The desire for fairness is a huge motivator for change. To put it simply, people can’t stand it if someone’s being mistreated or if they see someone being rewarded more than they are. And when talk turns to money, things can get really heated. Many people believe that they’re not paid enough for their efforts, meanwhile, they watch others get rich by—seemingly—doing ‘nothing’ at all.
The r/AskReddit community went all-out and shared their thoughts about the professions that they personally believe are greatly overpaid, from influencers to preachers. Scroll down to read their opinions and upvote the posts that you agree with, dear Pandas.
Personal finance expert Rick Orford, the author of ‘The Financially Independent Millennial,’ shed some light as to why some professions get paid more than others. You’ll find Bored Panda’s interview with him below.
#1
Here in Quebec, Canada, we have something called “the language Police”. They go around and make sure fonts on signs are more pronounced in French than English.They make 80k a year. ?
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#2
I thought it was funny that a lot of social media influencers make enough to wear a different designer outfit each day. I feel like I missed a real-life cheat code
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#3
Executives of most companies. They supposedly get paid massive amounts because they will be held responsible for the performance of the company and... Are never held responsible for the performance of the company...
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The basic idea behind all of the frustration in this list is simple. Many internet users believe that some folks get unfairly rewarded for the amount of value that they bring to their customers, company, or society as a whole. Or, to put it more bluntly, they see some professions as being inherently more valuable than others.
In an ideal world, the professions that are most useful to society would be paid the most. But we don’t live in an ideal world. People get paid what they do based on the market conditions, the demand for their work, their reputation, and sometimes the perceived—not actual—value of their services.
Sure, social media influencers might not cure diseases or educate future generations, but they provide entertainment for thousands, sometimes even millions of people around the globe. There’s a huge demand for their services, like it or not. And it's not like their jobs are stress-free either. Often, influencers have to be incredibly disciplined and emotionally resilient to do what they do. Their career path isn't for everyone.
#4
Big time preachers (think Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland)
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#5
Professional stock portfolio managers. 99% of them do not outperform indexes and they contribute no real goods or services.
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#6
Music executives. They don't have an ounce of talent, but will make money off of the talent of someone else. It's a disgusting thing to see.
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“Generally, we are paid based on the value we give back to humanity. Someone who grows vegetables might earn $1,000 a month, while a lawyer might earn $1,000 an hour,” personal finance expert Orford told Bored Panda via email.
“The person who grows vegetables provides sustenance, but the lawyer's fee allows them to argue on behalf of their client and potentially keep them out of jail. Which one provides more value? And that's what I mean by value.”
According to the expert, CEOs tend to get a bad rap. “Someone like Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, reportedly earned $226 million last year, much to employees' chagrin.” However, Orford pointed out that the situation isn’t all bad.
“Others, like Tim Cook, who actually requested a decrease and Elon Musk works for free,” the author of ‘The Financially Independent Millennial’ said.
#7
Celebrities, of most any fashion. I do not see any reason why an actor needs to be paid multi-million dollars for one project that likely takes them less than a year to do.I get being a celeb comes with normally needing security and stuff, but I'm pretty sure even someone who makes like $1m a year can afford that stuff...
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#8
Realtors (in Canada)
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#9
Insurance broker. Source: am an insurance broker.
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Orford stressed the fact that salary ranges tend to be a hot topic in the workplace. “Suppose we have two people with the same background, job, and seniority. It would be natural for these people to expect to be paid the same. However, that's often not the case. Other factors like quality of work, negotiating skills, and charisma make all the difference.”
The personal finance expert revealed to Bored Panda that, in his experience, the people earning an above-average salary are able to do things better than others.
“They make themselves indispensable. For instance, a secretary in a law firm who's the only one in the office who can manage the photocopier, well, she might get a higher rate for that skill alone,” he said.
“Or, suppose you're a programmer, and you're the only one who can write a specific routine to do X Y, and Z. As long as your product is in-demand, you'll earn a higher income.”
#10
Being a Kardashian
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#11
Politicians. Way overpaid and corrupt.
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#12
Hollywood Actors & Actresses....Yes I said it ?
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Though there will often be people who earn more than you, it doesn’t mean that you have to be a pauper while making the world a better place. Medical professionals, for example, are incredibly generously compensated for their skills in the United States.
According to Investopedia, among the 25 highest-paying occupations in the country, a jaw-dropping 22 of them are healthcare positions. For example, the mean annual salary for cardiologists in 2023 was $353,970.
