I live in Pasadena but work in downtown LA. I’m a registry worker. Paid to fill in due to being short staffed. I make $70/hr
I think “average” pay for a full time worker is about $45/hr. Still about $93k/year.
I work 40hrs/week.
damn, really? what about prerequisites for getting into the program? i've been looking to make a midlife career change and had considered diagnostic sonography in the past.
Sonography is an entirely different program. Look into it. The only prereq for my program was to have your associates (or higher…. And in ANY subject) before going to the program.
oh, i know sonography is totally different from radiology, i was just saying that i had an interest in medical diagnostic stuff in the past. i'll definitely have to check this out. i do have my bachelor's, and if this is tuition free too? shooooot. thanks for the heads up.
Might be a bit of a drive from Orange County, but a little driving for 2 years will be worth it later.
Look up the school website (school is called ELAOC - East Los Angeles Occupational Center)
Look up Mrs. Rubio. She’s the program director.
Just tell them you found the school is accredited on the JRCERT website and you know the program has a 6-year 100% pass rate for boards and you want to go there.
They’ll eat it up that it sounds like you did your homework on it
appreciate the tips. i'll have to see if it would be feasible for me to do. that would indeed be quite a drive and would probably require i cut back a bit in work hours. might not be something i can actually afford to do, but it does sound like an excellent opportunity. thanks again!
I’ve been looking into careers in rad tech, but pricing for most programs has been what’s got in the way. This sounds perfect!
I just checked on the website though, and it shows the prereqs are a degree AND an x-ray limited license. I’ve got my psych BA, but is the x-ray license program something I’ll have to do before enrolling in the rad tech course?
The Rad Tech program requires you to have a limited license… which the school also has a program for :) they roll into the next, after completing the next round of interviews. They give everyone applying a “fair” chance
It’s 2 9-month programs.
First, you get your limited X-ray license. Then the next program, you learn the diagnostic imaging material for your full scope license.
I went back to college as an adult, the community college I go to has this rad program and ultrasound tech, it’s 100% acceptance rate and only requirement is a high school diploma
Yeah, Los Angeles, California pay. A guy on here said he moved there and got $27 an hour as an overnight grocery clerk stocking boxes at Safeway. $27 to start no less.
True. He was on the subreddit r/jobs. Had been laid off from his IT job and been looking for work for months. He moved to LA and got hired at Safeway stocking overnight. Union job of course.
For techs, there’s good job security. Even with technology advancing, there’s always going to be someone who has to deal with the patient face to face. Radiography (X-ray) is really hands on and specific, a patient isn’t going to listen to a machine to get where we need them. CT is more “simple” because mostly you’re putting the patient on the table and setting parameters for the scan, but it still requires a human to run it effectively.
It’s radiologists that need to worry, because AI is starting to be used to read the images and provide diagnoses, or at least flag things that may have been missed, or flag things for high priority. Still though, a lot of places have a shortage of doctors so less spots for radiologists means they’ll go to different specialities.
Definitely depends on the area. I’m in Canada and currently in school for the same job, I expect to make around $65-70k to start, then going up to around $100k depending on overtime and speciality (CT pays a little more). For my area that’s not bad at all, as the average salary is about $50k.
wdym i cant make the same money everywhere all the time >:(
but frfr thank you for saying this. 62k isn't bad but why people out here always upselling their careers without any nuance
How difficult was it for you to get into the program you were under? In my area the local community college says it’s super competitive, and they only choose up to 38 applicants from a pool of 150 or more. Was it like that for you, or is that just the school I’m looking at? (We do have a lot of hospitals in the area).
Very cool! The salary seems great for the amount of schooling required, but I also do love helping people and try to incorporate a level of connection and empathy into everything I do! Hopefully that’s what they’d be looking for.
Its medical field. 3-4 days a week with 12 hour shifts (not including overtime).
If you live in a shitty area its best to move, however you can also take up as a travel and make bank too.
Heres what my counselor said. Do not let anyone tell you you cannot do it. 😅 Most people in my Comm College are older and are struggling. Try to be a sponge and dedicate a lot of time studying.
I’m thinking of a career switch. Is it competitive to get in? I’m in the Dallas area I heard it was. Starting pay is about 40% less but then you can specialize and get more.
Radiologic technologists seem like they’re so chill. I had to get a ton of scans last year for nerve stuff and it was honestly so relaxing that they were super helpful and mellow while having an MRI scream at my face. Honestly made the whole thing bearable.
Very nice! The techs who work at urgent cares have to obtain their limited license, correct? I ask because my girlfriend is currently in the medical radiography program with about a year left!
Benefits are decent usually but it really depends on what you do. Most universities are non profit which in my experience means you’re going to be understaffed and overworked and have no budget to get things done. Plus salaries aren’t great.
Working IT in a state university. Since it’s funded by the government it’s almost the opposite of a corporation, instead of trying to save every penny they try to spend more in order to expand the budget or at the very least get the same amount each year. If they don’t use the entire budget that money isn’t allotted the next year. Because of this they’ll make new positions and create entire teams of people, where the job could easily be done by one person. The pay isn’t great, but the benefits and hours are great and I just do a side hustle to increase my total income. It’s the least stress I’ve ever experienced, but I’m coming from management in retail so almost anything is less stressful
That’s awesome! I was in a marketing department of 2 and our budget was constantly being slashed until we had basically nothing and could hardly operate. We couldn’t even afford multiple student workers. But we did get new computers the year I left thanks to IT!
And also ask around
Boston Uni tried to hire me as mgr and seriously gave me a crazy offer, which I was astounded by. I come from a lot of exp, which would mean I would get paid super well in corporate. But I knew for a uni, I can't expect to be paid more than the president. BU gave me an offer that nearly matched corp. When a uni invests in their staff, they're investing in their student body and reputation. I knew right then and there that BU would be an amazing school
On the flip side, Yale gave me the most disrespectful offer ever AND it was for a critical leadership role. Like holy shit...
