The gender gap in pay has remained relatively stable in the US over the past 15 years or so. In 2020, women earned 84% of what men earned, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers.
Even though women have increased their presence in higher-paying jobs traditionally dominated by men, such as professional and managerial positions, women as a whole continue to be overrepresented in lower-paying occupations relative to their share of the workforce. The ongoing wage discrepancy is caused by many factors including gender discrimination, motherhood, and taking more time off work compared to men.
But despite that, some women have managed to settle into low-stress and well-paid jobs and are pretty happy with their careers. So today we are taking a look at their ‘career secrets’ as shared in response to the “Women with low stress and good paying jobs, what is it that you do?” thread from the Ask Women subreddit. Below we wrapped up the most interesting responses, so scroll down and share your thoughts in the comments.
#1
I’m a librarian at a university. 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.
It’s a huge library, and if I need a break from my desk I just wander around the shelves for a while.
Image credits: overtheseseas
#2
I work in a warehouse that sells commercial kitchen supplies. My manager is also a burnt out neurodivergent millennial; he takes mental health and having a healthy workplace environment seriously. This is the least stressed I’ve been in nine years.
Image credits: xerion13
#3
Self-employed rehabbing old houses. No stress as we pick the house, I design and help with general labor if needed and partner takes the lead in coordinating the trades. Otherwise I’m working from home 99% of the time writing checks and balancing the books.
Image credits: LeighofMar
#4
I’m a webdev and I don’t open my e-mails in my free time.
Image credits: neverwantedtodancee
#5
Senior cyber security engineer. I can work remotely from anywhere in the world, since my team is fully remote & we have folks from all over. Most of what I do is code review, staying up to date with happenings in the field, and answering questions, all of which I can mostly do from my phone. I also have very low oversight and near complete freedom on what I choose to work on.
I also make money in the lower 6 figures. Which sure, there’s always gonna be someone to say that I could make more in the field, but it almost certainly wouldn’t come with all of the same perks and entirely stress-free way of life. On top of that, the tech jobs that pay more are pretty much exclusively in areas with extremely high cost of living. I currently have no such burden.
This is basically my dream job.
Image credits: Mandatory_Pie
#6
Technical Writer. It requires qualifications, such as special training, but well worth it. 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, etc.
Image credits: UsualAnybody1807
#7
Journalist. Writing brings me peace and joy.
Image credits: BusyResponsibility12
#8
I’m a freelance writer specializing in an area I find interesting. I have a chronic illness where one of the symptoms is chronic fatigue, so I can’t work as much as some other freelancers can, but I make enough money to live on comfortably.
Image credits: celestialism
#9
Mental health therapist! It pays well, I get to have meaningful conversations with people all day, and I get to choose my own hours.
Image credits: jbelru
#10
It doesn’t sound like much, but i pet sit.
I make my own schedule, I don’t have many face to face interactions with clients (I do an initial consultation to get familiar with their house and routine and everything else is text), I get to chill with animals and I don’t have to market myself very much once I onboard enough clients. I don’t have too much travel time between jobs because I limit my service area a ton (This took a long time to figure out exactly which neighborhoods took forever to get to even though they were “close”). Over the years I’ve built up clients that are loyal and like me so when I have to say no because I am traveling, I’m usually able to do it and be comfortable that they’ll call back next time.
I make 20$ a visit for most of my clients, visits being approximately 30min. I managed to make a nice niche for myself locally with hobby farms and exotic animals since I have experience with them. The upside to hobby farms is I often get to keep eggs/produce that I pick up during my visit.
Right now I’m comfortable, but I also know that with a little effort I can be much busier and make more money. Even during my busy season I’m “working” about 4-6 hours a day.
I’d rather have a job with benefits and a regular schedule but at the moment with my kids and childcare situation, that’s not possible but I also still need to make some money for the household to stay afloat, and this works for me right now without adding tons of stress. It doesn’t feel like work most days. I enjoy my animals, I like most of my clients, I like getting to work outdoors, and I love the money and the tips.
The bad part is that I cannot ever travel for the holidays. From Oct 31 to mid-Jan, I am locked into being at home and pretty much work the whole season straight.
Image credits: themoistowlette
#11
Narrative Designer in video games! Though there are a few caveats:
1) the stress is low because I work for a company that does not believe in crunch, which is still relatively rare in the industry. Being a woman also adds a certain stress that can be better or worse depending on the company and team you work with. It’s always sort of a cloud above your head, so to speak, but I’ve got a pretty good team so I’m one of the lucky ones in this case!
