12 Easy Career Changes that Pay Well

This list of easy career changes that pay well is meant to help unemployed people, and those who are stuck with hard and low paid jobs. After 2008 Economic crises, many educated employees have lost their jobs. The job market growth that came afterward was mainly driven by the fast development of digital technologies.

Today, the job market is very dynamic. Although the unemployment in the United States at the beginning of 2017, was at its 16-year low, there are still many people who haven’t adapted to the new market trends. Many occupations like postal service clerks, sorters, manual agricultural workers and sewing machine operators are quickly dying out, due to a fast technological advance that brought significant changes into the work process. In future years, these trends will cause a huge turmoil on the job market, and many professionals from postal, textile, agriculture and mining industries will need to shift to the more perspective jobs.

Changing your career is not easy, especially if you have only worked in one industry. Although age discrimination is punishable by law, employers are either looking for young interns with no experience, or for more qualified senior experts with work experience and a wide professional skillset. These trends can easily leave you unemployed for a long period. That is why choosing a good occupation change at the critical time is essential for future career success.

We inspected dozens of websites to find both easy and high paying career change opportunities. In the end, we have taken two sources for finding the easiest career changes, the Monster’s Six Quick-Change Careers article, written by Larry Buhl and Brazen’s 7 Careers You Can Switch To Without Earning Another Degree article, written by Annie Favreau. When it comes to the article on Brazen, we agree with Annie Favreau that careers that can be started without obtaining a degree are definitely the easiest ones to start. Still, obtaining a Bachelor or a Master degree will definitely make the career change much easier, and it will drastically increase your starting salary. If you want to learn more about degree prospects, check out our list of the Best Graduate Degrees for a Quick Career Change.

Apart from simplicity, potential earnings are the most important factor you should have in mind when choosing your new career. Some jobs can’t be paid by the hour, which makes them hard to rank. While making our list of easy career changes that pay well, we have used several sources to calculate median pays and rank our list entries. First, we have checked the Bureau of Labor Statistics page for each job on the list. For the career changes that we have found on this platform, we have listed both average annual and average hourly pay. Since some jobs don’t have their page on Bureau of Labor Statistics or this platform simply haven’t collected the information about their expected earnings, we used the information from articles on Monster and Brazen.

12. Solar energy system installer

Average starting annual wage (BLS): $30,000 – $40,000;

Hourly wage: $12 – $20;

Solar energy system installers work on installing solar panels on residential and commercial buildings. They need to be skillful with power and hand tools and accustomed to the work at great heights. Although there is no formal training for solar energy system installers, most of them have a background in construction and power industries. Since the popularity of solar panels is increasing in recent years, many schools started offering specialized courses for this type of occupation, which can last from one day to one week. The starting pay for uncertified solar energy system installers ranges from $30,000 to $40,000 according to BLS, while certified contractors or electricians who do this job may earn significantly higher wages.

11. Medical assistant

Average annual wage (BLS): $31,540;

Average hourly wage (BLS): $15.17;

There are two main types of medical assistants, that rank 11th on our list of easy career changes that pay well, the ones who are specialized in administrative work and the ones who do the simplest clinical tasks, like measuring heart pressure, sterilizing instruments and doing the most basic laboratory tasks. Although this is one of the least paid jobs in the health care sector, it can give you lots of work experience, which can be very useful if you plan to finish some additional courses and earn higher degrees in the health care field. Some types of medical assistants can enter this occupation with a high school diploma and learn everything through the training provided at the workplace, while others need to finish postsecondary programs. Still, you should have in mind that most employers would rather hire a medical assistant with a course degree. Medical assistant programs can be found in community colleges and various vocational schooling institutions. They last one year and provide lessons in both medical terminology and laboratory work.

10. Massage therapist

Average annual wage (BLS): $39,860;

Average hourly wage (BLS): $19.17;

Massage therapy is usually regulated at a state or a local level. Still, many therapists provide their services without any state certification and find their customers through recommendations or sharing economy directories. Most states require massage therapists to get their degree from postsecondary schools. A massage therapist course lasts between 500 and 1,000 hours, and it encompasses a wide variety of health care lessons, from the most basic anatomy to body motion and business management studies. Depending on the state, the massage therapists might need to pass a special licensure exam that is organized by the Federal Massage Therapy Board.

9. Personal chef

Average annual wage (BLS, for Household Chefs): $42,220;

Today, many professional chefs are leaving the restaurant business and becoming personal chefs. The salary of personal chefs depends on the sum they negotiate with their clients. The average annual salary of a full-time household cook is $42,220, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics, but personal chefs that provide catering for parties and work with several clients at the same time can earn from $200 to $400 per gig. Household chefs often receive free food and lodging and many other benefits. This occupation doesn’t require any additional education or licensure, so if you already work as a restaurant chef, you can start looking for clients immediately. If you don’t have a degree in this field, you might need to pass some additional training in safe food handling, sanitation, and cooking.

