For someone that is going to finish high school Yr 12, what sort of job or career are there that is high paying, good job security and high in demand and relatively easy to get into
What Is The Best Career to Get into That Is High Paying?
LMaserati on 16/06/2015 - 14:54
Comments
Advice that I would give coming from a finance and accounting background. Be the best at what you do and you will be successful no matter what you do. There are many accountants and bankers around and it is pretty easy to see those who are a step-up from their peers. Put in the hard work, keep humble and try to differentiate yourself. Interviewed many a Gen Y, Z etc. who have come from top high schools and universities who think they know it all but do not and have a poor work ethic expecting things to be instantaneous.
All the high paying jobs don't come straight out of HSC. Not only that, but high paying jobs are high paying for a reason. They aren't easy to get into. Trust me, focus on doing what you want, not what pays the best because ultimately, you are working 7 - 10 hours a day for the rest of your life. Why do it doing something you hate>
Truck driver, not overly difficult to get into the 130k+ range, if you live in the truck your looking at 160k+ per year. Not bad money considering the training.
Yep, this fits the bill as easy enough and high paying.
Bus Driver. 6 figures is easy, with only a car license necessary (training will upgrade your licence).
Good suggestion. It's quite a stable job too I would guess. One can perhaps branch out to coach services as well later on if you're bored of city bus riding.
Yeah it's very stable (some guys have been there 40+ years) if you work for State Transit Authority (or similar). Government job + Union = Security.
6 figure for bus driver? seriously?
Buses - Terrible hours, stressful, unhealthy lifestyle, hard on the body over time, having to deal with difficult and/or aggressive people. No bed of roses that's for sure.
Truck driving can pay well but is also awful antisocial hours. Probably ok if single and looking to stash some money but not great if you have a family. One of our clients was a great guy who had been truck driving for most of his working life. His back was absolutely screwed by the long term vibrations etc. A restricted and painful retirement awaited him.
Ive never seen a bus driver on 6 figures, especially if its a sub contracted to transport NSW/QLD/VIC etc. They are on maybe 50-60k a year with split shifts, add another 10-15k if you do permanent nights.
None. Most jobs and careers will be outsourced to one of the billion Chinese or Indian workers who will do whatever work you can for 1/2 the price. Maybe even a 1/3.
Having rich parents!
No, but you're seriously doing this for the wrong reasons, if you do something just for money you will eventually reject it, so not worth it/10.
Given that the average career change is 9-12 times, you are perhaps better of finding something that you think would be cool/interesting and the money will come down the track if you can stay motivated!
I changed from Physiotherapy to Marketing to business to Research! haha
Barber
I've been going to the same shop for more than 10 years now. Getting cut by the same guy, who has now 4 children, a house and an investment property, nice cars, good super. Life is going great for him.
cash economy, what's not to love.
This is actual a good point. I'm 28 and very loyal to my barber (I also get shaves).
The easiest way is always going to be the illegal way.
Assuming you are doing 6 subjects to cover most pre-reqs and you're going to be scoring the highest possible score (which I think for NSW, it is 100), then your request is slightly closer to reality than it is for most.
Every undergrad position available today is suffering from a glut. That's not to say you're not going to be the exception, but one should not rely on exceptions.
As for job stability, most people are delusional. I remember a recent program where someone said that sheep shearing will always be a human job. Well, I've personally watched a double fridge size robot make the access incisions for an appendectomy to 1/10th of a mm in less than 5 seconds, and sutured the whole thing in 15. So much for job security huh?
er, so what if there's some robot who can cut to less than 1/10 of a mm? Can the machine recognize the appendix in its various position or differentiate it from a merckels diverticulum? Can it decide when or when NOT to have surgery??
Having a machine who can do one small part of a large task much better than human beings doesn't mean that it's gonna replace human beings.
Speaking from personal experience, look into consulting/contracting, mainly to government agencies : not for everyone, however, is an option.
Here's a rough guide on hourly contractor rates for some of the roles out there. You can then base any upskilling or studies on the chosen path
http://www.peoplebank.com.au/media/peoplebank-australia/medi…
Drug dealing seems to be the proper bread winner..
Why not just do something you actually want to do? Why work your whole life doing something you don't like doing just for the money? I'd much rather do something I enjoy doing and don't have to "work" a day in my life :)
Play Dota 2, join a professional team and make it into TI5. Winner guaranteed to be a millionaire :)
Incredibly hard and risky as shown in the documentary Free To Play:
Wow… Sulmar it's been too long.
