20 Job Positions That Most People Think Are 100% Overvalued and Overpaid

Some jobs are highly valued and offer lucrative salaries and benefits. However, not all highly-paid jobs are necessarily worth the price tag. Some are overvalued, overhyped, and overpaid. Here are some of the jobs people think we value too much.

Overpaid and Overvalued

In some cases, certain job positions might be overhyped and overpaid, wasting resources and possibly negatively impacting their industries.

A Reddit user asked, “What job position is 100% overvalued and overpaid?” The thread received thousands of comments. So let’s take a closer look at the 20 most overvalued and overpaid job positions:

Car Salesperson

A Reddit user responded to the question posed above, “Do car salesmen really do any work anymore? The last time I bought a car, I looked online, did my research and knew exactly what I wanted, and basically showed up ready to buy. The dealer just gave me the keys for a test drive, then did the paperwork for me.”

To which another person responded, “I work at a car dealership and most people show up having no idea what they even want or what they’re looking for. The salesmen/women where I work are very valuable and do a great job.”

Do you rely on a salesperson, or do you prefer to research online before buying a car?

Realtors

One user commented, “Realtor. While I believe they can provide value in some situations, technology has put a lot of the work into the buyer’s hands. You find places you like, send them to a realtor, they walk you through and point out which rooms are bathrooms, print out a mountain of paper for you to sign, and … BOOOM, $50,000 commission.”

Someone else added, “I may be biased here but I am not exaggerating when I say more than half of the dudes in my fraternity who dropped out of college because of bad grades became realtors.”

An interesting take: do you think realtors’ money justifies the level of input their jobs require?

Pharmaceutical or Medical Salesperson

One Redditor replied, “I’m a small-scale clinician who deals with medical sales reps five days/week. While they are seemingly very sweet people but they have no medical knowledge whatsoever. They can’t answer medical questions relevant to their products. Every rep we deal with, the information they provide can easily be googled and they earn >3x the combined salary of my office staff comprising 4 people.”

Someone else shared their experience in return, stating that “A friend from high school does this. They did a sport science degree and is now absolutely killing it financially. They earn considerably more than me (a doctor) and like you say, probably incapable of describing any of pharmacology of the products they sell.”

Do you agree that the need for a medical sales rep has become obsolete?

CEOs of Big Corporations

One Redditor said, “Most CEOs get paid outrageous salaries.”

Another added, “I’ve worked a few different management positions and the CEOs were useless 90% of the time. They really only need to do like 1.5 hours of actual work followed by 5 hours at the golf course.”

While someone commented, “So what do I have to do to become a CEO?”

To which another sarcastically replied, “Be born rich and inherit the company.”

Fintech

One Reddit user shared their personal experience, “I work in fintech and I literally do nothing during 9-5. I wake up in the morning, start my computer, check emails, morning meetings, then play video games, go to the gym, invite friends over or go out for brunch, and at the end of the day message everyone a good afternoon. I’m absurdly overpaid as well and highly recommend the career. It’s like I have a job but I don’t but I do.”

Someone else agreed, saying, “I work in Fintech too and I work super hard actually, like mind meltingly hard…for about 45 mins a day. Rest of the time is easy life baby.”

Hmmm, time to google some Fintech courses?

Hedge Fund Managers

One person shared their reflections on society, “I really hate how the brightest minds of our generation have been funneled into finance instead of science, engineering, politics, medicine, and a ton of other critically useful professions, simply because finance is where the money is. A hedge fund is just a gambling house. It makes no net contribution to society. It just moves money from one pocket to another.”

Personal Example

A former physicist added, “My two bits, as a physicist moving to finance. Academia sucks. Wages are pathetic. Job security is zero and there are no permanent positions anywhere. Meanwhile, in finance, I get to work with market microstructure, which I actually enjoy, and I get very fairly compensated for my knowledge and effort. Why would any rational person stay in academia? And I say this as someone who loves physics, and would be happy to do it for the rest of my life.”

An interesting point: do you agree that the compensation for academic and research professions is less than the years of education and hard work required?

Social Media Influencers

One Redditor left a one-word reply, “Social Media Influencer,” which sparked a debate.

Someone replied, saying, “I think a huge percentage of influencers exaggerate how well they are doing/paid as well, so it feels crazier than it is.”

However, another user interjected, “If any job is appropriately paid, it is influencers. It is relatively easy to measure the ROI of an influencer. It is simply another form of marketing/advertising.”

What do you think? Are social media influencers the new age of digital marketing?

College Football Coaches

One Redditor shared their views about college football coaches: “They are typically the highest paid state employees with the justification that the football programs make money for universities.”

While another person interjected, “A good football coach brings in far more revenue to the university for each dollar spent on their salary than anyone in the administration.

