5 Jobs You Think Are For Losers (That Pay Six Figures)

[marriedfilingjoint]

Dive for golf balls. That's not a gross euphemism for going down on a senior citizen; it's a real career.

:Y:

[sfy]

My mother once told me about a guy who owned a hot dog cart that he parked across the street from a hospital. He sold a hot dog, chips and a soda for either $1.00 or $1.25 from March to October for most of the 80s. He would spend the rest of the year at his second home in Florida.

[pixy0stix]

I would like to make a living diving for golf balls.

[heyjude]

The guys who guide boats into the the SF bay make something like $450,000/year. I think they are called bar pilots.

[sushi]

Also, longshoreman is about the most dangerous job on the planet. Is need more if I was going to lose all my fingers and likely my life.

My gpa was a merchant marine, and I just spent a week listening to his stories.

[IIOY]

One of the very first actual legal cases I ever worked on in a paid capacity was a lawsuit against an elevator company because the elevator didn't stop flush with the floor and a woman tripped, fell, and injured herself while exiting the elevator.  What I learned from the legal research I did was that elevator companies get sued all the damn time for shit like this.  I'm wondering if it's worth the hassle to be an elevator maintenance worker.

[downtoearth]

Whoever wrote this is funny.

It's true that sometimes, I laugh at how little college-educated professionals make in some areas, but at the same time, it's hard to break into a lot of those other professions without apprenticeships or the knowing the right people, so who knows how likely you are to be making minimum wage at a nearby service joint or actually breaking into the big $$ in the exact profession you were headed for.

[tacosforlife]

Sept 8, 2015 15:31:35 GMT -5 IIOY said:

One of the very first actual legal cases I ever worked on in a paid capacity was a lawsuit against an elevator company because the elevator didn't stop flush with the floor and a woman tripped, fell, and injured herself while exiting the elevator.  What I learned from the legal research I did was that elevator companies get sued all the damn time for shit like this.  I'm wondering if it's worth the hassle to be an elevator maintenance worker.

So on its face, I realize that might sound ridiculous, but OMG, I did that repeatedly at my old office! I KNEW that the elevator did that, but every morning, I forgot and nearly fell getting off the damn thing.

I'm just glad to know that I'm not the only one who has had this problem!

#missingthepoint

[sushi]

A 90 year old on the elevator with me today was giving a litany of prices in 1930, including the presidents salary. It was what I made in 2004

[IIOY]

Sept 8, 2015 15:37:06 GMT -5 tacosforlife said:

Sept 8, 2015 15:31:35 GMT -5 IIOY said:

One of the very first actual legal cases I ever worked on in a paid capacity was a lawsuit against an elevator company because the elevator didn't stop flush with the floor and a woman tripped, fell, and injured herself while exiting the elevator.  What I learned from the legal research I did was that elevator companies get sued all the damn time for shit like this.  I'm wondering if it's worth the hassle to be an elevator maintenance worker.

So on its face, I realize that might sound ridiculous, but OMG, I did that repeatedly at my old office! I KNEW that the elevator did that, but every morning, I forgot and nearly fell getting off the damn thing.

I'm just glad to know that I'm not the only one who has had this problem!

#missingthepoint

But did you ever sue any of the elevator companies for the raging case of pinky hangnail you developed from tripping, and the consequent loss of consortium? Hmm??

[mbcdefg]

Sept 8, 2015 14:50:48 GMT -5 1234FIF! said:

#5. Running A Hot Dog Cart; You'll Make as Much As A Fancy Chef

This is what MH drew a picture of in kindergarten for "draw what you want to be when you grow up" day. 

[tacosforlife]

Sept 8, 2015 15:44:10 GMT -5 IIOY said:

Sept 8, 2015 15:37:06 GMT -5 tacosforlife said:

So on its face, I realize that might sound ridiculous, but OMG, I did that repeatedly at my old office! I KNEW that the elevator did that, but every morning, I forgot and nearly fell getting off the damn thing.

I'm just glad to know that I'm not the only one who has had this problem!

#missingthepoint

But did you ever sue any of the elevator companies for the raging case of pinky hangnail you developed from tripping, and the consequent loss of consortium? Hmm??