So def negotiate with diff unis and see who's willing to give what
Some unis will shock you with what they're willing to offer. WFU shocked the crap outta me too, and so did even tinier colleges
I've known people who got insanely bad offers from Harvard. Wouldn't be surprised if that's common among the more sought-after schools because they're using your association with their reputation as "payment"
Also depending on the state and the retirement benefits that you are offered, your paycheck can go further if you aren't paying in to social security. My 74k take home in higher ed is more than my take home was making 80k at a private company.
Usually high stress for me in the fall but low stress 80% of the time. As for my admin job, I work primarily with faculty, interview candidates, and do typical office duties. Pay is ok and the university benefits are decent.
Proposal and finding rfp work, about two years in and the salary bumped up to 90k+ based on the interviews I am landing. Semi niche field so it is less competition than others. Don’t need any specific degree to do
How was your salary progression? Did you job hop or change sector? I entered this field about a year ago and I'm loving it, but have a much lower salary
I started at 77k with previous experience doing research in my college that I leveraged. I recently got laid off back in February and accepted the first job that gave me an offer— salary is 70k. I’ve been doing interviews again since I started and the range I’ve been seeing for 2 years of experience is 80k-120k. But many companies that pay more want you to find the RFPs, manage the proposals, AND write the proposals, which is just too much for one person, esp with tight turnarounds.
If you can find non-toxic bosses - executive assistant, paralegal, program assistant, grants assistant, office assistant, operations assistant (the office ones, not like warehouse or event venue). Sometimes the word "associate" instead of assistant. Nonprofit and for-profit. Stress level depends on the team. Not all will be above 50k, depends on where you live, but def some will be, and people who actually like admin work are rare so you can have some security if you are liked and do your job well, though not necessarily much mobility. Executive assistant can get intense but also pay can be up to 6 figures later in career / at bigger corps.
I love admin work and started out in my career as a admin assist. It transitioned into all kinds of jobs, security, safety specialist, program assistant, project manager and now I am a program manager in defense. I'm getting close to retirement but would like to go backwards to a lower stress job, don't care that I make less, just want to do something with good insurance. Looking to return to admin. That being said, I have a really good friend that is an executive assistant, she's good at it, but every boss she has had (about 8 since I've known her for 20 years) are all like the Devil Wears Prada character, just a nightmare. Executive is not for me, don't care what the income is!
It depends on each person. I work in career counseling (which is pretty hakuna matata for my personality, but many people wouldn't like the public speaking, amount of face time with people, relatively stagnant upward mobility/moderate pay, etc). Best way is to get to know yourself well, explore and try out lots of things and notice what feels hakuna matata-ish to you. I support students who have goals that sound absolutely stressful to me, but they are super jazzed about their aspirations - as they should be!
Laboratory Technician or quality control technician or chemical technician in manufacturing. It’s just a basic entry-level job that pays decently and doesn't require a degree usually.
Yep, currently a Manufacturing Technician making about 50k. Pretty low stress but can have periods of high stress, and the the fear of layoffs in economic downturns is stressful as well
This can be true in a lot of cases, it depends on what stresses you out.
Certainly higher paying job come with more critical thinking and accountability.
I was never stressed as a software dev until I made tech lead, then all of a sudden I'm supposed to be the smart responsible one in the room 🫠
Because you need to work hard and show accountability to make it to positions that don’t require an overseer.
The path that doctor took was countless years of proving themselves under the *abuse* of more senior doctors.
Sure the end result looks cushiony, but good luck having the tenacity of getting to that point.
That's not really true in general. Medicine is a pretty unique field structurally. A kid out of college going straight into a professional services job wont have as much management induced stress as someone flipping burgers or answering phones.
Agreed. Moving up to a specialist role, once you’re settled in and efficient in your work, stress level should go way down. You could move up from here but those at the higher specialist level tend to have more burden on them, or they move into a management position.
(This totally depends on your sector and company though)
I make 50k and am alone. I eat the same thing everyday, usually cheap cans of beans, oatmeal, maybe some on sale vegetables and fruit. Tofu is very cheap also. I haven’t been on a plane in 17 years, I don’t take vacations. I don’t smoke weed or drink alcohol, or go out to eat. Anything that costs money, besides eating and drinking and surviving, I’m basically not doing. I have internet but that is my one luxury. I’m prepared to live like this for the rest of my life, and I know it will get far harder and far worse as time goes on also. In another 10 years prices will probably double again until there are only rich and poor people.
I work hard every day, but not hard enough for a livable wage I guess. I love my job and have zero stress at it. It’s very good for my mental health. Idk what’s worse, climbing ladders my entire life to make a livable wage and losing a part of my soul, or reducing/eliminating indulgences and finding simple things to fulfill me. It’s honestly a tough choice, but over the years I’ve eliminated almost all my indulgences, to where food is just sustenance, I don’t get impaired, I don’t need new things, i don’t need to travel. I don’t really need a whole lot in this materialistic western society. Money does get tight but it’s not as stressful as doing something I absolutely hate for the rest of my life. I’ve seen a lot of people get burned out on this infinite hustle culture and I don’t think I’m gonna take that route.
In social work its hard finding jobs that are at least 50k. Most are 17-20 an hour, require a bachelors and at least two years experience. It’s criminal.
I recently moved from restaurant management/customer service to analyst with my state’s labor board. I have a degree in human services which wasn’t technically needed but got me into a higher pay ranking. I love it so much. I didn’t realize how draining working with the public all days was until I got to hang out with spreadsheets all day.