And that’s not even considering how they bring in money besides athletic revenue. A successful football team functions as an extremely successful marketing campaign.”

Politicians

A Reddit user left a one-word reply, “Politicians,” which led to a detailed conversation with many other users.

Someone replied, “While they make a good amount of money, the salary isn’t usually obscene; it’s money made in side dealings that causes some politicians to become wealthy.”

One local body representative responded, “I’m a local elected official. I work at least 15-20 hours a week (in a slow week.) I make under  5K a year in the position.”

Do you think that politicians make a lot of money? Or are their remunerations fair?

Athletes

Someone commented, “People in entertainment – athletes, celebrity actors, etc. Entertainment is certainly valuable and arguably necessary, but to justify the millions of dollars these people make is hard.”

Someone else replied, “The 25 million for the sports star is because he makes his owner 1000X more than that. They make billions for the teams each year. It’s only natural they get a good share of the revenue.”

Do you agree with the logic above?

Babysitters

One Redditor shared their experience as a babysitter: “One night, I babysat three kids for about 2 hours or so. The kids went to bed when I got there, and the parents had left dinner out for me, so all I did was eat their food and watch their TV and pet their dogs. When they got home, the mom paid me $100.”

A mother added, “One of the smartest moves you can make as a parent is treating those who take care of your children incredibly well. I always overpay my sitters they’re worth every penny with the peace of mind they give me.”

Do you agree with the statement above? Are babysitters actually under-compensated for the level of responsibility the job requires?

Project Managers

One former project manager said, “Project Managers, They just sit on meetings, repeat what is said in 6-9 other meetings, and then update a schedule accordingly.”

Another user shared their sibling’s example, “My sister is a Project Manager for one of the big computer companies. She works remotely and travels the US in an RV with her husband. All she needs is a wifi connection.”

Hmm, seems like a cushy job. What do you think?

Data Analytics

One user shared the comparison between themselves and their partner, “My girlfriend does Data analytics for a consulting firm, and she’s super talented at what she does. She works maybe 1-2hrs a day remote, watches tv and takes walks the rest of the time and makes $260K. I’m putting in like 4-6hrs a day remote, 8-12 if in the office alongside late night meetings as a city planner while only making $60K.”

Actors

Someone shared an interesting take about the entertainment industry, “Definitely A-list actors who are paid millions and millions of dollars to play make-believe for a living. All while being treated like royalty and traveling the world. Even though they make millions they still get more free stuff than any of us even know.”

What do you think? Are actors overpaid?

Middle Management

One Redditor said, “Middle management. There’s too many senior managers, managers, directors, and senior directors etc, who just sit in meetings all day to discuss what work they’re going to assign their subordinates.”

Surely lots of middle management people here will disagree. What do you think?

Online Streamers

A user commented, “I understand a small amount of streamers  actually make good money but it’s ludicrous that a 10 year old kid who reviews toys is the highest-paid person on the planet, while we have scientists saving the planet and heart surgeons saving lives.”

Another interesting take it makes you think the sciences are not valued or paid enough.

IT Directors

A person shared, “My IT director.. He’s never around, automates his email, and he has his own company.”

Someone else said in agreement, “That’s literally every IT director.

Someone else added in agreement, “So many IT directors are not techs by any stretch, but just management that filled the void.”

Consultants

A Redditor hilariously said, ““Consulting” refers to the business of getting seasoned, expert advice from 23-year-olds.”

Another user added, “They get paid to be the bad guy essentially and to outsource blame.”

While someone else shared their personal experience as a consultant saying, “I do consulting. It is just either outsourced office work or creating fluffy Power Points to give executives an excuse to authorize spending. It’s not a bad gig.”

Life Coaches

One person shared, “This girl I know became a life coach and charges $300-500 per person for a 4 hour “seminar” that a friend of mine used to help her set up for. Friend said all it was 4 hours of her saying these people are great and doing yoga and breathing exercises. And she had repeat customers and often 4-8 people per class.”

Have you ever invested in life coaching? What has your experience been like?

Hospital Administration

Someone said, “Hospital administration, they shouldn’t be making as much as a physician unless they are one!”

A nurse shared her experience, “I’m a nurse who is very slowly climbing the ladder. I’ve been sitting in on some “essential” meetings lately with various directors of xyz and honestly they are such an unbelievable waste of time, and resources. It’s pretty depressing sometimes.”

Another user sarcastically added, “I started calling my hospital administration “The Party Planning Committee” because that’s literally all they did. Plan parties, run 5ks during work hours, give each other awards.”

Jobs That Are Overpaid

I hope reading this list made you realize that the job market can be tricky, and certain positions garner more attention and compensation than they deserve.

However, ultimately, it’s up to us to decide what success looks like and to pursue opportunities that align with our passions and aspirations!

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