8. Patient advocate

Average annual wage: $25,000 – $70,000;

Patient advocacy, that’s up next on our list of easy career changes that pay well, is becoming a very popular career choice, especially among health professionals, social workers, and NGO volunteers. There are many ways you can provide patient advocacy services. For example, you can do it by providing medical assistance, by helping patients to deal with their health insurance policies and by providing geriatric assistance to senior citizens. Of course, whichever aspect of patient advocacy you choose you will need to do at least some training. Patient advocates are mainly hired by insurance companies, NGOs, government health institutions or private patient advocacy businesses.

7. Prospect researcher

Average annual wage: $30,000 – $80,000;

Most prospect researchers work for non-profit organizations. Their job is to find out as much information about possible prospects, who might want to donate the money to the organization’s cause. The information they find is used for shaping organization’s campaigns and prospect outreach. They are mainly inspecting wealthy prospect’s hobbies, interests, behavior, donation history, etc. Prospect researcher career is perfect for people who have already volunteered in non-profit organizations and professionals who ran or took part in political campaigns. For this job, you will need strong analytic skills, and experience in internet research, fact-checking and a professional social media use.

6. Social media manager

Average annual wage (BLS, for public relations specialist): $56,770;

Up next on our list of easy career changes that pay well is social media manager that is a very trendy occupation. Its popularity coincided with the fast growth of digital marketing. Social media managers help businesses to build strong communities around their accounts and convert leads and prospects into loyal customers. Classic responsibilities of a social media managers include: writing posts, running social media ad campaigns, using Facebook Pixel and other similar tools for improving client’s conversion, etc. There’s no university course for social media managers, but various private schools offer comprehensive training that covers all of their responsibilities. Many career changers, who plan to become social media managers learn this trade by listening to online courses, on platforms like Coursera and Udemy.

 

5. Wellness coach

Average annual income (according to ICF Global Coaching Study): $61,900;

Hourly wage: $25 – $50;

Wellness is one of the fastest growing industries in the developed world, and that is the reason why this occupation easily found its place on our list of easy career changes that pay well. There are many different types of wellness coaches. Their job is to promote a healthy life and help their clients to reduce stress, quit smoking, exercise regularly and introduce a healthy diet. Many wellness coaches work for big companies or clinics, but there are also independent professionals who get hired directly by the clients. Currently, there is no official training for wellness coaching. According to Margaret Moore, a wellness coach, interviewed by Monster, most professionals in this field have struggled with health, addiction or weight problems and now they are trying to share the knowledge and techniques they have learned during this experience.

4. Energy consultant

Average annual wage: $65,000;

We are continuing our list of easy career changes that pay well with energy consultants that are also known as energy auditors. Their job is to inspect residential and commercial buildings and determine the areas of air leakage and the best ways to fix them and improve buildings’ energy efficiency. Sometimes they also provide consulting services to companies and individuals who want to install systems that will allow them to use renewable energy sources for heating and cooling their homes and offices. Although some states require energy consultants to take special courses, there are no nationwide training requirements for this profession.

3. Web developer

Average annual wage (BLS): $66,130;

Average hourly wage (BLS): $31.79;

Web development, that’s next on our list of easy career changes that pay welleasy career changes that pay well is a growing niche. Professionals in this field design and develop websites. Designing website’s functionality is their full responsibility, while some web developers also conduct the web design tasks. Most web developers who are freelancing or are employed at smaller startup companies have a very wide knowledge. Universities offer a many web development bachelor programs, but there are also developers who take the shorter route to this dreamy job. They attend evening school classes or decide to educate themselves through tutorials and online courses.

2. Technical writer

Average annual wage (BLS): $69,850;

Average hourly wage (BLS): $33.58;

At number 2 on our list of easy career changes that pay well we have technical writers who work with tech expert to create instruction manuals and guides that are easily understandable to common people. They develop a unique slang and dismantle technical terms so everybody can understand them. Most technical writers work in offices, and for this position, you will probably need to earn a college degree. Companies also provide special on-the-job training for technical writers. This is a very lucrative career change for people who already have the technical knowledge or a college degree in engineering, IT, or some other similar field.

1. Emergency manager

Average annual wage (BLS): $70,500;

Average hourly wage (BLS): $34;

Emergency manager or Emergency management director is a very responsible position, with the highest average annual salary on our list of easy career changes that pay well. The most important responsibility of emergency management professionals is to prepare plans and procedures that will help communities to respond to emergency situations caused by natural disasters or the human factor. This is the best career change for professionals who work in other public administration positions. Emergency managers need to have a Bachelor’s degree in public administration, finances or emergency management. In addition to the degree and appropriate work experience, future emergency managers should also attend voluntary training programs organized by the associations of emergency managers and institutes specialized in disaster recovery.