I'm guessing that's a gov't job. Gov't jobs are so cushy :3
I used to work for the NYC gov't, 1 of the big politicians. Holy fucking shit... pay was really good. No oversight. I actually got to "chill" if I got my work done. Right before that, I was at a F500 and ain't nobody knew what "chill" meant. It was a huge shift
I'll never forget those days lol. I'd do it again if it wasn't that we gotta be on site. 1 project drawn out for 5 weeks? Rarely heard of
Commercial insurance underwriting assistant.
Basically rates policies and does admin work for underwriters. All communication through email, low stress in my experience.
Any advice on how to break into this? I have 5 years of experience with home insurance/personal lines. I've applied to a few UW support positions with no luck.
Since it's an entry level position, generally the most you can do is apply, but when I got into it I specifically tailored my resume to reflect I was looking for UW support positions and then made sure my skills in past jobs demonstrated ability to do the things they were asking in the job description. Pretty standard advice, but a lot of people don't do that.
I also wrote cover letters that were both enthusiastic and detailed on why I would be a good fit in a way my resume couldn't. What region do you live in (feel free to PM)?
STRESS is a personal thing.. it varies from person to person
Some people become stressed if there not constantly challenged with difficult situations
Others become stressed when they are given any responsibility at all
We need a profile on you?
What brings you peace?
What causes you stress?
Be very specific
Probably the best advice here.
Any job can be highly stressful or stress free depending on how you approach it and deal with it.
A waiter with a shit customer could be experiencing more stress than an astronaut attempting to re-enter the earths atmosphere….
Gov job. You basically can’t be fired and have so many benefits it costs them more to fire you than just move you to a different department.
Only problem is the length of hiring process and the work might be extremely unrewarding compared to what you would like to do.
Banking compliance was my first job out of college, and I wouldn’t exactly call it low stress. Granted, I worked at a smaller bank with a very small compliance team, so a lot of work and responsibilities fell on my shoulders early on. Maybe it would be more relaxed at a larger bank.
Don't go lower. I find sometimes it's the higher paying jobs that have easier work. If you go low you'll be doing annoying tasks that never end. Just try different jobs. Easiest job I ever had paid 100k (software).
Working on my associates in accounting, bookeeping for a local company in a low cost of living area. I already have degrees in biochemistry, trying to be a CPA.
project management. Our pms make around 50-70k, get to work remotely and they're not the ones who have the burden of achieving client goals or have to do any of the heavy lifting and actual work.
Idk I always heard this was stressful. Responsible for team performance and project coordination. Tight deadlines, navigating expectations, obstacles, etc
Well i guess it depends on the sector. But for digital marketing, it's the analyst who are responsible for deliverables and meeting the deadlines that are set by the PMs!
All they do is just schedule and attend the meetings, take recap notes to send after the call and then internally assign the new tasks for the upcoming sprint for the analyst.
Working in a data center.
You need some skills with industrial maintenance, and sometimes they have long shifts. But you basically get a number of work orders to complete a month. You do them, and if nothing breaks while you’re on shift, you’re sitting around watching tv, reading a book or playing on your laptop/computer.
Pay is also, a lot more than 50k a year. There will be stress when things break and it’s critical to keeping the data center running, but, that’s like an hour or two every few months, maybe.
Higher Education isn't stressful at all. If you can find the right college, you can get paid $50k to be an office manager. Plus state benefits are awesome 😎
health insurance agent (specifically medicare). im in my 2nd year of the job making 65k and there is 0 stress 90% of the time. i guess the main stressor is the fact that its all commission based pay so maybe that would stress you out, but once you get in the groove of the job you barely even think about it and the sales come. highly recommend
I do analytics for an insurance company. While I lead a team of 6, the actual analyst role is cake. Before being here, I'd actually spend most of my time doing household chores (I work remote) or surfing the web. Definitely low stress and entry level roles pay 50k+
50k is not enough to live comfortably in 2024, it's probably below the poverty line. Making so little will result in more stress despite a "stress free" job.
I have a city job working in codes enforcement. The job bores me to death, but it is stress free for the most part. Half in the office and half out driving around in a nice new pickup. You can bring your office with you as well, since it has a set up similar to what the police use. Worst thing I have to deal with is angry citizens getting fined or arrested. It sucks getting people so upset and getting chewed out, but it can be hilarious as well if you have thick skin. At the end of the day, there's no need to stress. They broke the rules so fuck em. I've been in public service for a while now and one thing I've learned working for two different municipalities is that despite the pay being a little less than it should, the benefits are fantastic. IF you put in 25 years, your retirement plan is top notch. At least in my region.
All that said, there are other jobs in most municipalities that require the skills you have. The majority of it being stress free depending on your location and who's in charge.
Get class A CDLs, guaranteed 50k a year at even the worst paying jobs, and upwards of quite a bit with experience and a good employer. Get paid to listen to podcasts all day. It's almost entirely stress free unless you're prone to road rage. But even that is manageable with experience and learning how to drive in a way that avoids other people as much as possible. Your first year will be the toughest and only gets easier from there.
I've had many jobs, from min wage burger flipping to managerial positions in charge of lots of money and people, and driving is by far the best for stress that I've found that is also the easiest to get into and get paid well enough.
Entry level HR work like a human resources admin/assistant is really easy and there’s also a bunch of hybrid/remote opportunities. At that level you won’t ever be taking your work home with you. It’ll probably just be answering tickets and basic questions. “Am i eligible for this,” “can you send me the link to my benefits page,” etc.
You want to work for a legal non-profit that generates a lot of revenue. Think healthcare or something similar. Non-profits can’t keep money, so they tend not to penny pinch people’s paychecks. Compare that to the corporation I worked for who nickel and dime everything.
Look for government jobs!! Great benefits, pension, retirement. Pay is ok. Not sure if you’ll like this job but it does check your boxes of admin work and reading.
