Extensive training requirements are not a thing, apparently, with these professions.

Daily Dairy Duty

"I watch milk powder go into a bag and out on a conveyor and get paid $37 an hour."

– Stacwe3

Eyeing Dirt In Motion

"Mine? I get paid $20.50 a hr to watch dirt go by on a belt all day."

– trudmer

The Handy Man Is Happy To Help

"I am a handy man that charges $50/hr with a 3hr minimum, a couple months ago I got a call for service that consisted of changing 9 smoke detector batteries, 2 light bulbs, and rehanging a picture. I felt bad taking the money but the guy couldn’t have been happier to have that stuff finally done. He asked for my card and is now a very good client."

– iznmehra

Words From An Appraiser

"I make about 40 an hour after tax in the US as a real estate appraiser. You just need a college degree and a year of training and there is a huge shortage of appraisers right now."

"Edit because this post blew up: I only perceive this job as being overpaid because I used spent most of my 20's making pizza for minimum wage and imposter syndrome is a thing. Also, OP said he was looking for a possible career, and I felt like my job post was better than a troll post."

"Appraisers are not real estate agents or brokers. I do not buy or sell property."

"I do not, 'look at zillow and copy the number' and I don't just, 'make the number' in valuation. While I agree there are some appraisers who may lie or exaggerate, the same could be said of nearly any job. However, if I were to intentionally try hit some goal and got caught fudging the numbers, I'm looking at permanently losing my license and possible jail time depending on the severity. It's actually pretty common for me to, 'tank a deal' if someone is paying too much. This isn't the wild west of valuation anymore; FIRREA is a thing now. Appraisal reports aren't just 3 pages of photos with a cover page anymore; my typical appraisal is 30-50 pages with long boring typed pages of market data that I type and research myself."

"Let's talk about the appraisal gap. In most of the US, we are experiencing a, 'sellers market' meaning houses are selling for higher than what they normally sell for. A lot of people at this thread are blaming appraisers for driving housing prices up. Let me be perfectly clear about this: appraiser's valuations are based off of past data. That is it; we look at closed sales from the past. Realtors and brokers speculate on future markets, because they are motivated by profit. If anyone is driving this current market trend, it is the people buying properties over listing price, local government/laws willingness to allow foreign investors, the people who are raising rents, and the people who are making big risky developments. The appraisers have little to nothing to do with market perception of value; in my area at least many market participants are paying over 30% of listing price. Trust me when I say these people are not satisfied when my appraised value comes in less than that."

"The hardest part of the job is definitely the occasional angry phone call. Let's look at an example. Say someone lists their house at 100k, and they accept an offer for 150k, or 50% over listing. Well the appraisal is based off of past closed sales. The bank will only finance up to the appraised value. So if the appraisal comes in at 110k, meaning the subject in relation to comparable sales from the past year in the subject neighborhood equate to roughly 110k, they will either need to renegotiate the price, or be willing to put up 40k of their own money."

"In a sellers market, it's often better to accept a deal with better financing than a higher price. Let's say in this situation instead of taking the 150k offer with a mortgage, you take a smaller offer for 140k that is all cash, no financing. Well if there is no financing involved, meaning no bank, than no appraisal is needed."

– f4gmo

Here's The Scoop

"I get paid six figures to shovel a couple hours a day, so definitely my job. Edit: a bit of an exaggeration, still have to be at work and on my feet 10hrs a day, but there is only a small percentage of the day that is actually labor intensive. The key to finding high-paying, low-skill labor jobs is to work for a company that contracts public works projects, in a state with high prevailing wages."

– ChillTeenDad420

Landing work in software seems to be like hitting the jackpot of success.

High Commissions

"I’m in software sales, software sales. Coworker got 100k commission on a deal."

– The_GOATest1

So-Called Analysts

"There are an incredible amount of 'analysts' who just 'own' automated excel sheets they received from developer teams."

"Low to mid six figures is common in HCOL areas."

– Shoddy_Bus4679

The Successful Client

"I do the tax returns for a guy who paid 20k for demographic research software and made something like 40M over the last 3 years. His costs are almost nothing and admitted he does like 5 hours of work a week on it."

"I got more likes and comments than I thought I would, and wanted to add some more detail. The guy himself is super nice and easy to work with. It's hard not to feel jealous even though I make good money myself. His business and personal returns are super simple so we don't even charge him that much for them."

"The software is something proprietary he paid a third party for, and I don't know the name of that developer. The data output is sold to political campaigns and he's compensated more if the campaign wins. He did have some clients on both sides but now exclusively works on one side of the aisle."

– Todders8787

Salaries in the world of academics got a closer inspection.

The Administrators

"University administrators and board members."

– MayBeckByDay

A Stark Contrast

"I'm a professor. I love it. But the 'president's office' contains a staff of 5 people with a total payroll of just under $500k/year. Meanwhile, all the PhDs, MFAs, and DMAs who teach all the classes, advise all the students, and serve on all the committees bring home a whopping $50k-$65k/year, dependent on rank, tenure, etc. It's real fun...

– LPHaddleburg

Unfair Privileges

"The president of my institution makes a approximately $500k/year and is provided a house on campus alongside reserved parking if he so chooses to use it. He also gets a country club membership. Meanwhile I have to pay $200 to park at the school where I TA and do research, and I get paid maybe 1/20th of what he does. I genuinely do not understand why the f'k the dude who makes six figures doesn't pay for parking, but I do."

"Edit: that should be half a million."

– DADPATROL

It Pays To Go To School

"I wouldn't say I'm overpaid, but being a geologist is very easy with lots of time outside. I'm 10 years into my career and make about $200k. It's very low stress, since you generally have weeks to make decisions. Lots of opportunities if you get a degree. Also rocks are neat."

"Also I work in environmental remediation, I didn't have to sell out to oil. So I feel like my work has value."

– thealbinorhino504

Sometimes, it's all about the right time and place.

All About Location

"Paramedic working a few shifts in a sleepy rural town has its benefits."

– loblegonst

What Brings You Here?

"I'm here for a potential change of career."

– OP

Some of the cushiest jobs that require less time actively toiling away seem to be paying significantly more than the average livable wage offered in the US.

Perhaps the biggest indicator of what that might be was summed up best by Redditor iadasr, who said:

"Whatever you guys are all doing that lets you browse Reddit all day..."

Word.