2) I only get paid decently because I job hopped a little bit and upped my salary each time before settling in where I am now – it is generally considered the only way to increase your salary in this industry at the moment. The upside is it is sort of expected of people to bounce around companies a little bit, so it isn’t necessarily considered a black mark on your C.V. or anything.
Image credits: andrewisagir1
#12
Court reporter here working in California!
I work in court for mostly calendar proceedings, so rarely do I have any take home work.
It’s 8am -5pm work days and it’s paid holidays, sick days, all the benefits and vacation time a year.
Depending on what state you live in, you could make a lot of money as a court reporter!
An in court court reporter makes like 109k a year your first year.
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!
The minimum per job now a days seems to me $575 per job, NOT per day.
Also, some agencies offer bonus money for you to take the job or drive to it. Bonus money isn’t anything less than $300.
So basically depending on what agency you work for as a deposition reporter, you could make $800 a day per job. So if you get a morning job and they need you in the afternoon, that’s another $800 plus however much pages you’re going to transcribe that day and other charges 🙂
It’s an easy way to make $3,000 a week at least in my state of California!
Image credits: Censordoll
#13
Programmer. Just learning that being overlooked lightens my workload substantially and I still get paid. So f**k it, I’m done fighting the ambitious fight and I’ll just take the paycheck and enjoy life. Hope my male coworkers enjoy their burnout.
Image credits: ListenLady58
#14
Data Scientist with (and this is key for no stress) a stay at home husband who handles ALL household chores and responsibilities.
Image credits: PikePlaceRoaster
#15
Freelance graphic artist and interface design.
I make $50/hr, flexible hours, make my own schedule, I’m also a mom and regularly take as much sick / caregiver time off as I want with no repercussions. Canada. I have a husband who also works (more hours than I do, he is primary breadwinner as I’ve worked part time since having kiddo— we have a 2 acre hobby farm that takes up the rest of my/our time). My retired mom watches kiddo when I’m working if she’s not in school or with her dad.
Image credits: Kitchen-Education-57
#16
Aerospace engineer. But I’d say it’s mostly because I absolutely love what I do. Mostly younger engineers so not too much misogynistic BS to deal with either at work.
Image credits: Midnight_Rider98
#17
Research scientist – I’m constantly overlooked for my male colleague so it makes for pretty light work.
Image credits: packpeach
#18
I work in content marketing. I’m basically an overpaid blogger.
Image credits: Internetmomo
#19
Quality Designer at a video game studio that is anti-crunch.
Image credits: DemonicGirlcock
#20
Adult Content Creator. I had a “respectable” job before and I can’t believe how much better my life is now. Im my own boss, work my own hours, dont deal with people I dont want to and pull 6 figures. The only downside is the stigma that comes with working in the sex industry. Most people have a lot of misconceptions and I myself was one of them before I got into it.
Image credits: brunetttttttte
#21
I’m an accountant at a biotech startup! I have a lot of responsibility, but I know I’m capable so it doesn’t particularly stress me out. I have a masters degree and about 4 years experience now, making $116k USD
Image credits: skibunny1010
#22
LGBTQI + educator and human rights activist. I have the best job in the world educating the next generation on how to finally topple this horrible capitalistic, transphobic, patriarchal system through science.
Image credits: AshamedPollution5660
#23
Airline pilot. My job can definitely be stressful, like a few hours of no stress at all and then one little thing gets messed up and you’re scrambling. For the most part it’s fairly relaxed but it has its moments.
But really my low stress comes from my schedule. We’re supposed to work about 80 hours a month, and those hours are doors closed to doors open, so basically our “work” hours are just the time spent moving passengers, not the hour and a half at least that it takes to get through security, get to the gate, wait for the plane, and do the whole preflight routine, or the time spent after you land. But all that being said if you’re just working shifts where you do two 4 hour legs in a day then you’re working 10 days a month.
I’m in the middle of two weeks off right now, not vacation time, just two weeks off because I got all my credit hours at the start and the end of the month.
So yeah, life’s pretty relaxed. I get paid well, I have a mostly fun job, and I get plenty of down time. If you can get through the couple of years of training and then all the time building hours working shitty jobs for low pay (I did 4 years of flying cargo in shitty turboprops, and I definitely had an easier go of things than most of the people I went through training with), life really is great once you get to the airlines.