Well, I reported it to management, and it still took some time to get fixed. But the elevator was not taken out of service (and we had 8). I came very close to spraining my right ankle. Given that it would've been my fifth right ankle sprain, recovery would've been a bitch, so I can't say I'd rule it out. tacos' right ankle could be the new eggshell skull for torts hypos.

[heyjude]

Sept 8, 2015 15:53:11 GMT -5 Jennyanydots said:

Isn't it interesting that these jobs all fall under the umbrella of traditional "men's work"?

Why don't jobs like PSWs, or childcare workers pay anything close to these "lower prestige" jobs?

This is an amazing point!!

[msmerymac]

Sept 8, 2015 15:02:07 GMT -5 heyjude said:

The guys who guide boats into the the SF bay make something like $450,000/year. I think they are called bar pilots.

When I went on a cruise to Alaska we needed a pilot to escort us out of Puget Sound. They made it sound SUPER important. Apparently no one on the actual cruise ship could navigate the large cruise ship out. Which I totally buy - shallow water is a tricky thing, man.


My brother considered the merchant marine. Or the actual navy. He'll be pleased to know he could have become a longshoreman and now be making twice what he does, without the $70k in student loans. 

Of course, the problem, to me, with a lot of blue collar jobs is 1) lack of flexibility, 2) physically hard, 3) boring as fuck. I do not want to load things on and off ships. I also do not want to drive a truck for 10 hours at a time.

[heyjude]

Sept 8, 2015 16:07:39 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Sept 8, 2015 15:02:07 GMT -5 heyjude said:

The guys who guide boats into the the SF bay make something like $450,000/year. I think they are called bar pilots.

When I went on a cruise to Alaska we needed a pilot to escort us out of Puget Sound. They made it sound SUPER important. Apparently no one on the actual cruise ship could navigate the large cruise ship out. Which I totally buy - shallow water is a tricky thing, man.


My brother considered the merchant marine. Or the actual navy. He'll be pleased to know he could have become a longshoreman and now be making twice what he does, without the $70k in student loans. 

Of course, the problem, to me, with a lot of blue collar jobs is 1) lack of flexibility, 2) physically hard, 3) boring as fuck. I do not want to load things on and off ships. I also do not want to drive a truck for 10 hours at a time.

The Bay Area bar pilots are actually asking for a raise to $500k.

[MrsAxilla]

My friend's dad owns a hotdog cart. He parks it outside the bars downtown on the weekends and makes 2K a night. His mom runs a panini cart outside all the fancy office buildings. My friend is a lawyer who started his own firm and couldn't make a go of it. He closed up shop and went partners with his parents and makes way more than he did as a lawyer. And he apparently picks up a lot more women, too - lol.

[winecat]

Sept 8, 2015 16:38:06 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

My friend's dad owns a hotdog cart. He parks it outside the bars downtown on the weekends and makes 2K a night. His mom runs a panini cart outside all the fancy office buildings. My friend is a lawyer who started his own firm and couldn't make a go of it. He closed up shop and went partners with his parents and makes way more than he did as a lawyer. And he apparently picks up a lot more women, too - lol.

In CO?  

[sugarglider]

I seriously considered being a hot dog vendor. Before I was a vegetarian, obviously.

[MrsAxilla]

Sept 8, 2015 16:58:19 GMT -5 winecat said:

Sept 8, 2015 16:38:06 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

My friend's dad owns a hotdog cart. He parks it outside the bars downtown on the weekends and makes 2K a night. His mom runs a panini cart outside all the fancy office buildings. My friend is a lawyer who started his own firm and couldn't make a go of it. He closed up shop and went partners with his parents and makes way more than he did as a lawyer. And he apparently picks up a lot more women, too - lol.

In CO?  

Yep.  Someplace in LoDo and on the 16th Street mall.

[pinkdutchtulips]

My sister was a hot dog vendor outside of a bar in Honolulu when she was in grad school. She had the most profitable one of the bunch (she was outside of Moosemigilicuttiies (sp?)) and made some interesting tips - $150 in A&F gift cards.

Also the hot dog cart is how she met her h. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor at the time !

[msmerymac]

Sept 8, 2015 17:05:34 GMT -5 sugarglider said:

I seriously considered being a hot dog vendor. Before I was a vegetarian, obviously.