Sup my long lost nRz friend ;)
Haha you mean TTC. nRz was just a subbing phase :P
You mean LOL?
This might be a bit off topic but I would appreciate any help given. My Dad worked as a machine technician for a plastics company for 10+ years. Sadly, his back got really bad and had to have an operation. Now he can't do any strenuous jobs but has recovered so that he can stand and sit for a fair amount of time.
The problem is that he basically gave his whole life to his job in manufacturing and as such does not have any other qualifications. It seems that because of his back he will need qualifications in something else where he can have a career of some sort for the rest of his working life. Leaning towards TAFE or some good adult colleges.
What would be a good field to take for someone who is 50 years old? His English is good and I reckon he has pretty good problem solving skills and can figure out processes quite well. His computer skills are OK but I can't quite see him breaking into that as he can't tolerate sitting for too long.
I was thinking something along the lines of aged healthcare or perhaps simply seeing what the government agencies could organise for him. Come to think of it, I should check out some employment agencies that specifically cater for people with limitations and prior injuries.
My suggestion is to be an entrepreneur, specifically targeting silicon valley/san fran. Get into the practice of trying to create markets and business opportunities whenever you can. It sure is risky but it can pay off in the most spectacular way. I highly suggest listening to a podcast called Start Up where someone who is going through the whole phase of starting up a tech/podcasting firm documents each step:
http://gimletmedia.com/show/startup/
The Australian startup scenario would probably be limited so your aim would be to get hired or bought out by an American firm.
There is also an element of getting experience and being good at something that these startups require and then being hired by them. My cousin is a information security specialist and currently works at a leading startup in San Fran at the age of 21. No Uni, just tonnes of experience.
Also have a look at https://angel.co for startup and funding details/listings.
Have you considered military. Plenty of jobs, no fees for training. Salary straight out of school. Unfortunately, seems to be an ongoing requirement…
Youtuber
Become a doctor, unless you're highly queasy when you see blood etc. Finding things a bit gross is fine, you have ten years to get over it. You will have to work hard. But no other profession offers the same job security. And the intellectual requirements are not high for a STEM profession. Once you get into a medical program, you get heaps of second chances at things. It's a rare STEM profession where you won't get discriminated against because of your age.
lol if you are asking this question on ozbargainn then best job is to be a tightarse!!!!!!
Public servant - office job, laid back pace, job for life
Mining - even janitors and storemen get $100,000.
Train driver - $100,000 +
Superannuation fund manager - Funds here charge 3 times as much in Australia as they do overseas.
School teacher - $85,000 /year + lots of holidays
Real estate agent - houses are so overprices in Australia that you only need to sell a few per month to live like a king (or queen)
Tradesman - as long as Australia keeps importing 1% of it's population per year, there will be work for skilled blue collar workers
Marketing - Australia is all about reselling things produced overseas at greatly inflated prices with much hype. The only preqrequisite is the ability to spend one's entire day telling lies and manipulating people.Unlike some others, I wouldn't recommend IT since so much of the work is going to be outsourced and you will be competing against Visa holders.
Avoid non specialized university degrees such as humanities or biology. There is a lot of competition for limited academic and research positions in those fields.The days of huge salaries for basic jobs in mining are coming to an end. Most miners are downsizing and no longer have the same demand for staff. This only means one thing, lower pay for the ones they do need.
Teaching is not a bad shout if you are suited to it, especially primary where kids are less challenging and the pay just as good. Despite the constant whingeing they do, they have it very good. Loads of time off, home at 3pm, recession proof job, can work close to home. I have close relatives who are experienced teachers and its a pretty cruisy life. Yes they will never earn $200k but they will also never work 50 weeks a year or do 12 hour days.
You're dreaming if you think teachers are home at 3pm. With a parent, brother, and sister-in-law as teachers, they leave for work before 8am and don't get home til after 5 on average.
Also, you think primary is easier than secondary? Where the kids are far more capricious and difficult to control. And you have teach basically all day as opposed to 3-4 hours.
Also, the holiday thing is nice in theory, but in practice it means that your holiday times always match up with peak times for tourists, shopping, travel and everything else.
I can only speak from the experience of my brother and sister in law who are both career teachers, her primary him secondary. Both good at their jobs too.
He is home by 3pm most days, fact. He laughs about the hours and the amount of time off he gets. She isn't far behind. They both work at local schools so next to no travel time. When she was single she would have an awesome tan every summer because she spent every day of the school holidays at the beach. Now they spend that time with their kids and there is not a lot of work done in the holidays beyond maybe the last day or two.