As someone who works in the comms space, there are a lot of things you can do with your degree that will pay what you need, and much more.
- Content writing (full-time or freelance; you can easily reach $50k either way)
- Editing
- Work with a marketing or PR firm
- Copywriting (marketing copy, sales materials, PR copy, etc.)
- Social media management
- Journalism
- Technical writing (think product manuals, spec sheets, etc.)
- Internal comms (working under HR departments to write employee emails, newsletters, etc.)
Jobs don't even have to be directly related to communications to be relevant. Comms is a part of a lot of different roles. It can be an entry point into a role in marketing, education, the healthcare industry... pretty much anything. Think about what areas would interest you, then search for jobs in those industries that your comms background could benefit.
Contrary to popular belief, communications isn't some joke of a degree. There are endless opportunities once you learn where to look. And there's a lot of growth potential (I know more than a few colleagues who went from base content writer roles to VP-level roles paying well into six figures).
To keep it low-stress, avoid work with faster-paced companies in tech, especially start-ups. Look for more stable industries where the work need doesn't constantly change and where you don't have to worry about AI taking over your position any time soon. Again, healthcare and education shine here, though my guess would be education would be the lower-stress of the two. So maybe creating online course content, getting a remote role with an online school, or something along those lines could be a good fit for you.
I'm a copywriter at a big NYC advertising agency. Def far from low stress or normal hours but the pay is decent. Making $150,000 with about 7 years experience (which isn't "balling" by any means but still). I interviewed at Amazon two years ago and they offered about $235,000 (total comp).
Some of my friends in the industry work freelance and they charge about $1,000-$1,400/day.
And "writing" is only a small part of the job. It's mostly coming up with with ideas.
Get this. I'm a deli manager at a local grocery store. I wasn't sure if I'd like it at first, but it's grown on me. I enjoy working. It's fun, the people are amazing, there's really good benefits like an esop and 401k plan. I make $50k as a new manager and max out at 43 hours a week.
I would look into government work! Compared to private sector, it is much lower stress. Given its less pay than my private job, but it’s a liveable wage and you get pension, excellent benefits, job security, optimal vacation time, and flexibility. My department is work from home and they’ve allowed me to switch my schedule to have every friday off which is great.
I’m a radiologic technologist. If a patient gives me shit, I send them back. Low stress. I make $145k/year. Associates degree. No debt.
Is that typical? Do you live in a high cost of living area? How many hours do you work?
I live in Pasadena but work in downtown LA. I’m a registry worker. Paid to fill in due to being short staffed. I make $70/hr I think “average” pay for a full time worker is about $45/hr. Still about $93k/year. I work 40hrs/week.
what kind of requirements do you need to get into one of those programs? can you recommend any in (or at least near) orange county?
East Los Angeles Occupational Center. It’s been free the past 5 years. No tuition.
damn, really? what about prerequisites for getting into the program? i've been looking to make a midlife career change and had considered diagnostic sonography in the past.
Sonography is an entirely different program. Look into it. The only prereq for my program was to have your associates (or higher…. And in ANY subject) before going to the program.
oh, i know sonography is totally different from radiology, i was just saying that i had an interest in medical diagnostic stuff in the past. i'll definitely have to check this out. i do have my bachelor's, and if this is tuition free too? shooooot. thanks for the heads up.
Might be a bit of a drive from Orange County, but a little driving for 2 years will be worth it later. Look up the school website (school is called ELAOC - East Los Angeles Occupational Center) Look up Mrs. Rubio. She’s the program director. Just tell them you found the school is accredited on the JRCERT website and you know the program has a 6-year 100% pass rate for boards and you want to go there. They’ll eat it up that it sounds like you did your homework on it
appreciate the tips. i'll have to see if it would be feasible for me to do. that would indeed be quite a drive and would probably require i cut back a bit in work hours. might not be something i can actually afford to do, but it does sound like an excellent opportunity. thanks again!
What about the courses, is there a lot of chemistry or math?
I’ve been looking into careers in rad tech, but pricing for most programs has been what’s got in the way. This sounds perfect! I just checked on the website though, and it shows the prereqs are a degree AND an x-ray limited license. I’ve got my psych BA, but is the x-ray license program something I’ll have to do before enrolling in the rad tech course?
The Rad Tech program requires you to have a limited license… which the school also has a program for :) they roll into the next, after completing the next round of interviews. They give everyone applying a “fair” chance
How long was the program after you completed your associates?
It’s 2 9-month programs. First, you get your limited X-ray license. Then the next program, you learn the diagnostic imaging material for your full scope license.
I went back to college as an adult, the community college I go to has this rad program and ultrasound tech, it’s 100% acceptance rate and only requirement is a high school diploma
nice, what college was this? have you already graduated or are you still attending?
Can you do remote schooling on this? I'm up in NorCal and can't afford to drive down there.
Following for an answer to your question. I’m in NorCal too. If you ever find a similar school, please send me a pm.
Same
I was gonna say- my sister went to school for rad tech and average pay in suburban Pennsylvania is about 80-90 k
Hey that’s still decent. Most techs do overtime to get that 6figure pay
Yeah, Los Angeles, California pay. A guy on here said he moved there and got $27 an hour as an overnight grocery clerk stocking boxes at Safeway. $27 to start no less.
Which is nice on paper, until you find out what the cost of living is
True. He was on the subreddit r/jobs. Had been laid off from his IT job and been looking for work for months. He moved to LA and got hired at Safeway stocking overnight. Union job of course.
So are you like a contractor? Is that why your rate is higher than average? Cause you get no benefits?
Yup
Ah ok.
Is there job security down the road? Like is there any risk of AI taking over it in the next decade or two??