Meanwhile, anesthesiologists made an average of $331,190 per year. The mean salary for oral and maxillofacial surgeons stood at $311,460, emergency medicine physicians made $310,640, and orthopedic surgeons earned $306,220 per year.
#13
Talking heads on cable and network news.
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#14
College and pro sports coaches
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#15
Management consultants. I was one, and there is no way I add $650/hr in value to the company who is paying for my services.Note that I get paid <10% of this, my firm takes the rest. And yes, I know it's a pyramid scheme.
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Taking these numbers into account, it would be naive to say that the job market is entirely ‘unfair.’ Sure, there will always be professions where the value to society that’s provided is outpaced by their earnings, but this doesn’t mean that the entire system is ‘unfair.’ Wages often show what society values. So if stockbrokers, real estate agents, preachers, and influencers take the cake, it’s best to take a good long look at what a culture prioritizes, instead of grumbling about unfairness.
Workplace expert Lynn Talyor explained to Bored Panda during a previous interview that envying those who have more than us is a very human instinct. However, it can be a very destructive trait, too.
“It’s okay to envy people in a healthy way and learn from their successes. But it’s another to become bitter and destroy your precious hours or days. Time is not a renewable resource,” Taylor explained.
#16
CEOsI dare anyone here to tell me they think its fine that a CEO earns 200x that of a regular employee.
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#17
The chancellor at my small <10k student university got paid 400k a year and a house on campus.That’s as much as the president. The guy who runs a f*****g country.
(I used past tense but only because I left uni a year ago. I imagine he’s paid more now)
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#18
Chiropractors
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The expert argued that if someone’s envious of others, it’s vital to understand exactly where those feelings come from. For instance, they might not actually want to be rich but want to travel more. “Maybe you can achieve that in your life or even incorporate it into your career—without sacrificing your soul for ‘the mighty dollar,’” she said
“You can’t dissect someone’s wealth from the rest of their life. Do you envy every aspect of that person’s life? You’re likely much happier with many facets of your own. People will always have more and less: money, skill sets, looks, corporate status, and so on. It’s the grass is greener fallacy. So try to put things in perspective and become grateful for what do you have. This will keep you in a more grounded space,” the workplace expert shared.
“Realize that happiness doesn’t always come in the form of money. Very often wealthy people constantly worry about how to preserve their assets. Many must also cope with the burden of jealousy and alienation among friends, and even family.”
#19
Professional athletes
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#20
School admin spots. Growing up, the class sizes grew while the amount of teachers, and what they were paid, continually shrunk. But they kept adding extra superintendents and giving them pay raises left and right.
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#21
As a pharmacy student, medical administration has an INSANE amount of overhead costs and take about 90% of the cut, with the last 10% actually being given to the doctors, nurses, and pharmacists involved, etc.Also PBMs. PBMs suck.
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#22
Any rent-seeking entity.Landlords, land-owners, literally anyone who makes money by owning some critical resource and demanding a fee for its use. Housing that they gobble up and sit on for "investment" purposes... it's atrocious that anyone considers this a legitimate pursuit, but our economy is in part founded on "It's mine, you want access? Gimme somethin."
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#23
Pharmaceutical reps
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#24
College administrators.
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#25
College football coaches. Literally the highest paid government workers (at state schools)#26
Software engineers.. some of us make absolutely dumb-f**k money. It isn't unheard of for some of us to have compensation packages over a half million dollars depending on where we're at.#27
Premier league football players.#28
Corporate Executives. I work with some dumb fkrs that ride the coattails of their talented teams#29
Amazon CEOs.
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#30
Executive assistant. I've heard a woman tell me she makes upwards of 160k a year plus benefits and bonus because she works for a couple execs and sets their schedule and organizes events. I do that now and more and I'm not living the lifestyles of the rich and the famous.
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#31
Hospital CEOs
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#32
University Presidents. Found out today my university press makes $360,000 annually.
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#33
I've always thought the entire structure of what pays is odd. I sit here moving some letters around as a screen as a software engineer, while people are outside, doing hard labor, saving lives, and building skyscrapers for less money than I make doing this work. I feel like they should get paid much more than my "white collar" work.#34
All my old bosses that I didn't like. F**k those guys, they didn't deserve the salaries they were making.#35
Product managers#36
Owner of Tesla.#37
ITT: Lots of people conflating pay with effort or skillThat is not what pay has been determined by, and it never was. How much people are paid is based on value... nothing more.
#38
Bartenders
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#39
None. Literally no profession is overpaid. All are underpaid.Wages and Productivity split in the early 80s.
Unless you're making millions of dollars every year, we should all be making anywhere from 50% to 350% more than we are now.
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