Most primary age kids still have some fear of teachers and authority in general so yes they are easier to control. You obviously need more subject expertise to teach secondary as well.
As for leaving for work before 8am, doesn't everybody do that? Most other people don't even leave work until after 5, let alone get home by then.
Yes the holidays match up with peak times. However the holidays also match up with your kids holidays if you have a family. The reality is that apart from those without kids, you are mainly forced to operate within school holiday periods regardless of what job you are in. Only you have 4 weeks to work with instead of 12 or so!
Im in retail sales earning 80k a year, Thats 38 hours with no O.T plus heaps of freeebies and basically do what I want at work :)
What kind of sales?
JB Hifi - Top 5 store :)
Walter White's (Breaking Bad) job :-)
Becoming a retailer can get you a lot of cash given that you are good. My mother, despite having no qualifications, earns a lot of money even compared to my dad. Though, the part that I should emphasise is "given that you are good" and my parents put a lot of efforts into it (My mother opens the store on weekends, so she doesn't get weekends etc). You need capital and there is a high chance that it will flop as well.
Didn't read all the comments so forgive me someone already mentioned it:
Specialized medical fields— my mother had to get eye surgery and the Ophthalmologist was making a packet per consultation.
Also dental specializations— Orthodontists, etc. My mother has dental implants and the Prosthodontist, Maxiofacial Surgeon etc all made a ton of money. They are always taking vacations, getting office upgrades etc— the Orthodontist I went to is barely in the office now and delegates all his work. He even bought out the real estate next door to expand— build more consultation rooms, add xrays, and made a swanky new waiting room decked out with three Playstation 4 play center/wall pods, and a side wall with 2-3 attached Apple tablets (I believe they're corded though) in lieu of magazines!!! I shit you not. When I went into the new office I was flabbergasted. I also barely saw the guy over 15 or so appointments I had— he only saw me three times and each time it was to check my progress and tell the others what to do to me, took all of 15 minutes. I believe he worked on my braces once. I realize hard work and experience got him to that point, but wow.
Also my mom recently had periodontal issues and the Periodontist was easily making 100 per session— and her sessions were about 15 minutes. She has insurance, luckily, but yeah.
Of course these are highly specialized and require a lot of schooling. I also don't know the exact figures in terms of paychecks. But seriously, if I could wind back the clock 10 years and pick something to study at school, specialized dentistry would have probably been it.
sell boxes, make tofu, clean offices..
can be any thing, but you have to be the boss..
I have a degree in Biological science majoring in biomedicine. I'm now doing another bachelor in business majoring in management. I've studied my ass off and now i'm earning in a week what my friend makes in one night being a stripper! She is about to buy her 3 home & pay off her 2nd house. She plans to strip until she can't and then just live off the rent money she makes. Looking back now at my hecs debt and her really nice apartment I should have just danced on a pole too.
It's never too late…I'd support you.
Be fair, strippers earn a lot but after certain age, you cannot earn and you are left with skills that are not exactly useful whereas what your degree could get you to would be at least more stable and more longlasting.
Good luck with your other degree.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/mother-nanna-stripper-who-…
If you good at what you do then age is just a number !!
You are right you can only dance until X age but she is 23 with 3 houses by just say 30 maybe she might not be able to dance anymore but i'm sure she will be on her like 5 or 6 houses and the rent money from that will be SWEET! Plus you can go back to uni any age.
Never put all your eggs in one basket. Her wealth depends purely on how housing market fluctuate. Even though I'd love that much cash in my hand, if it is my sole income… Also, even if you can go back to the university at any age, many industries have retirement age. Our gen is expected to live beyond 80s, do you think her current assets will carry on till then?
Hmmm, my comments sound bitter than I remember them to be (ah, the wonders of napping). Anyways, she basically went into an industry that's high paying that lasts really short. If she can utilise it and earn a lot from it (and come out with a job/asset that will get her through), it's fine. If not, then in the end of the day, she'd need to find another job (maintaining assets and stuff). Going into an industry at later age has few disadvantages, you earn less because your experience is less, it'd be harder to get a job because you are pretty much competiting against someone younger (unless you have excuses like more university degrees or work experience), etc. Going back into university after few years is harder than it sounds as well (happened with me after compulsory conscription). :)
As much as I respect that becoming a stripper is an option for many, it does have long term consequences that you are not looking at, that's what I was trying to get across.
Also, if you want to you'd probably be able to go into that industry, I'd su… I mean I wouldn't go into anywhere like a strip club (My gf knows my ID).
Are you fit enough to dance?
