Yahoo recently ran a story entitled “Surprising Jobs that Pay $25 an Hour.” The author writes,
But you don’t necessarily need a post-graduate degree to qualify for a job that pays several hundred dollars a day. While it may be true that helicopter pilots, high-tech administrators, and civil engineers earn $25 an hour or more, so do many other professionals in careers that require only an associate or bachelor’s degree to leap onto the playing field.
The jobs listed are electrical and electronic engineering technician, human resources recruiter, paralegal, respiratory therapist, police officer, advertising sales agent, and interior designer.
One profession that certainly qualifies, but was wrongfully omitted from the list: street prostitute.
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Does it qualify? I don’t think it’s all that surprising that prostitutes make $25/hour…
Maybe that wouldn’t be surprising.
Maybe there should be a link to your cardboard sign post. I have heard that pan handling can pay pretty well. (Though that isn’t a new occurrence.)
Maybe the title should be “Surprising Jobs that Used to Pay $25 an Hour, Before We Told Everybody.”
I am an out-of-work lawyer, as so many are these days. Given that I have seen listings for attorneys that do not offer $25/hour, I doubt that becoming a paralegal is the best path to such a paycheck. Here is a quote from a recent Craigslist ad for a firm just outside of Boston:
“Candidates will be members of the Massachusetts Bar and should have excellent work product. Candidate will also have strong writing and research skills. Duties will include drafting and reviewing complaints, motions, preparation of discovery, and communicating with the courts and clients. Multiple court appearances each week, so reliable transportation is a must. Excellent communication skills a plus. Pay is commensurate with experience $30,000-$35,000.”
$30k works out to about $14/hour, in one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. Fortunately, I only have about $200,000 in student loans to pay off (at 9% interest). Point being, if this is the new floor for bar-certified attorneys, I would imagine paralegals are not going to be making $25/hour. I would not be at all shocked to see less reputable small firms in major markets offering minimum wage for their legal staff, or just above it. No benefits, of course.
Heck, a law firm in Silicon Valley is offering the chance for attorneys to work for them for FREE:
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/09/its_come_to_this_unpaid_intern.php
Since when do HR Recruiters get paid by the hour?
That might be an average wage, but it’s largely a commission job, so it probably represents a few people making a lot of money and a lot of people making not very much.
Isn’t this data sort of meaningless without controlling for location? $25 an hour will let you live like a king in some parts of the country, while in NYC you’d be barely eking out a living.
I don’t see much consideration here or in your paper for the career lifespan limitations common to prostitutes, atheletes, models etc.
$25 an hour in a job that you can continue to do for decades (and which is likely to increase in wage as you age) is probably more favorable than a $27 an hour wage which declines as you age.