I had a conversation with someone I know recently and she casually dropped how much money she makes and I was FLOORED.
Really?
I mean, good for her, but I had no idea that her job paid that kind of BIG money.
Wow…
What jobs do you think are underpaid or overpaid?
Let’s see what folks on AskReddit had to say about this.
1. Sad, but true.
“Basically any job that asks you to assist disadvantaged individuals.
Work in the field. I was a program supervisor at a job I recently left. Only paid $18/hour. And that number had improved over the years. But I loved the work, it was hard, and it got real bad sometimes.”
2. Ridiculous.
“EMTs make like $11/hour or some s**t.
Maybe it’s gone up a bit over the last year, but it is alarmingly low considering our lives are in their hands, even if we’re just driving nearby while they speed through red lights.”
3. The work of heroes.
“Firefighters, gotta risk their lives and breathing horrible things and plenty are just volunteers.
In the town I just moved from (30k people so not too small) – all the fire fighters were unpaid volunteers. Unpaid for real hero work is really unfair.”
4. Too much.
“Overpaid: hospital administrators and health insurance executives.
I’m a doctor. I get paid fairly. But I don’t get paid enough to deal with these dimwits.
They don’t understand how things work in the hospital and sit in useless meetings. All. Day. Long.”
5. The defenders.
“Public Defenders are extremely underpaid where I live.
It’s still a good amount of money, but you could get a job at a fancy library for around the same salary.
Kind of sad really since they work their a**es off for unfortunate people and aren’t paid much.”
6. Ugh.
“Public defenders and Prosecutors.
You’ve got people making $500k a year to help conglomerates trade subsidiaries around and fight regulatory enforcements that will be a percent of the profit made from the violation, and people involved in the decision to deprive people of their freedom making pennies.
When both lawyers are probably reading the files for your average intake in court, because both offices are wildly understaffed, something is very wrong, and mistakes will be made.
But hey at least Blackstone capital can own a holding company that owns 66% of the shares of an investment vehicle that just purchases 40% of a business selling decorative widgets.”
7. That’s too bad.
“Vet techs.
I worked part time at a private practice all throughout undergrad, and it was the most physically and emotionally demanding and overworked job I’ve ever had. In fact, it was easily the darkest period my mentality has ever faced.
You’re not even expected to be just a vet tech. You’re also the receptionist, veterinary assistant, inventory/restocker, and even janitor. You’re expected to be working every single second of your 8hr+ shift, spend most (if not all) of it on your feet, plus you have to have a pretty robust background in animal handling/restraint, healthcare, medical terminology, and much more.
You’re also a glorified secretary/babysitter for the vet(s) who you honestly sometimes question how the heck they even managed to own their own practice. All this for less than $20/hr in extremely high cost of living areas like NYC. Severely underpaid, and often times underappreciated, sometimes even by vets themselves.”
8. Easy Street.
“Pharmaceutical reps.
When I left 15 years ago, I was bringing in over $120K per year, and on an average day, I would work 5 hrs., including at least 45 minutes for lunch.
Four times a year, I would be flown to some 4-star resort location where we would have sales meetings, dinners at the most expensive places in town, pricey after-dinner drinks in the hotel bars, and hook-ups with co-workers in the room.
At the time, the industry employed the hottest women to be found because they thought they could command the physician’s attention. I left because I had a real problem with my employer buying $800 bottles of wine for docs and calling it “research and development.””
9. Doesn’t sound fun.
“Janitors are SERIOUSLY underpaid!
I remember the c**p I had to deal with, man.”
10. A racket.
“Overpaid: Real Estate Agents.
Why they get a percentage of a sales price vs a flat fee is beyond me but its a total racket.”
11. Slingin’ drinks.
“As a bartender, I would say we are technically overpaid. Not by the company of course.
I work about three 6 hour shifts a week and I make more money than most everybody I know in my direct life.”
12. Long hours.
“Resident Physicians often make what amounts to $9-$15/hr.
Yes their salaries are in the 60k range but they are also forced to work 80hrs on the regular and unlawfully are often forced to work more. If you don’t complete a residency you essentially can’t be a board certified doctor which means your entire medical schooling was in vain.
It’s an exploitative system to the people who’ve selflessly given the best years of their lives to medicine and have placed themselves 400k dollars in debt just to help people.”
Now it’s your turn!
Tell us what jobs you think are underpaid or overpaid.
Do it in the comments, please!