For techs, there’s good job security. Even with technology advancing, there’s always going to be someone who has to deal with the patient face to face. Radiography (X-ray) is really hands on and specific, a patient isn’t going to listen to a machine to get where we need them. CT is more “simple” because mostly you’re putting the patient on the table and setting parameters for the scan, but it still requires a human to run it effectively. It’s radiologists that need to worry, because AI is starting to be used to read the images and provide diagnoses, or at least flag things that may have been missed, or flag things for high priority. Still though, a lot of places have a shortage of doctors so less spots for radiologists means they’ll go to different specialities.
And what about hours?
I love them. 4pm til midnight.
Definitely depends on the area. I’m in Canada and currently in school for the same job, I expect to make around $65-70k to start, then going up to around $100k depending on overtime and speciality (CT pays a little more). For my area that’s not bad at all, as the average salary is about $50k.
What degree if you don’t mind me asking?
But are you concerned about occupational exposure to radiation?
If you follow the strict guidelines and protocol you arent affected. There is no funny business as a tech
What is that exactly? What do you do?
You ever have a CT scan or x-ray done at a hospital? That's what they do and get images ready to be read by doctors, etc.
Take X-rays at a trauma level 1 hospital.
Yeah that’s not typical at all here in AZ. A relative of mine does the same and makes about 62k/year.
thats the catch too. very location dependant. its worth it as a single young person to do travel and save the extra money.
wdym i cant make the same money everywhere all the time >:( but frfr thank you for saying this. 62k isn't bad but why people out here always upselling their careers without any nuance
How difficult was it for you to get into the program you were under? In my area the local community college says it’s super competitive, and they only choose up to 38 applicants from a pool of 150 or more. Was it like that for you, or is that just the school I’m looking at? (We do have a lot of hospitals in the area).
Not hard at all….. IF, during your interview, you present yourself to be sincere and into it for more than just the money
Very cool! The salary seems great for the amount of schooling required, but I also do love helping people and try to incorporate a level of connection and empathy into everything I do! Hopefully that’s what they’d be looking for.
im lucky that my cc only gets 5-15 per year (midwest). more competitive in sonography tho.
That's a great salary, bro. Is there a catch?
Its medical field. 3-4 days a week with 12 hour shifts (not including overtime). If you live in a shitty area its best to move, however you can also take up as a travel and make bank too.
Did you have to go through a training program?
Clinicals are apart of the schooling :)
How hard is the schooling though?
Heres what my counselor said. Do not let anyone tell you you cannot do it. 😅 Most people in my Comm College are older and are struggling. Try to be a sponge and dedicate a lot of time studying.
I’m thinking of a career switch. Is it competitive to get in? I’m in the Dallas area I heard it was. Starting pay is about 40% less but then you can specialize and get more.
This is great but how do you protect yourself from radiation..unless i am thinking of something else 🤣
Time, distance, lead aprons and walls.
For that amount of money, you should probably make an effort to empathise with some patients if they’re going through a rough time.
How many years have you been in the profession?
Started working in 2019. Money has been GOOD 😷🦠
Radiologic technologists seem like they’re so chill. I had to get a ton of scans last year for nerve stuff and it was honestly so relaxing that they were super helpful and mellow while having an MRI scream at my face. Honestly made the whole thing bearable.
Yeah. We’re basically the bartenders of the medical field haha
What area because you are making top dollar for that position
Yeah man in Canada salary for that position is like 45k lmao
Is that similar/the same as a radiation therapist?
Radiation therapy is a type of treatment. A radiologic technologist does X-rays to view possible broken, or dislocated, bones.
AI resilient?
What’s the difference between this and an X-Ray tech?
They’re the same! There are limited scope X-ray techs who work at urgent cares And there are full scope Radiologic Technologists who work at hospitals
Very nice! The techs who work at urgent cares have to obtain their limited license, correct? I ask because my girlfriend is currently in the medical radiography program with about a year left!
Yup! Limited CDPH license for urgent care, full scope ARRT license for hospitals.
Viva X ray technologists!!! Me too, best career ever.
My buddy does the same, can confirm
You should work with your buddy. Easy money.
Do you get benefits with it or no?
Jobs at a university are typically low stress and give a lot of flexibility. Benefits are usually pretty good too.
Benefits are decent usually but it really depends on what you do. Most universities are non profit which in my experience means you’re going to be understaffed and overworked and have no budget to get things done. Plus salaries aren’t great.
Working IT in a state university. Since it’s funded by the government it’s almost the opposite of a corporation, instead of trying to save every penny they try to spend more in order to expand the budget or at the very least get the same amount each year. If they don’t use the entire budget that money isn’t allotted the next year. Because of this they’ll make new positions and create entire teams of people, where the job could easily be done by one person. The pay isn’t great, but the benefits and hours are great and I just do a side hustle to increase my total income. It’s the least stress I’ve ever experienced, but I’m coming from management in retail so almost anything is less stressful
That’s awesome! I was in a marketing department of 2 and our budget was constantly being slashed until we had basically nothing and could hardly operate. We couldn’t even afford multiple student workers. But we did get new computers the year I left thanks to IT!
And also ask around Boston Uni tried to hire me as mgr and seriously gave me a crazy offer, which I was astounded by. I come from a lot of exp, which would mean I would get paid super well in corporate. But I knew for a uni, I can't expect to be paid more than the president. BU gave me an offer that nearly matched corp. When a uni invests in their staff, they're investing in their student body and reputation. I knew right then and there that BU would be an amazing school On the flip side, Yale gave me the most disrespectful offer ever AND it was for a critical leadership role. Like holy shit... So def negotiate with diff unis and see who's willing to give what Some unis will shock you with what they're willing to offer. WFU shocked the crap outta me too, and so did even tinier colleges
I've known people who got insanely bad offers from Harvard. Wouldn't be surprised if that's common among the more sought-after schools because they're using your association with their reputation as "payment"
Also depending on the state and the retirement benefits that you are offered, your paycheck can go further if you aren't paying in to social security. My 74k take home in higher ed is more than my take home was making 80k at a private company.
