When I interviewed for a copy editor position a few years ago, I was asked how much I made at my previous position. Now take note, employers and interviewers are NOT ALLOWED to ask you this, but since I didn't know that, I answered her honestly.
To say she was shocked was an understatement.
My previous position was a writing position, and she couldn't believe how much I was making at a writing job just out of college when people who had several years of experience above me were making less at similar positions.
Basically, she thought I was being overpaid and made that clear when she told me how much I would get paid at her company for a higher position.
We are all aware there are plenty of people that do important work who don't get paid enough. However, there are also people who do important work who also get paid too much. It's not something talked about often.
At least, it wasn't until Redditors broke that dam.
It all started when Redditor oeiswa asked:
"Which job is definitely overpaid?"
It's All Fun And Games
"I'm not sure what the position is but I have a buddy that worked at Dell and his job was to sit at a computer and press a button to accept and send forward IT service tickets. $100k salary and he said he spent his day playing games on his phone or watching youtube/netflix."
– wetworm1
"My old roommate had a cushy job like this that required a security clearance and he was careless and lost it while telling the other 3 of us that it was NBD because he wanted to be a teacher anyway."
"All 3 of the other roommates were teachers and we were horrified that he'd throw away $100k "play League all day" job for f*cking teaching"
– Badloss
"The sign of a good IT department is when they're all playing halo on their servers."
"If the IT department gets calls every five minutes, the loss of productivity of the entire company greatly overshadows five dudes playing halo."
– Ashi4Days
"I Moved My Mouse Today
"As someone in cyber security... cyber security. They are throwing around tons of money."
"Shhh. As someone in that field as well, don’t let them know that lol"
– Jamize
"As someone also in cyber security, who works from home and installed a mouse jiggler..."
"I have gotten so much sleep, I have no stress"
– throwaway129655
A Dangerous Game
"Politicians! Anywhere in the world are overpaid. Should have their salaries set to be equal to public servants such as teachers for example. Whatch teacher salaries increase"
– MJK75
"Underpaying politicians makes them a lot more susceptible to bribery"
– artichope
That's The Dream
"If I’m being honest, I’m probably overpaid. I'm a customer success manager at a tech company. My job is very straightforward and I don’t have to exert a ton of effort. It’s not super stressful and I get to travel quite a bit on the company’s dime. The only real skill that is required is emotional intelligence. Understanding the basics of tech and marketing is a plus, but you can learn that as you go. I make 6 figures."
– Dpg2304
"I'm a client of customer success managers and you guys do jack sh*t. You spend most of your time badgering me for meetings, and then making to-do lists that fulfil (I assume) some internal target but add zero value to my business. You hiring?"
– jolloholoday
We Decide
"Board of Director."
"Often get 6 figures for so little work that you have plenty of time to sit on multiple Boards!"
"Oh, and did I mention that it is often other companies' C-suite execs that sit on Boards? Being on the Board of Directors takes up so little time and involves so little work that you can sit on multiple Boards ALL WHILE BEING A C-SUITE EXEC!!!"
"BTW, who decides how much $$ the CEO gets? The Board does."
"Who's on the Board? C-suite execs, like CEOs, of other companies!"
"Anyone see a problem here?"
– S-Wind
Unsurprising
"Government. I asked some of them what they do and they couldn't even really describe it properly and if they don't come in to work for a week they don't get fired."
– Far-Side3272
"I used to work for a government run national laboratory... The amount of people that actually do nothing, take 2 months of vacation every year, and cannot even come close to telling you what their job entails is atrocious. A lot of the stigma surrounding government workers being lazy and unproductive is absolutely accurate."
– -B-K-
It Pays To Be The Boss
"I learned this week that vice principals in the school districts here get paid between 90-100k a year. The average teacher in the same school districts get paid around 35-40k. I’m not sure how this is legal."
– pwa09
But They're On TV!
"Morning show TV anchors."
"Back in the day they ere giving people like Matt Lauer $25 milion a year."
"GTFO of here."
"Sports broadcasters….they are paying these NFL guys huge bucks….do you ever tune in to a game because of who is doing the play by play?"
– plytime18
What Do You Do?
"Anyone on Wall Street. At this point, algorithms do all the research and work, yet you make a small fortune. Not to mention that even the most well-known and established firms are hella shady and are constantly involved in scandals, fraud, and morally bankrupt practices. All that doesn't even include the sexist, racist, and unacceptable environment Wall Street has and actively encourages. And yet when asked, I still can't get a straight answer on what exactly they do or how their salaries are justified."
– four-eyed-crow
I Want These Positions
"The recruiters, HR and marketing people at major tech companies who make Tik Tok videos about their easy “work” days. Maybe 2 hours of work and 6 hours of delicious food, gym, and other perks"
– Such-Echo6002
Sounds Interesting...
"Mine… cause I barely work these days 🌝"
– LillithsDream
"You're in IT too??"
– go_hyuck_yourself
They Said Clear Skies!
"Any meteorologist. They cannot get it right"
– Responsible-Handle19
Huh, I Never Knew!
"School bus drivers. They make around 40k a year, while school teachers only make around 30k. And to add to that special ed teachers get paid even less than normal teachers."
– AggravatingJury476
Sounds Pretty Nice
"Probably mine."
"I work nights as a line service tech for a private jet charter company. If we have no flights coming in or going out during my ten hour shift, I do next to nothing (I'll spend 30 minutes doing fuel QA as well as any odd jobs I can find, but that's it.) Instead, I tend to sleep for 5-6 hours- and management both knows this and does not object so long as we take care of any flights we may have."
"I get paid $22/hr for this, work eight days on, six off, and have the option to deadhead on a private jet if I want for free. I'm also being trained as a mechanic for free."
– rmp881
"The cost is that it's Night shift. No one wants it but it's gotta get done. Enjoy yourself."
– TempAcc64
Ouch!
" Football."
– TTVBirch2354_
"I don't know, man. It's tough being a football. Getting kicked around all day."
– troelsbjerre
These sound great if you're lucky enough to snap one of them up!
Do you have any to add to the list? Let us know in the comments.
@jman42/Bluesky
@SecretaryBurgum/X
@Doug Ellin/X
@evanrachelwood/Instagram