Money isn’t everything, but it’s easier to put up with a bad day at the office when you’re not fretting about the bills. If you’re contemplating a career change, then, you probably want to avoid jobs that pay less than they’re worth.
Using data from PayScale, U.S. News recently prepared a list of the ten most underpaid jobs in the country. To make list, jobs had to pay less than the median income, and be both important and highly stressful. Here are the first five job titles:
1. Assisted living coordinator (median mid-career salary: $36,900).
Proof that jobs don’t always pay the salaries they should, assisted living coordinators make 31 percent less than the median salary for all workers in the U.S.
2. Daycare director ($32,100).
The top two jobs on our list couldn’t be more important. After all, what’s worth more than the health of our loved ones? Still, the rate of pay for these jobs is low.
3. Police, fire, or ambulance dispatcher ($39,300).
Think of a more stressful job if you can. Dispatchers make sure that emergency responders have the information they need to come help us when we need it the most. Their jobs are both crucially important and incredibly stressful. They are not, however, high-paying.
4. Office nurse ($42,700).
Nurses make more than they used to, but not as much as they should. Nurses who work in doctor’s office, ERs, and intensive care units made the underpaid list.
5. Medical insurance coordinator ($34,600).
U.S. News describes this as the ultimate thankless job, and they’re right: when’s the last time you heard someone praise the insurance coordinator? And yet, without them, hospitals and doctors would never get paid.
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