There's a vegan hot dog cart in LA. The guy really only does special events, and everyone wonders how he makes a go of it (not sure if it's the only thing he has going on), but if he can rack up $1k+ on each outing, I guess I know now.


www.thefrankenstand.com/

[sushi]

Sept 8, 2015 17:23:34 GMT -5 pinkdutchtulips said:

My sister was a hot dog vendor outside of a bar in Honolulu when she was in grad school. She had the most profitable one of the bunch (she was outside of Moosemigilicuttiies (sp?)) and made some interesting tips - $150 in A&F gift cards.

Also the hot dog cart is how she met her h. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor at the time !

That's waikiki. Moose mcgillicuddy's I think. I've been to moose but don't eat hot dogs.

I've contemplated doing the farmers market stand to build enough following for a restaurant. That was a common path in Hawaii. But being a mil spouse and entrepreneur doesn't seem a good plan.

[aurora]

Sept 8, 2015 17:05:34 GMT -5 sugarglider said:

I seriously considered being a hot dog vendor. Before I was a vegetarian, obviously.

But just think: you could have decided vegetarianism was a religion, and then after you converted asked for accommodation not to serve meat-based hot dogs and made your living by sitting near the hot dog cart under a parasol!


(apparently I am in a pot-stirring mood today)

[runblondie26]

Sept 8, 2015 16:18:57 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Sept 8, 2015 16:07:39 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

When I went on a cruise to Alaska we needed a pilot to escort us out of Puget Sound. They made it sound SUPER important. Apparently no one on the actual cruise ship could navigate the large cruise ship out. Which I totally buy - shallow water is a tricky thing, man.


My brother considered the merchant marine. Or the actual navy. He'll be pleased to know he could have become a longshoreman and now be making twice what he does, without the $70k in student loans. 

Of course, the problem, to me, with a lot of blue collar jobs is 1) lack of flexibility, 2) physically hard, 3) boring as fuck. I do not want to load things on and off ships. I also do not want to drive a truck for 10 hours at a time.

The Bay Area bar pilots are actually asking for a raise to $500k.

BIL makes close to 500k a year as a NYC Harbor pilot. He had connections to get the apprenticeship and spent 7 yrs on minimum wage during it. But he's totally set now. He gets larger cuts of the profit sharing the longer he's there.

[winecat]

Sept 8, 2015 17:06:34 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

Sept 8, 2015 16:58:19 GMT -5 winecat said:

In CO?  

Yep.  Someplace in LoDo and on the 16th Street mall.

Wow!  I hadn't heard that the carts made that much $$.  Good for them!! 

[Susie]

so hot dog carts are unexpectedly profitable, but how do they compare with banana stands?

[MrsAxilla]

Sept 8, 2015 20:06:19 GMT -5 Susie said:

so hot dog carts are unexpectedly profitable, but how do they compare with banana stands?

There's always money in the banana stand.

[Velar Fricative]

Good luck finding an elevator mechanic job here. The pay is so good that it's really hard to break into the field.

[mcgee]

My father dropped out of college after the first semester, went to trade school, and became an instrument technician in the oil industry. He made six figures and could have made more but reached a point in his career where he didn't want to travel overseas or manage more people so actually turned down repeated promotions.

Likewise, my cousin, who is in his early 30s, followed a similar path and began working on pipeline crews, traveling around the country. He is now in his early 30s, has his own crew, and is easily making over $200K a year now.

A friend of a friend is a highly educated businesswoman who makes a darn good living, and after her divorce, she married a plumber. Some people I knew looked down on her for that because plumber isn't exactly a glamorous career, but he has his own company, sets his own hours, and makes a darned good living.

There are plenty of jobs that we need that don't require a college education but that pay very well. You can go to trade school and earn a decent living, and I think that perhaps we should be stressing that to junior high and high school kids. Not everyone has to go to college, and frankly, not everyone should.

[discogranny]

My neighbor is an elevator repair technician for a large company and makes ~$125,000 per year in a LCOL state. He did have to go to a night school program for a year or so but was paid well during that time. He is union, has a pension, a 12% 401k match, and incredible health insurance.

The company recently asked him to go into the office to become a supervisor and he decided against it because he would have had to take a significant pay cut.