How much do strippers make?
I am sure that you will catchup after a couple of years.
It just means that they have had a head start.And she is lucky, she invested her saving into Properties at the right time.
So she has been able to purchases multiple houses by leveraging of the previous.By the time you finish uni and earn a good wage, it would be a lot harder to invest in properties.
Kate makes about a 1k on a quiet night, like a Wednesday and about 4-5 on a good Friday Saturday. CASH. She pretty much works every weekend and her overhead cost per week is $500 to the house. So her weekly take is normally 10K and I know that do be true, because I used to do her taxes until he started buying property, (i didn't know how to offset that stuff)
Hi cho0kie,
WOW that is a lot of money.
I have been to a 1 or 2 bucks nights and have handed over several $5 and $10 notes, never imagine that the girls can earn up to $10K+ per week!Also I assumed that the house took more, but $500 is about 5% which is VERY good.
It is hard to find a business that runs at 5% cost.But the big advantage is that the payment is made in CASH.
A job in Oz would give you $100 per hour, $4000 per week.
But you will end up paying $75K in taxes, hence you will end up pocketing about $2,500 per week.The other thing to consider is that with strippers, you will make less as you aged.
While with your profession you will earn gradually more with aged :-)Also with strippers it would be difficult to find a good husband, get married, settle down etc.
So they would be making more money at the expense of NOT having a good relationship.
It wouldn't be worth it IMO.A good family > Money
I'm guessing in order to make $4-5k in one night, you would have to be willing to do things other girls aren't willing to do and have a couple of sugar daddys/regulars. She got guts
Pilots reel in some pretty good money. Downside is costs probably 50k+ to get all the licenses (no hecs, your own $$) etc to get a commercial pilot license.
Know a Jetstar Captain in Melbourne, reeled in $230,000 last year. Can make alot more offshore.
I am not sure about Australia, but many cargo plane pilots from Air Force in Korea tend to go to commercial airline after their required amount of service.
It takes at least 20years to become a captain. And they would be on at least 400,000.
Have you heard of property valuations? If you have a logical mind set and a bit of focus it's the easiest job in the world.
3 years at uni,
1 year as a grad @ 40-50k
1 year after grad @ 60-70k
Then you get your full qualifications and can hit around 120k for an easy days worth of work.I start around 7am in my own area, I drive around meet people, take photo's of kitchens, come back around 10am. Eat, relax play games, get lunch until about 12 (in this case maybe 1pm) then type away until 6pm (or whenever really).
The top earners in my firm are all dedicated individuals who spent all days working, I couldn't even imagine what they're on, but i'm sure it'll make my salary look like chump change.
Best thing is, there is a demand!
Most do the valuations without even visiting on site.
Depends on the type of valuation that is requested. If it's for mortgage work, and the risk is low, there's no need to send a valuer in for a full inspection, but if the bank or the valuer deem it necessary valuers will do a full inspection.
This sounds good to me. Where do I sign up?
Do a course in property at uni then apply apply apply, it's a weird dynamic of not enough valuers and heaps of uni kids looking for jobs. (Valuers need 1 year of training) so firms hate forking out 40-50k for a kid that just shadows around.
is this a uni degree, or can I just 'be one'?
Yeah, usually property economics or something similar, check out the Australian Property Institutes Website and see what it takes to be a member (you have to be a member to do 99% of vals)
I have a bachelors of Business and Commerce. Any idea where that would fit in?
@Mrlai2: I have a BBC also key program in Property, my uni offered BBC as a generic degree where you had to select a key program (major)
Best in today's world, and if you have the aptitude is Ethical Hacking. But that cannot be completely taught. You should have excellent problem solving skills.
It is going to be a skill in high demand in future and will pay 200k+.
Cannot compare with Surgeon- say 500k, but surely less taxing. Also good is business architecture- but it helps to have core domain knowledge.
Financial Management is good too.
Actually, sales guys earn the most- and I know a guy who made a 25 mil sale, and got a huge bonus ( c.a. 500k bonus).
Anyway, the bottom line is, you must be good in what you do, and also should have a well rounded personality.
SALES! If you can sell things you will always have a job. If you sell high margin stuff consistently you will earn a lot of money! You dont have to sell consumer stuff, I work selling large multi-million dollar (sometimes 100's of million dollar) solutions to big businesses and governments. What I do is very complicated requiring professional qualifications and a deep understanding of a client's needs. I don't sell used cars or mobile phones (not that there is anything wrong with that) but sales success is well rewarded in almost every industry. I have known sales people selling large contracts that can earn 6 figure bonuses or even a % of the eventual Total Contract Value (TCV). I would recommend getting into an industry based on qualifications etc and then once in, move into the sales part of that industry. If any company in any industry does not make sales targets, they die. Be the guy bringing in the work and you are guaranteed a well paid job (as long as you keep bringing in the work).