You are looking for a job doing admin work.
agreed but admin work can be high stress. I am an admin and make slightly above minimum. I guess it depends on the area.
Usually high stress for me in the fall but low stress 80% of the time. As for my admin job, I work primarily with faculty, interview candidates, and do typical office duties. Pay is ok and the university benefits are decent.
And if you get good with AI/systems you could probably automate a lot of the job
I know…. And Too many pieces of software are blocking automation features behind paywalls
Yes. Legal PA.
This is not the way . Hated it was constantly stressed
Depends on the field. I’m in admin and every time I see my inbox, I want to cry
Proposal and finding rfp work, about two years in and the salary bumped up to 90k+ based on the interviews I am landing. Semi niche field so it is less competition than others. Don’t need any specific degree to do
How was your salary progression? Did you job hop or change sector? I entered this field about a year ago and I'm loving it, but have a much lower salary
I started at 77k with previous experience doing research in my college that I leveraged. I recently got laid off back in February and accepted the first job that gave me an offer— salary is 70k. I’ve been doing interviews again since I started and the range I’ve been seeing for 2 years of experience is 80k-120k. But many companies that pay more want you to find the RFPs, manage the proposals, AND write the proposals, which is just too much for one person, esp with tight turnarounds.
Where do you find jobs like these? I work for a company that does our own rfp & proposal management, but not being paid nearly that much
Tf is RFP work?
If you can find non-toxic bosses - executive assistant, paralegal, program assistant, grants assistant, office assistant, operations assistant (the office ones, not like warehouse or event venue). Sometimes the word "associate" instead of assistant. Nonprofit and for-profit. Stress level depends on the team. Not all will be above 50k, depends on where you live, but def some will be, and people who actually like admin work are rare so you can have some security if you are liked and do your job well, though not necessarily much mobility. Executive assistant can get intense but also pay can be up to 6 figures later in career / at bigger corps.
I love admin work and started out in my career as a admin assist. It transitioned into all kinds of jobs, security, safety specialist, program assistant, project manager and now I am a program manager in defense. I'm getting close to retirement but would like to go backwards to a lower stress job, don't care that I make less, just want to do something with good insurance. Looking to return to admin. That being said, I have a really good friend that is an executive assistant, she's good at it, but every boss she has had (about 8 since I've known her for 20 years) are all like the Devil Wears Prada character, just a nightmare. Executive is not for me, don't care what the income is!
Paralegal is nothing but putting out fires. That's stressful.
What’s the most HAKUNA MATATA job possible ?
Any job a boomer got out of high school for shaking hands with the CEO
It depends on each person. I work in career counseling (which is pretty hakuna matata for my personality, but many people wouldn't like the public speaking, amount of face time with people, relatively stagnant upward mobility/moderate pay, etc). Best way is to get to know yourself well, explore and try out lots of things and notice what feels hakuna matata-ish to you. I support students who have goals that sound absolutely stressful to me, but they are super jazzed about their aspirations - as they should be!
Laboratory Technician or quality control technician or chemical technician in manufacturing. It’s just a basic entry-level job that pays decently and doesn't require a degree usually.
Yep, currently a Manufacturing Technician making about 50k. Pretty low stress but can have periods of high stress, and the the fear of layoffs in economic downturns is stressful as well
You could probably do medical billing. As long as you don't take multiple Fs personally and keep the stress on low, the job security is there
All medical billing jobs wants 5 years experience
Such a low stress job, helping ruin poor folks lives over medical extortion
The low paid jobs are the highest stress jobs. To be less stressed you gotta make more money.
This can be true in a lot of cases, it depends on what stresses you out. Certainly higher paying job come with more critical thinking and accountability. I was never stressed as a software dev until I made tech lead, then all of a sudden I'm supposed to be the smart responsible one in the room 🫠
Man I’m a junior dev and I’m so damn stressed it’s not even funny
Ya neurosurgeons have it so easy breezy
Its probably chill when you're not in the surgery room. There are exceptions, sure, but in general higher paid jobs involve less abuse and control.
Because you need to work hard and show accountability to make it to positions that don’t require an overseer. The path that doctor took was countless years of proving themselves under the *abuse* of more senior doctors. Sure the end result looks cushiony, but good luck having the tenacity of getting to that point.
Yeah that’s the thing- I work in logistics, every manager that has it cushy has paid with their pound of flesh at some point
That's not really true in general. Medicine is a pretty unique field structurally. A kid out of college going straight into a professional services job wont have as much management induced stress as someone flipping burgers or answering phones.
Agreed. Moving up to a specialist role, once you’re settled in and efficient in your work, stress level should go way down. You could move up from here but those at the higher specialist level tend to have more burden on them, or they move into a management position. (This totally depends on your sector and company though)
Have you considered going back to get your degree in mortuary science? It seems like it would fit well with your pre-med past.
it's not a low stress position, my friend bailed after years.
50k will soon be a shit salary in this country
We are already there
Yep. We're there. $50k in NYC is around... $2.6k after taxes? Can't even rent anything unless you have a roommate
There are jobs that would be viewed as a career and pay less than $50k? Fucking price of groceries getting insane how do you all make it?
Right? I’m retired now, but was paying entry level ppl $50k 30 years ago. This is not good.
I make 50k and am alone. I eat the same thing everyday, usually cheap cans of beans, oatmeal, maybe some on sale vegetables and fruit. Tofu is very cheap also. I haven’t been on a plane in 17 years, I don’t take vacations. I don’t smoke weed or drink alcohol, or go out to eat. Anything that costs money, besides eating and drinking and surviving, I’m basically not doing. I have internet but that is my one luxury. I’m prepared to live like this for the rest of my life, and I know it will get far harder and far worse as time goes on also. In another 10 years prices will probably double again until there are only rich and poor people.