Image credits: PistachioMaru
#24
I work from home as a technical service representative for a cryptocurrency trading exchange. It’s all email-based, work at your own pace, and my coworkers are awesome. I’ve worked there for almost 2 years and I never wanna work anywhere else!
#25
I work as a case manager for a healthcare company. I work remote and get paid MUCH more than I did in my high stress healthcare social work position ?
#26
Hair dresser,I’ve been making over 6 figures for the past 8 years.
#27
Corporate trainer. All the joys of teaching with none of the discipline or grading I’d have to do if I taught in a school. I just give my class, if you don’t pay attention or do the homework, you just won’t be able to do your job, and that’s not my problem.
I also write a lot of technical documentation to go along with my classes and that’s pretty stress free.
#28
Scriptwriter for video games very chill
#29
I work 40 hours a week, mostly tune out over the weekend, and while there are occasional moments of stress when something in production doesn’t work, for the most part it’s not very taxing
#30
I’m a health tech on a psych ward. I get paid pretty decent for the little work that I actually do.
#31
Business intelligence analyst. I really only work about 10 hours a week. The other 30 I spend scrolling Reddit waiting for a ticket to come in.
Image credits: p1zzarena
#32
Higher education administration, specifically in a non-student facing area. It has its moments, but generally I never receive an email after business hours or on weekends and we’re all pretty chill and just nerdy people who want to be left alone. I also get sooooo much time off each year.
Edit: I have a personal policy where I delete comments with more identifiable info about about 24 hours up. Sorry if you’re finding this after the fact.
Image credits: scthoma4
#33
Very long night shifts in a convenience store. It’s Japan so I can be alone on the shift, it’s very safe and I can work at my own pace.
Image credits: bunbunzinlove
#34
City bus operator . I used to manage fast food
Once I settled into the job, it is way less stress than my last one.
Image credits: mmjames66
#35
I’m a medical sales rep.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 lol
Image credits: Alliecat7777
#36
My mom and I make and sell custom luxury beaded curtains. I had made one for myself and people loved it so we used stimulus money to build our inventory and went to work. Our standard item is $1355 and we have done $5000+ and several $3000+ orders. We just got one tonight which means I don’t have to worry this month!
Image credits: agrandthing
#37
Inclusion teacher, hear me out. I don’t have a class, I am assigned to different classrooms to help kids with homework, I don’t always need to make lesson plans, paperwork is light, and the people are great. ??
#38
Canine Handler for the government. Best job I could ask for, my coworker is a rockstar.
#39
I’m an office assistant/receptionist and I don’t make a s**t load of money, but I work 9 to 4:30 and my boss pays me until 5:30, he also pays for winter tires, brake changes, let’s me take the days off I need for my kids or if I’m sick, let’s me work from home if I need to, and he looks after his employees as if we were his family. He never allows us to become “stressed” and always tells us to speak up. I adore working for this company (it’s a small company ) I may not get paid $30 an hour but I sure appreciate getting paid what I do and having an amazing workplace, co workers and boss.
#40
Chiropractors assistant/receptionist. It pays “good” for my area; to put it in perspective, I’ll be moving into a one bed, one bath soon on my own just by working max part-time. It’s an entry level job, it’s easy to understand, I love my coworkers and the doctors are nice! I essentially work a simple day job to fund a lifestyle of a homebody artist who goes out once a month or so.
#41
Piano teacher. I’m trying to break the stereotype of piano teachers being old church ladies who teach half heartedly in their spare time. I put effort and truly care about every single student
#42
On the Innovation team at a major tech company. The company prioritizes/ is known for great work/life balance, so it makes for a very sustainable pace.
#43
I work in Australia and government office jobs here are extremely low stress and high paying. Wish I could land a permanent position but the contract I’m on is paying me a crazy high hourly rate, which I’m grateful for.
The hours are 37.5 a week. Hybrid WFH. I start whenever and finish whenever. I close my laptop when I hit my hours and don’t think about my work again until I open it. I work on a marketing/product management team. It’s nice to not have any “bottom line” in that we aren’t selling anything tangible like the private sector. So it is way less stress as there aren’t any monetary goals to reach.
#44
Public servant. I work for a government agency (in Australia). Good pay, good conditions, flexible in many ways. Being a small cog in a large machine is freeing.
