The best low-stress and well paid jobs, according to women

A viral Reddit post asked women to share their well paid but low-stress jobs

Meredith Clark
New York
Friday 22 July 2022 11:04 EDT
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The job market can be a stressful place especially for women. Even in 2022, women still earn less on average than men for the same role. Women in the workplace also face more challenges than their male counterparts when it comes to discrimination, harassment, inadequate maternity leave, or difficulty finding childcare.

That’s where Reddit comes in. In a viral post shared to the popular Reddit forum “AskWomen” on Sunday, user Sparkle356 asked the group: “Women with low stress and good paying jobs, what is it that you do?”

“I’m a librarian at a university,” said user Overtheseseas. “I help folks to find materials and hear all about cool research pursuits. I also spend lots of time maintaining the collection and cataloguing old theses. The best part is connecting students with services to help them and making sure the library is accessible.”

In the United States, librarians earn an average of $29 per hour and up to $61,190 per year. Librarians typically need a master’s degree in library science in order to earn an even higher salary. Librarians at universities tend to make more than $60,000 a year, while librarians with the federal government can earn $80,000 per year.

“It’s a huge library, and if I need a break from my desk I just wander around the shelves for a while,” she said.

Another woman shared that she works as a court reporter in California.

“I work in court for mostly calendar proceedings, so rarely do I have any take home work,” the woman said, who goes by the username Censordoll. “It’s 8am-5pm work days and it’s paid holidays, sick days, all the benefits and vacation time a year.”

In the state of California, court reporters can earn up to $109,000 in their first year, but the average salary reported this year was $67,163. “But as a freelancer, you could make easily 150k and more depending on what you provide and you don’t have to work 5 days a week!” she added. “The minimum per job nowadays seems to me $575 per job, NOT per day.”

One person explained that they work as a technical writer, which makes about $78,060 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “It requires qualifications, such as special training, but well worth it,” said user UsualAnybody1807. “And it’s one of the roles in IT – which is such a male-dominated field, that being in a location in IT means the women’s restroom at work never has a line or is out of soap.”

“I’m a medical sales rep,” said user Xerion13. “I basically sell surgical devices to hospitals and I love my job even more because since the pandemic, my company gave its employees the choice between working in the office or home.”

“Guess which one I chose,” she joked.

Like any job in sales, the annual salary can vary depending on the size of the company. According to the 2021 MedReps salary report, the average total compensation for a medical equipment sales representative is $149,544 – with an average base of $92,698 and an average bonus of $63,318.

Another woman, who goes by the username Ahtomix, shared that she works from home in a customer service job. She explained that she brings in around $43,000 a year – which is average for customer service jobs in the US – but with her partner’s combined income and their low cost-of-living, they live well.

“I like my job, my benefits are great. No stress. I am never expected to be contacted outside of work hours. In fact, it is punishable if you are doing anything work related off the clock,” she said. “Going back to school soon to get a degree and hoping to buy a house. Our path is slower than others our age but we are doing okay.”

Other women shared they work as canine handlers, freelance copyeditors, and pet-sitters.

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