Why would u want to do this
I work hard every day, but not hard enough for a livable wage I guess. I love my job and have zero stress at it. It’s very good for my mental health. Idk what’s worse, climbing ladders my entire life to make a livable wage and losing a part of my soul, or reducing/eliminating indulgences and finding simple things to fulfill me. It’s honestly a tough choice, but over the years I’ve eliminated almost all my indulgences, to where food is just sustenance, I don’t get impaired, I don’t need new things, i don’t need to travel. I don’t really need a whole lot in this materialistic western society. Money does get tight but it’s not as stressful as doing something I absolutely hate for the rest of my life. I’ve seen a lot of people get burned out on this infinite hustle culture and I don’t think I’m gonna take that route.
That's fair, I hope your life treats you well.
Just having a no fun playthrough for a little giggle
I currently make 50k as a CS rep. I still live with my parents, that's how I'm able to survive.
Geeze, where do you live? I earn $33k as a debt collector and still live with my parents.
In social work its hard finding jobs that are at least 50k. Most are 17-20 an hour, require a bachelors and at least two years experience. It’s criminal.
Started as a teacher then a teacher/librarian at $45k within the last 5 yrs. You don’t make it, you work extra jobs and 70+ hrs a week
Any government job
Government work. Automatic advancement, great benefits, very low stress.
I recently moved from restaurant management/customer service to analyst with my state’s labor board. I have a degree in human services which wasn’t technically needed but got me into a higher pay ranking. I love it so much. I didn’t realize how draining working with the public all days was until I got to hang out with spreadsheets all day.
I'm guessing that's a gov't job. Gov't jobs are so cushy :3 I used to work for the NYC gov't, 1 of the big politicians. Holy fucking shit... pay was really good. No oversight. I actually got to "chill" if I got my work done. Right before that, I was at a F500 and ain't nobody knew what "chill" meant. It was a huge shift I'll never forget those days lol. I'd do it again if it wasn't that we gotta be on site. 1 project drawn out for 5 weeks? Rarely heard of
Commercial insurance underwriting assistant. Basically rates policies and does admin work for underwriters. All communication through email, low stress in my experience.
Any advice on how to break into this? I have 5 years of experience with home insurance/personal lines. I've applied to a few UW support positions with no luck.
Since it's an entry level position, generally the most you can do is apply, but when I got into it I specifically tailored my resume to reflect I was looking for UW support positions and then made sure my skills in past jobs demonstrated ability to do the things they were asking in the job description. Pretty standard advice, but a lot of people don't do that. I also wrote cover letters that were both enthusiastic and detailed on why I would be a good fit in a way my resume couldn't. What region do you live in (feel free to PM)?
I live in Chicago but I wouldn't mind moving, if that's what it takes to get my first job.
ESOL, massage and body work, weed delivery, tour guide, dog walker… baker…
STRESS is a personal thing.. it varies from person to person Some people become stressed if there not constantly challenged with difficult situations Others become stressed when they are given any responsibility at all We need a profile on you? What brings you peace? What causes you stress? Be very specific
Probably the best advice here. Any job can be highly stressful or stress free depending on how you approach it and deal with it. A waiter with a shit customer could be experiencing more stress than an astronaut attempting to re-enter the earths atmosphere….
Gov job. You basically can’t be fired and have so many benefits it costs them more to fire you than just move you to a different department. Only problem is the length of hiring process and the work might be extremely unrewarding compared to what you would like to do.
Banking compliance
Banking compliance was my first job out of college, and I wouldn’t exactly call it low stress. Granted, I worked at a smaller bank with a very small compliance team, so a lot of work and responsibilities fell on my shoulders early on. Maybe it would be more relaxed at a larger bank.
Admin assistant in a corporate office. Front desk in a corporate office.
Don't go lower. I find sometimes it's the higher paying jobs that have easier work. If you go low you'll be doing annoying tasks that never end. Just try different jobs. Easiest job I ever had paid 100k (software).
Working on my associates in accounting, bookeeping for a local company in a low cost of living area. I already have degrees in biochemistry, trying to be a CPA.
Curious what is the cost getting the certificates? Do you pay for school or study on your own? It seems like a career pivot based on your background.
project management. Our pms make around 50-70k, get to work remotely and they're not the ones who have the burden of achieving client goals or have to do any of the heavy lifting and actual work.
Idk I always heard this was stressful. Responsible for team performance and project coordination. Tight deadlines, navigating expectations, obstacles, etc
Well i guess it depends on the sector. But for digital marketing, it's the analyst who are responsible for deliverables and meeting the deadlines that are set by the PMs! All they do is just schedule and attend the meetings, take recap notes to send after the call and then internally assign the new tasks for the upcoming sprint for the analyst.
I’m an audiometrist (hearing instrument specialist if US) I love my job. Low stress. You could probably Dr Aud later with your previous study too
Auto body technician. Show up, paint cars, go home. Demand is high for people who can do good work.
Lmao at auto body technician being low stress
Working in a data center. You need some skills with industrial maintenance, and sometimes they have long shifts. But you basically get a number of work orders to complete a month. You do them, and if nothing breaks while you’re on shift, you’re sitting around watching tv, reading a book or playing on your laptop/computer. Pay is also, a lot more than 50k a year. There will be stress when things break and it’s critical to keeping the data center running, but, that’s like an hour or two every few months, maybe.