#45
Professional fundraiser for a large nonprofit. Great benefits, hybrid office, and a diverse workforce that is about 70% Millennial and Gen Z. There’s no specific education path required to become a fundraiser, everyone’s journey is different. Some people in my department spend their days writing and researching, others have strategic meetings with high net worth donors. I do a little of everything! I manage employees, spend time with major donors, and do some data analysis. It’s a nice balance for an introvert who doesn’t want to be completely isolated.
#46
It’s not well paid but I’m a receptionist in a high security place. It’s cool, I’m mostly paid to scroll reddit and speak three languages when needed, and I write emails.
#47
Massage therapist. It can be hard on your body but it’s nice being in a dark room with relaxing music all day. Work is fulfilling if you enjoy it
#48
i work in a factory lol. i wish i had a cool job. i want something better for myself. but it pays alright (17.50$/hr) and i get about 90hrs per biweekly pay period. i hate my job bc of how boring it is, but it’s low stress. i wish i could work somewhere more challenging and high energy though.
#49
I run a used bookstore. It’s not super great paying but I am definitely the breadwinner. I work hard but I love it and it’s not really stressful except for the occasional customer.
#50
Freelance copyeditor / proofreader. I enjoy reading other people’s work and enhancing it. Plus, I have the best boss…
#51
Director of education and training. My job would be stressful if I let it be, but I prioritize balance and lead my team to do the same.
#52
Sous Chef, I know sounds crazy. I’ve been with the same company for 10 years and the executives kinda baby me.
It used to be extremely stressful.
#53
I work as a consultant for health insurance plans in the Medicare communications field. It’s medium-levels of stress for the summer because of deadlines and low stress the rest of the year.
#54
Child care/kinder photographer.
I run my own business so there is stress on that side but I get to hang out with kids under 5, play, be silly, chat, laugh… it is hands down the best part of my work.
Actually, that’s a lie. The best part is being able to set my own hours. I am neuro-diverse and a single mother so being able to take a couple of months off in the middle of the year to regroup, catch up on other jobs and decompress has made a massive difference to my mental health.
#55
I’m a lab manager at a biotech company. Great pay and not much stress. I’ve had the same role at other companies and the stress was definitely intense but where I’m at now (small company still in clinical trials) it’s waaaaay more relaxed.
This is just to say, it’s not always the job that’s low stress, it’s the company culture and the people you’re surrounded by.
#56
I’m a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas, I come in and play a game for a few hours. Once you get over the nerves thinking “ this is real money what if I make a mistake “ you just coast by and play a game. Every hour I get a 20 minute break and the food is free. So really I’m only working 6 hours lol I get paid enough to live alone and I’ve met some interesting people, it’s also helped my social and people skills
#57
Business Analyst (Wholesale Telecommunications). I work with a great team that are located across the country, mostly, with some international coworkers. I work from home and can, to a large degree, control my schedule. I have a feeling that what I do matters (it’s not just ‘busy work’). I get to have my dog by my side too – bonus!
#58
Customer service WFH. I bring in around 43K a year but I have a spouse and live in a low COL area. Pay less than 500 a month for housing. Not great by any means but we have our bills paid without worrying about disconnection. We have food and eat out quite a bit but it’s just us two and our pets so between WFH and no kids, inflation hasn’t hit us TOO badly since we live below our means on purpose.
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.
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.
#59
Tech. Moderate but reasonable stress
#60
I’m a Psychotherapist. I love what I do… it’s meaningful and rewarding – very challenging personally and emotionally but it’s not really the same type of “stress”that most people deal with in work. I am fortunate to be my own boss and make my own hours. It’s a second career for me and I will never do anything else, I love it. I started out not making much, but now I’m making six figures doing something I love.
#61
Molecular biologist with no writing or presentation responsibilities . I am confident in my technique and right now just do a single all day protocol. All I have to do is keep my spreadsheet updated. It’s boring but I listen to music and podcasts and I use mental energy for freelance writing a lot of which I get done while my samples are in the PCR machine.
#62
I teach and tutor remotely. I get to help people of all ages from all over the world learn the things they’re excited about! My day starts at 4AM, but that’s the only downside. I took about a $25K pay loss after leaving marketing, but the work/life balance is amazing. I make my own schedule and can work as little or as much as I want, within reason.
#63
Both my previous high-stress, burnout-inducing and current low-stress jobs have been the same. I’m an Executive Assistant.