Do you think sales pepole are just born with it?
Not at all. There are sales people that have to frequently interact with customers/clients and there are others that basically work in a desk job writing tender responses for a living. There are technical sales people that essentially design the solutions that get offered in proposals. One of my former employers had 'Sales Engineers', qualified engineering guys that designed solutions we could propose to clients. I think most people shy away from sales because they assume it is all about cold calling people or trying to sell crap to strangers. My experience at the top end of town is that selling an opportunity internally, or getting permission and funding to bid for something from the leadership of the company I work for (normally senior guys overseas) is harder than competing for the actual contract.
There are many different types of sales people. The traditional 'gift of the gab' type person might be better at selling cars or phones to the public but it takes an additional set of skills to sell a fighter jet to the Air Force or a multinational secure IT System to a Global corporation.
I've been in technical sales / sales engineering. I didn't like it is because at the end of the day, you don't do much design work (which is why I chose to do engineering) and the pressure of sales is still there. Very often clients would get you to do free consulting work by submitting non-existent tenders or quote requests. The problem with this is, you end up spending a lot of your time doing work which won't win you a job. Sales is something I didn't spend years at university to do, while I do know that a business without sales isn't going to be a very good one, it seems to be about all that's left for mechanical/mechatronic engineering roles in Australia.
Become a franchisee at Harvey Norman - work like a dog, but if you are good, and get a good store with growth potential, 7 figures is done (albeit in rare cases..)
No one has mentioned real estate? Bloody hell, they are making bucket loads of money over in NSW due to the crazy house prices.
Only about 400times
Probably some depressing high stress job where you are constantly overworked and miserable.
Pick a career you will love, not one that will make more money.
Thread title: What Is The Best Career to Get into That Is High Paying?
I'm pointing out that OP is asking the wrong question.
Don't go after a high paying career, go after a career you love, but naturally you can only pursue ones that are financially viable.
Ah ok got it. Still though… a career you love and ones that are financially viable are usually mutually exclusive! A man gotta do what a man gotta do!
@apey75: As long as you're good, there is always a way, so I've heard. My dad did archaeology/history in uni and he told me about his friends who've stayed in that field. They did struggle apparently but those who've persevered are doing alright now.
I disagree.
Be good at what you love doing, and you'll never give up; which will only lead to greatness.
@Sturmeh: I love cycling. Should I give up my crappy day job that pays ok in order to pursue a cycling career?
@apey75: on your deathbed, will you be happy with the life you chose to live?
Hopefully you're doing that crappy job to enable you to achieve something you want, rather than just waiting out the time till you die.If you're capable of being a professional cyclist/athlete, why the (profanity) not? They get paid way more than I ever will.
@apey75: If you find a way let me know! Buy a bike shop maybe? My LBS owner is a former corporate engineer that sold up to buy a bike shop!
Good paying
Medicine and Heathcare
Law
Finance
Engineering
IT
Pilot
Chemical engineer
BiosciencesBasically in most industries u can make decent money. Key is to pick something u like and ur good at.
its bullshit from him…thats all i would say.
I didn't do well in school, but always had a knack for sales.
From retail to b2b
Started on $35k and when I finished 5 years later I was on $90k (that was 7 years ago)
What are you on now?
Run my own business now, gadgets boutique
I'm wondering, is an online business rather automated nowadays or do you still need to do quite a bit of work to make it operate?
How many hours a week do you allocate for work? Any thoughts on work/life balance?
lol, i kind of feel embarrassed if i tell you the truth..
physical work, 2-3 hours max a day.
but as a business owner, i don't do all the "work", we have employees helping out with the daily function of the business and most of the 2-3 hours spent is delegating and customer service.
If you are somewhat asperger, or mildy autistic, air traffic is a good option. Salary is good (not fantastic), and the work can be left at the door when you go home. Night shifts become a grudge as you age, but overall is ok.
They have a created a shortfall of controllers and it will take quite a few years to catch up and keep up with those retiring.180k/yr is better than average…
Psychologist? Market research?
@sd4f:
There are also some case studies on Shopify's website. You need to know how to program. You need to know marketing and focus on providing value for others by solving their problems. People don't go to Bunnings to buy a drill, they go to Bunnings because they want to make a hole.