3 Surprising Careers That Pay Way More Than You Think

Career switching is sweeping through the American workforce. Some 43 percent of workers want to change their career field this year, according to a March study from jobs site FlexJobs. Another 23 percent have already tried to make a career change in the past year. With much interest brewing, knowing which under-the-radar jobs pay the best is critical for safeguarding your financial future.

We sought out an array of careers advisors to identify three roles that pay more than what the average person might think they do.

All Rise

The sound of a court stenographer tapping away at their typewriter-like machine during a trial is music to the ears of Steven Lowell, a senior reverse recruiter at careers site Find My Profession.

Court stenographers typically earn from $60,000 to $120,000, Lowell said. High performers can earn as much as $200,000 a year. That pay range can go even higher in legal situations where technical language is used. “If you are lucky enough to be working on legal and medical depositions with challenging language, you can make anywhere between $200,000 to $300,000,” Lowell said.

New York has the highest average court stenographer salaries, while Kentucky and Louisiana have the lowest average pay. The job’s long-term stability faces challenges from AI’s ability to recognize and transcribe human speech, but there may be an ongoing need for stenographers to work with AI assistants and review AI transcripts.

Take a Bite

Next time you head to the dentist, there’s a chance the person cleaning your teeth is making six figures. Dental hygienist is one of the most underestimated jobs on the market, said Lauren Mastroni, a career expert at Resume Genius.

The role’s median salary is $94,260, but salaries can be as high as $100,000 in California and as low as $70,000 in rural areas. The field is projected to grow by 7 percent over the next 10 years. “Beyond pay, it's a great career choice due to stable demand, predictable working hours, and relatively good work-life balance compared to many healthcare professions,” Mastroni said. Another benefit is that it usually requires a two-year degree instead of a four-year degree, and the delicate work needed with human hands makes it largely AI proof.

Password Protected

If the internet and cloud computing are the Wild West, then information security analysts are the sheriffs keeping everyone safe. The role includes monitoring alerts, investigating security incidents, running vulnerability scans, writing rules for how threats are detected, and strengthening overall system security.

All of those responsibilities translate into an average salary of $129,208, noted Sam Wright, head of career strategy at job search site Huntr. The best salaries in the field go to senior engineers, who typically make more than $150,000 a year. That figure goes up by 20 to 30 percent in the Bay Area, New York City, and Washington, D.C.

One in five job posts will waive a degree if the applicant has a certain number of years of experience. Certifications such as Security+ and Offensive Security Certified Professional “often matter more than a four-year degree.” “The field is wide open. You can break in through bootcamps, self-study, and certs, then move up fast. The work is also hard to automate. AI helps security analysts, but it does not replace the judgment call,” Wright said.