I’ve realised that what matters over and above the tasks and responsibilities, is your manager and their ability to both delegate tasks to you in a timely – and honestly, realistic manner (wrt. deadlines!) – and their capability of treating you like a human being. There’s a difference between treating your EA professionally as your delegate VS. treating them as your personal gofer!
The difference in my mental health when I compare these two jobs is staggering. In that until you actually get out of the slowly, ever-sinking rut, you don’t really realise how bad of a toll it was taking on you mentally.
It took me 2 years to get over the burnout, and I still genuinely react with surprise (and shock, unfortunately) when my current manager extolls something as basic as work-life balance.
Basically, I am an organised soul and I can take away your stress when it comes to administrative tasks, and I’ll do it happily, too. But damnit, don’t keep moving goalposts on me!
Edit: typos!
#64
Currently a network engineer and moving into a cloud engineer role. I automate things so I have more time to do what I want. They pay me for my knowledge not my time. I can be done by 2pm most days and just do odds and sods in the afternoon. Now I’m moving to an even better job where they pay me even more to do the same thing
#65
I do clinical data abstraction as a nurse. I work from home. Have no stress and love it! Pay isn’t as good as hospital nursing but it the low stress and flexibility is well worth is 🙂
#66
Marketing manager at a B2B tech company. My degree is in English Lit and psychology, and I was pursuing a PhD so I could teach at the university level. Academia was a terribly stressful environment for me and the job prospects were dismal, so I dropped out in my 4th year and applied for entry-level marketing jobs since I knew my experience would translate well. I am 100x happier in my current career.
#67
I’m a a car insurance claims agent. I just started 9 months ago and I make $28 /hr 🙂
#68
Own a small company that Provides virtual project management and administrative services. I have a team of 14 now and although things can sometimes get a little stressful, for the most part it’s just lots of fun
#69
I’m a corporate recruiter who mostly works from home. I am a naturally extremely anxious person so my job needs to be relatively low stakes. I definitely have stressful moments at work but I know my work isn’t life or death.
#70
Quality Assurance Manager for a company that does a great job of thinking about its employees.
#71
Software engineer.
#72
I’m a hairstylist/entrepreneur and I really love that it allows for so much creative freedom. Running your own business is incredible! Dealing with the public in itself has its own stressful moments, but I love creating beautiful hair & making people happy! The biggest downside to my job is just being completely drained socially & physically by the end of the day.
#73
I work for a non-profit mental health company as a UX designer. I work probably 25 hours a week with a good salary and unlimited PTO.
It’s pretty great that my employer cares about our wellbeing, but I’m actually getting bored!
#74
Cannabis retail!
#75
Landscape designer/manager
#76
I’m a software developer.
#77
I’m a zoologist. But do understand that I worked at Hooters to help pay my way through college and going to school full time was full of stress. I’ve simply hit that part in my journey where my stress is manageable. But I’ve been in my field for five years and I love it. Loving what you do helps.
#78
I’m a bartender and I’m also studying. My life is difficult but it’s okay I like to make people happy and nice costumers make my day. Nothing to complain of!
#79
I’m an administrator (mostly scheduling) at a plumbing company. Very cruisy and I get paid way too much for what I do and have excellent bosses. Only downside is the other lady is an anti vaxxer and into conspiracies.
#80
I make about 20K more than the median. I work in a warehouse (for the largest DC of my international company) and drive very heavy equipment, basically pulling and moving pallets all day. Don’t take work home with me, and the management worries about the details. I move my pallet, collect my check and go home and forget about it. It’s nice. The other benefits are pretty amazing too.
#81
Tech recruiter. Im remote and get to talk to ppl, make my own hours and never feel overwhelmed by work.
#82
Designer in a tech company. Pretty chill. I just design UI, code, do some videography, any other random shenanigans for our team. Working from home is a big plus. #YayWomenInTech
#83
I work as a demand planner & master scheduler at a paint company. I suppose that there’s moments of stress but overall it’s a pretty stress free job. I work hard to make sure everything on my brands is in line and if I keep it organized, it stays pretty stress free.
#84
I’m a nurse. Post COVID I see 2-6 prts a day in a clinic. Leave before 5pm every day.
#85
I’m a mental health worker for an employee assistance program. I’m a social worker by trade, and honestly working for this tech company where I’m paid well and treated well has reignited my spark for helping people. I work overnight shift, so most nights I’m just waiting for clients. It’s really nice!
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