In this article, we’re primarily looking at high-paying jobs that are either relatively low-stress or relatively easy to get into. How “easy” a job is going to depend a lot on your interests and what comes naturally to you.
Information Technology Manager
Average Annual Salary: $119,500
As with most management positions, becoming an information technology manager requires experience. However, the field of IT has been growing rapidly in recent years, and IT is something that every business needs, no matter how tech-focused they are or aren’t.
Information technology managers are responsible for dealing with technological advancements in terms of phones and computing and making sure that the company’s information and tech are secure and usable. The main job of an information technology manager is to make decisions and create policies to keep the company safe.
Job Outlook: This field is expected to expand and grow in the coming decade, with a projected boost of 11% between 2018 and 2028. And as new technology arrives and becomes more and more a part of our lives, it grants those in the IT field fantastic job security.
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Risk Manager
Average Annual Salary: $116,000
This position is most often found in insurance companies. Being a manager position, it usually requires between six to eight years of experience in the field. However, most of your work will be done alone (except when you’re explaining your results), and anyone who deals in math and percentages is generally regarded as a wizard.
As the position title implies, risk managers calculate risk. That’s why they’re so important to insurance companies, but they are employed by all sorts of businesses. Many executives will ask a risk manager to assess major changes in company structure or in investments.
Job Outlook: Risk managers are expected to continue to be in demand and grow by more than 5% in the next five years. That will open up several thousand new positions. It’s a position that’s unlikely to become obsolete – managing risk is an important part of the business. And even with better tools, we’ll still need someone to interpret the results.
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Hacker
Average Annual Salary: $86,000
Hacking is a complex and evolving field. New security measures are being invented all the time, along with new technologies and techniques that make hacking more effective. But a lot of hackers work for themselves and work alone, which makes it a relatively low-stress job. And it’s a fantastic conversation starter.
Being an effective hacker requires a lot of skills in coding, familiarity with security systems, and expensive equipment. It involves spending a lot of time alone trying to figure out how to breach someone’s security. You’ll also need to be able to clearly explain any weak points you found and how you exploited them.
Job Outlook: The business of cybersecurity is a huge business and is only going to become more important as more and more people get access to better technology. The demand for hackers to help with security is expected to increase substantially in the next few years, opening up a lot of opportunities.
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Geophysicist
Average Annual Salary: $105,000
While in many ways, being a geophysicist wouldn’t be considered easy, it does allow you to pursue an interesting field and primarily work in research. So long as you have the credentials, you ought to be able to make it in the field, as not that many people pursue a degree in geology.
Geophysicists primarily work by studying the properties of the earth and its atmosphere. As that’s an extremely broad field, there are many different businesses and industries that are in need of their expertise. They can assist in civil engineering, mining, oil and gas drilling, as well as urban planning and conservation.
Job Outlook: As geophysics is such a broad field with multitudinous applications, it’s unlikely that you won’t be able to find work in something related to your field. The field is expected to expand by a few percentage points as well, opening up new opportunities.
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Equity Research Associate
Average Annual Salary: $119,500
If you’re interested in investments, that’s the primary focus of this job. With a bachelor’s degree and a couple of years of experience, you can become an equity research associate. There are a lot of responsibilities to juggle in this job, but you’ll have the chance to work with large portfolios and with various different businesses.
As an equity research associate, you’ll be responsible for keeping track of the stock and securities market and advising clients on it. That means you’ll have to generate reports and projections and explain the best options to your clients. That means that you won’t only deal with numbers – you’ll also deal with people on a regular basis.
Job Outlook: Investing isn’t something that’s going to go away anytime soon. There’s only projected to be a little bit of growth in this sector, approximately 5% in the next five years, which will generate about 2,000 new jobs.
Dentist
Average Annual Salary: $147,500
Calling any job in the medical field easy is fraught. However, because medical school is punishing, if you’re able to get through it, you’re pretty much guaranteed a job. And with efforts toward expanding healthcare coverage for Americans, there’s likely to be a lot more demand for dentists in the coming years.
As a dentist, you’ll be focused on taking care of your patient’s teeth and offering them medical advice and treatments as needed. While going to the dentist isn’t anyone’s favorite activity, you will be helping people with their problems and their health. Does that make the job easier? For many people, that’s the case.
Job Outlook: Demand for medical care is a guarantee, which means that dentists will be needed for decades to come. There’s only expected to be minimal growth in the next five years or so – around 3%, but that will open up about 5,000 new opportunities.
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Investment Banking Associate
Average Annual Salary: $120,000
Investment banking firms generally expect their employees to work long hours. However, the job is well paid, indoors, and is often in prestigious places like New York City. Most baking associates only have a couple of years of experience, which means it’s relatively easy to break in – so long as you have a bachelor’s.
Investment bankers often work with large companies to help them raise capital. Often this is in the case of an expansion or acquisition, but there are other reasons that businesses may need large amounts of capital quickly. You’ll spend a lot of time working with clients and higher-ups, and you’ll be expected to regularly be on call.
Job Outlook: Opportunities in this position are expected to hold mostly steady, with a bit of growth over the next few years. As there are a lot of positions already, that could lead to another 10,000 positions opening up.
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Optometrist
Average Annual Salary: $187,500
As with being a dentist, positions in the medical field generally aren’t easy. But they do have the benefit of being secure, prestigious, and giving back to your community. Optometrists also perform the wonderful service of correcting people’s vision, which allows them to participate fully in society.
Optometrists are focused entirely on vision and the eye. Their primary patients are those who need prescription glasses, but they’ll also diagnose and treat various eye diseases. A lot of your day will be spent interacting with patients and explaining to them about their vision, eye care, and proper use and care of visual aids.
Job Outlook: There isn’t expected to be a lot of growth in this sector, maybe 5% over the next five years. That being said, demand for medical care isn’t going to decrease, which will give you guaranteed job security.
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Physician Assistant
Average Annual Salary: $119,000
As a physician assistant, you can do most everything that a medical doctor can, but without a full medical degree. Most physician assistants hold a bachelor’s degree, while almost 30% have a master’s. That makes it slightly more approachable than getting a full medical doctorate.
While physician assistants operate under the care of a fully licensed physician, they are still able to diagnose and treat patients, as well as help the primary physician with other medically related tasks. That means that you can practice medicine without as much time spent in school or getting into quite as much debt.
Job Outlook: There is expected to be quite a bit of growth in demand for this position, up to 15% in the next five years. That means that more than 15,000 new positions are expected to become available.
And with an exodus of people from the medical field during the pandemic, there will be a lot of demand for new professionals to fill those gaps.
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Data Scientist
Average Annual Salary: $106,000
As the name suggests, data scientists work with large amounts of data. If you have a bachelor’s degree and a few years of experience in a related field, you should be able to get a position as a data scientist. A lot of your job will be working with computers and data, which means that there will be limited interaction with others during your workday.
Data scientists analyze data sets, organize large databases, and “clean” them as needed. Once you’ve processed the data, you’ll need to translate it into an easy-to-understand visual to help non-data-oriented coworkers understand it.
Job Outlook: With more and more businesses accruing large databases, the need for data scientists is unlikely to diminish. Projections don’t forecast tremendous growth, though it may be as much as 8% over the next five years, with 2,500 new opportunities opening up.
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When determining how difficult a job will be, you’re going to have to consider your own aptitudes and interests. While many of the jobs on this list aren’t going to be considered easy by everyone, they have aspects that make them easy to get into or other qualities that make the difficult parts worth it.