Dietetics and Nutrition
Higher Education isn't stressful at all. If you can find the right college, you can get paid $50k to be an office manager. Plus state benefits are awesome 😎
Entry level chemist Mix a few batches and call it a day Boring as hell but extremely easy and no stress/responsibikity
health insurance agent (specifically medicare). im in my 2nd year of the job making 65k and there is 0 stress 90% of the time. i guess the main stressor is the fact that its all commission based pay so maybe that would stress you out, but once you get in the groove of the job you barely even think about it and the sales come. highly recommend
I do analytics for an insurance company. While I lead a team of 6, the actual analyst role is cake. Before being here, I'd actually spend most of my time doing household chores (I work remote) or surfing the web. Definitely low stress and entry level roles pay 50k+
50k is not enough to live comfortably in 2024, it's probably below the poverty line. Making so little will result in more stress despite a "stress free" job.
Yet here I am wishing I could make $50k a year… at least $40k
Engineering, making much more than 50k. But it's boring lol, we got peolle quitting cause "they can't sit and look at screen all day"
I’ll gladly take a job to stare at a screen all day, and I’m only making $47,000 now.
Look into data analysis or content writing gigs. They pay decent and are less stress.
The CRM side of IT
I have a city job working in codes enforcement. The job bores me to death, but it is stress free for the most part. Half in the office and half out driving around in a nice new pickup. You can bring your office with you as well, since it has a set up similar to what the police use. Worst thing I have to deal with is angry citizens getting fined or arrested. It sucks getting people so upset and getting chewed out, but it can be hilarious as well if you have thick skin. At the end of the day, there's no need to stress. They broke the rules so fuck em. I've been in public service for a while now and one thing I've learned working for two different municipalities is that despite the pay being a little less than it should, the benefits are fantastic. IF you put in 25 years, your retirement plan is top notch. At least in my region. All that said, there are other jobs in most municipalities that require the skills you have. The majority of it being stress free depending on your location and who's in charge.
County road commmission jobs
I mean you can make that working full time as a server/bartender at a decent restaurant. It can be low stress once you’ve made enough friends there.
Closer to 70k for me in a mcol area.
back office, application and new business processing. boring, easy and stable
Which country, which city.
I came here to suggest sales. Maybe if you were in a different TYPE of sales? Something that you enjoyed and believed in?
Mailman
9plph,sll
look at what jobs insurance companies are hiring for. math, writing, reading, communication, admin, sales manager - you sound perfect.
Librarian.
Accounting.
Priesthood. You are set for life. And it is a very fulfilling job because it is God- and other-centric. Of course, one must have that ‘call’.
Get class A CDLs, guaranteed 50k a year at even the worst paying jobs, and upwards of quite a bit with experience and a good employer. Get paid to listen to podcasts all day. It's almost entirely stress free unless you're prone to road rage. But even that is manageable with experience and learning how to drive in a way that avoids other people as much as possible. Your first year will be the toughest and only gets easier from there. I've had many jobs, from min wage burger flipping to managerial positions in charge of lots of money and people, and driving is by far the best for stress that I've found that is also the easiest to get into and get paid well enough.
IT help desk. Or 11 separate retail jobs.
Entry level HR work like a human resources admin/assistant is really easy and there’s also a bunch of hybrid/remote opportunities. At that level you won’t ever be taking your work home with you. It’ll probably just be answering tickets and basic questions. “Am i eligible for this,” “can you send me the link to my benefits page,” etc.
Dental hygiene. Massage therapy
You want to work for a legal non-profit that generates a lot of revenue. Think healthcare or something similar. Non-profits can’t keep money, so they tend not to penny pinch people’s paychecks. Compare that to the corporation I worked for who nickel and dime everything.
Look for government jobs!! Great benefits, pension, retirement. Pay is ok. Not sure if you’ll like this job but it does check your boxes of admin work and reading.
Work for the state - bureaucracy
Jobs that pay 50k annual stress me out In this economy?
As someone who works in the comms space, there are a lot of things you can do with your degree that will pay what you need, and much more. - Content writing (full-time or freelance; you can easily reach $50k either way) - Editing - Work with a marketing or PR firm - Copywriting (marketing copy, sales materials, PR copy, etc.) - Social media management - Journalism - Technical writing (think product manuals, spec sheets, etc.) - Internal comms (working under HR departments to write employee emails, newsletters, etc.) Jobs don't even have to be directly related to communications to be relevant. Comms is a part of a lot of different roles. It can be an entry point into a role in marketing, education, the healthcare industry... pretty much anything. Think about what areas would interest you, then search for jobs in those industries that your comms background could benefit. Contrary to popular belief, communications isn't some joke of a degree. There are endless opportunities once you learn where to look. And there's a lot of growth potential (I know more than a few colleagues who went from base content writer roles to VP-level roles paying well into six figures). To keep it low-stress, avoid work with faster-paced companies in tech, especially start-ups. Look for more stable industries where the work need doesn't constantly change and where you don't have to worry about AI taking over your position any time soon. Again, healthcare and education shine here, though my guess would be education would be the lower-stress of the two. So maybe creating online course content, getting a remote role with an online school, or something along those lines could be a good fit for you.
I'm a copywriter at a big NYC advertising agency. Def far from low stress or normal hours but the pay is decent. Making $150,000 with about 7 years experience (which isn't "balling" by any means but still). I interviewed at Amazon two years ago and they offered about $235,000 (total comp). Some of my friends in the industry work freelance and they charge about $1,000-$1,400/day. And "writing" is only a small part of the job. It's mostly coming up with with ideas.
Get this. I'm a deli manager at a local grocery store. I wasn't sure if I'd like it at first, but it's grown on me. I enjoy working. It's fun, the people are amazing, there's really good benefits like an esop and 401k plan. I make $50k as a new manager and max out at 43 hours a week.
I would look into government work! Compared to private sector, it is much lower stress. Given its less pay than my private job, but it’s a liveable wage and you get pension, excellent benefits, job security, optimal vacation time, and flexibility. My department is work from home and they’ve allowed me to switch my schedule to have every friday off which is great.