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What are some of the most interesting jobs in the world that also pay well?

While there are stories [1] on the Internet about hippotherapists (horse therapists), fragrance technicians, and theme park characters, many people would rather opt for a mainstream job that keeps their interest and pays the bills with a lot left over for trips, homes, cars, and savings.

Moneywise.com has a story [2] about 41 high-paying jobs that are also interesting or fun. Some are a bit out of the ordinary, like romance writer and cruise ship entertainer, but others are more mainstream like fire chief, engineer, and lighting designer.

Moneywise says you can pursue careers that are creative and fun and also help people, like music therapist, art therapist, zookeeper (animals are people too), dog walker, and personal trainer. 

U.S. News and World Report had a story [3] about 25 Awesome Jobs that Pay More than $100K. The bonus is that these professions are hiring new talent all the time.

Advanced degrees

One thing to note about these jobs on the U.S. News website is that many of them require advanced education and training. But we will discuss later some interesting jobs you can get with a high school diploma.

The top job on this list is physician, which pays internists an average of $194,500 a year. And as physicians progress in their careers, they can earn more than that. Being a doctor can be stressful and can require long hours, but it is rewarding not just for the money and prestige but because doctors help people.

The next top awesome job, according to U.S. News and World Report, is dentist. Dentists earned an average of $151,850 in 2020. Again, a lot of education and training are needed, but the rewards go beyond monetary because dentists help people a lot.

Marketing managers earn an average of $134,290 and need only have a bachelor’s degree in marketing or business administration to land a job.

IT managers typically earn about $142,530 per year and can even land a job with an associate’s degree and a lot of work experience. However, many companies require IT managers to have bachelor’s degree or even a master’s degree.

Attorney

Another job that U.S. News says is a plum position is attorney. Lawyers made on average about $120,910 in 2020. An advanced degree is needed to succeed in this profession.

Not everyone is inclined to go to college for 8 years or more, though. And some people have a more creative bent to their thinking. What about them?

There is the position of art director or designer for a magazine, newspaper or other media outlet. They earn a median salary of $85,000 and oversee production of art for publications, TV shows, films, ad campaigns, websites or products.

Public relations

Another position in which a person can be creative is public relations specialist, who earn a median salary of about $60,000 as of 2018. They can be spokespeople for public figures, for sports teams or companies, museums or almost any large organization. A big part of a public relations specialist’s job these days is to manage social media campaigns on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, blogs and other organs.

High-paying jobs that anyone can do.

Anthropologists and a subset, archaeologists, are social scientists who study humanity and intersection of humans and their environment in past times. They usually need an advanced degree to land a job, but once there they earn a median salary of $61,000, says U.S. News.

“Anthropologists often only specialize in a few areas: sociocultural anthropology, which examines culture; biological anthropology, which examines the ways in which humans relate to the biological world; and linguistic anthropology, which studies languages’ relationships with humanity,” the article states [4].

Archaeology

Archaeologists study human history and prehistory by digging artifacts, bones, fossils and flora and fauna out of the earth, and analyzing them in the laboratory to determine how people lived in the past.

Teaching is a profession where the rewards of helping people and the interest the job holds may even outweigh the financial rewards. You don’t often hear a teacher say he’s in it for the money. Elementary school teachers earn a median salary of $54,120 and there are expected to be tens of thousands of new jobs in it by 2024. And a teacher can get hired with a bachelor’s degree, though many go on to get higher degrees while they work.

High school and middle school teachers earn roughly the same amount of money as elementary teachers, and the growth in those areas is expected to be great over the next 8 years.

Working with your hands

If you like to work with your hands and still want to earn a decent salary, the trades may be the place for you. These occupations can require formal education plus on-the-job apprenticeships, but the satisfaction from building something or helping people can pay off in a big way.

Some of the fields include

• Carpenter, with a median salary of $40,820, which is expected to grow by 60,000 jobs through 2024.
• Mason, $47,650
• Construction manager, $85,630
• Electrician, $51,110, with 85,900 new positions expected.
• Plumber, $50,660.

And several other types of jobs, including fabricators, painters, sheet metal workers and construction laborers. All of these fields are expected to add upwards of 10,000 and many will add a lot more than that through 2024.

Careers without college

What if you don’t want to spend even 4 years in college? First, we would caution that while college costs money, it can also pay off handsomely over a lifetime. Check out this graphic from aplu.org [5]:

Dental hygienists, who do need some schooling, earned on average almost $40 an hour in 2020. Online advertising sales managers earned $57,908 per year on average. Paralegal assistants, who can get some fascinating work, earned about $40,000 per year on average. Court reporters, many of whom fascinating court cases, earned about $58,413 per year on average.

One interesting job that people can get with just a high school diploma is commercial pilot, with a median salary of $86,080. To work for an airline, you usually need a bachelor’s degree. To be a commercial pilot, you do need 290 hours flight time, plus you must get licenses for various ratings.

But you could work in the interesting fields of aviation in rescue operations, firefighting, crop dusting, aerial photography or charter flights.

Conclusion

To go back to the Moneywise article on fun jobs, you could be a chocolatier, an interior designer, a personal shopper, or a wardrobe stylist and make decent money. These jobs do not require degrees. Also, check out vintner (wine maker), brew master, and stunt performer.

If you're young, we have some advice: Spend some time in school, whether trade school, college, or vocational school, or get some other advanced training. You are investing in not just your earnings, but how interested you will be in your job and how satisfied you will be in life.

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