm talking Electricians, Plumbers, HVAC technicians,
etc.

Competition is low. If you show up on time, present yourself well, and you
don't show up to work under the influence, then you can be in the top 10% of
the workforce easily.

I worked in the trades for about 6-7 years before switching to software
engineering. I took a paycut for my first job in software. I was making $80k
in a low cost of living area working in the trades. First year was $55k, on
the job training was provided.

Downsides are: \- Weekend work is typical \- On-call is typical \- Hard labor,
working in the elements. Freezing conditions and/or 100*F + days working on
HVAC equipment is rough. \- Non-trade folk will commonly talk to you like
you're not intelligent. Not a lot of prestige

Upsides: \- Learn valuable hands-on skills. Can be applied to your own home to
save money \- Physical job = built-in exercise \- Low competition \- Easy to
parlay into a business

~~~
Jugurtha
> _Competition is low. If you show up on time, present yourself well, and you
> don 't show up to work under the influence, then you can be in the top 10%
> of the workforce easily._

I'm still infatuated with a mason who worked at our house one time. I doubt he
ever really existed. Dreamy.

Let me walk you through this romantic 50 Shades of Cement...

He rang the bell and I opened the door. He didn't look like a mason: well
dressed, clean shaven with impeccable combed hair and a case for tools. I
showed him to his floor. He brought pencils and markers, rulers, a compass,
etc. The guy reminded me of my course in industrial/technical drawing.

I lived a floor downstairs of the floor he had to build. He was punctual,
consistent, and silent. I didn't hear a thing while he worked and yet I would
go up at the end of the day and appreciate the progress he was making. I
didn't find broken bricks or sloppy cement/sand/water traces. It was clean and
precise, and the guy was a ninja.

I didn't have his contact information but I would have referred anyone and
everyone to him, whether they had something to build or not. I must have told
this story like a grandpa tells tales of his youth.

~~~
CoffeePython
There are some truly amazing people in the trades.

Some of the absolute best problem solvers I ever met, I met in the trades. I'm
talking masters of troubleshooting. Breaking things down into component parts,
understanding how systems work together, and being able to pinpoint what
exactly was causing the underlying issue. People who just had to know how
everything worked. People with knowledge of Refrigeration, electrical
troubleshooting, PCB repair, etc.

Working in the trades gave me strong troubleshooting skills.It also gave me an
appreciation that a lot of folks in our industry seem to lack for our blue
collar brethren. Blue collar != dumb/uneducated.

------
faet
Underwriters/actuaries.

Many underwriting jobs can be remote. Entry level salary is around 50-60k with
just a BS. Fair amount of growth and opportunities. Can get an MBA/go into
management and make > 100k.

Actuaries require more math/stats but can be hired with a BS. But, I've got a
friend who started at 80k with a Stats BS in a low cost of living area.

~~~
rajacombinator
Anyone with the aptitude to pass actuarial exams could be making more
elsewhere.

~~~
trcollinson
That absolutely makes no sense. Actuary's regularly start in the $70,000 -
$80,000 range and can definitely move into the $200,000 range of salary
without dipping into any management. I guess there are jobs which make more.
But I don't know a lot of them.

~~~
rajacombinator
SWE make more than that easily and is a much easier field to learn than
passing actuary exams.

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muzani
Lots of the work in remote areas pay extremely well and have low skill
requirements. Offshore petroleum engineer is well known as a well paid job.

Less commonly known is menial labor shipping jobs. A friend of the family
bought a car in cash after a trip.

Plantation managers can get well above the average pay rate, with substantial
benefits like a large home, live-in maid, little work, for diploma level
education.

I'd bet something like deep sea fishing also pays quite well.

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sethammons
A cousin is a pool guy in SoCal. He builds a book of business, sells off part,
rinse and repeat. Last I heard, he was making six figures.

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ffumarola
Orthodontist

[https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/What-Is-the-Average-
Or...](https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/What-Is-the-Average-Orthodontist-
Salary-by-State)

NY average is $320k, but range is $80k to $435k. Braces ain't cheap!

~~~
MS90
I'm not sure this one is overshadowed, maybe by dentists. But Orthodontists
are doctors (DDS or DMD) and those are generally pretty well paying types of
careers.

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tabtab
Undertaker: people are dying to get in :-) No matter how bad things get,
you'll have a job.

------
Nostromos
Technical Recruiting. High pay for entry-level (Internal recruiters in NYC
starts at 50k for 0 years exp and goes into low 200s).

No education requirements. HUGE need. On-the-job training.

~~~
Peroni
Correct. I'm currently hiring for a senior internal recruiter in NYC and am
expecting to pay at least $150k.

The demand is only going to continue to increase so salaries will continue to
rise.

~~~
polalavik
I’ve been interested in this route and I’m an engineer by day - I feel like my
understanding of the technical side could really set me apart from the
recruiters I’ve talked to in the past. I was under the impression this is a
grueling field though based almost 100% on commission?

~~~
Peroni
Agency recruitment and internal recruitment are _very_ different fields.

Agency recruitment is massively commission based. Internal recruitment tends
to focus on higher base salaries to remove the terrible incentive of cash for
humans.

------
burntoutfire
Software architect. Pays more than (non-FAANG) developer jobs and quite often
is pretty easy if you have the necessary skills.

~~~
mrfusion
I’ve found the interviews very difficult because your opinions on software
design have to match the interviewers.

Interviewer likes micro services and you don’t? No job. Interviewer doesn’t
see the benefits of cloud computing? No job.

~~~
komon
Just from what you present in the comment, maybe you're stating your opinions
in a way that comes off too black-and-white?

There's times where microservices work and can be a beneficial move, there's
people who have been burned by cloud computing costs or lack of customer
service in the past.

Maybe you could write down your strongest opinions and find a way to put them
in a way that reflects you're open to circumstance or being convinced.

Not 100% microservices negative, but strongly microservices cautious. Not 100%
gung ho about cloud computing, but excited about cloud computing as a way to
accomplish x y z.

~~~
mrfusion
You certainly raise a good point. But sadly in those examples they asked me
how I would recommend designing a giving system. And then didn’t like the
answer.

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quickthrower2
Scrum master seems to pay well around these parts.

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tallyhotallyho
Divers for oil and gas companies. The more dangerous the place the higher the
pay, $100k-$500k.

Although, this is hearsay, so... Check before you sign up with some company
saying they have a rig of Somalia.

~~~
saargrin
how do i sign up for a $500k job?

ill go to Somalia.

I've been to worse places for much less

