Recently, Reddit community members shared the "lazy" jobs they work that make quite a decent amount of money, and I was NOT expecting some of them. Here are the "easy" jobs that — though they may be higher stakes and demand more decision-making — are definitely less physically labor-intensive:
1. "I make $32/hr guarding a federal building nobody thinks about because it's part of the federal government, so it's basically never in the news or in public light. We don't even do anything controversial here, but the building and people in it do important stuff that can't be interrupted, so they need guards. They contract private companies to do it. So, for $32/hr, I sit and guard this little gate. Vote for unions, kids. Private security in my area without a union is closer to $18–20 an hour. The union got us to $30."
2. "Legislative intelligence at the state level. I work 90 days a year from January 1 to April 1. I have the rest of the year basically off and pull a mid-six-figure salary. I got super lucky that I fell into this job when I was younger. I didn't even know the field existed before I got the job."
3. "Call center for county courthouses. Starting in my area, it's $30 or more per hour. They work from home Monday through Friday, except for one day a month when they come into the office. They answer general public questions and transfer calls to court clerks if they don't know the answer. Two raises a year are guaranteed after the probation period, too. Pretty swanky gig."
4. "Waste water treatment operators need minimal formal education; you just gotta get state certifications, which aren't too bad. You can easily make five figures in the higher range, and I'm told the work is pretty easy. You just gotta be cool working around human waste."
"I just started as an operator-in-training two months ago. I’m making $32/hr while training, and I’ll be making around $105k/yr after I’m licensed with shift differential and OT. It’s competitive where I am, though. I’m 1 of 12 trainees hired this year from an application pool of over 600. I do have a bachelor's degree in a non-related field and over a decade of experience in beverage manufacturing. It does seem like a generally chill job until it isn’t, and the smells aren’t great."
5. "A US Senator or Representative. Pays $174k a year plus benefits. You work about 88 days a year, and you also get to trade stocks on insider information, which can yield millions in profit."
6. "Hedge fund programmer. Basically, the coding isn't hard; I just code up reports for upper management. $500k a year, and we are talking pretty basic stuff."
7. "Cruise ship lecturer. It's one of the best jobs I've ever had. I do about three hours of work on a subject I love for over two weeks, floating around in luxury. I am paid a day rate for being there. And, of course, I am on a cruise ship, so I get free accommodation, all the restaurants are available, and I get to go to beautiful, sun-drenched places. Oh, and they pay my flights and expenses, too."
8. "Anything nuclear. It's hard to get into, but once you're in, it's wild how much you get paid for having to hurry up and wait."
9. "My dad has worked in industrial HVAC since before I was born. He's a project manager that makes a bunch of money sitting in a cube, bitching about working with Gen Z, and occasionally crawling through the ceiling of a building they're working on. Yet, he still makes significantly less money than the guy who shows up, walks around with a clipboard while staring at walls, writes stuff down, and then leaves."
10. "Oil refinery operations. You watch 11 hours of movies and do one hour of work. The total comp in 2025 is around $230k."
11. "Construction project manager. On a good day, I do about three hours of actual work. I screw off on Reddit for the rest of the day, and then go home at five to do it all again the next day. $325k+ to do this seems...awesome."
12. "Exterminator here. There are more than a dozen techs at my company making upwards of $100k. One is expecting to break $200k this year. None works more than 40–45 hours a week."
13. "The answer about two years ago was a web developer. You could say you got stuck on a bug and not work for three days, despite earning more than any of your friends. Today, the answer is also a web developer. I can code from my phone and get more done in a day than what used to take me a week of actually working."
14. "Corporate travel agent. We only book business travel for contracted companies, no vacations. The industry is trying to get younger people. I'm in my 50s, and that's the average age around there. The pay is around $70–90k, and you get travel benefits, insurance, and a 401k. Management makes about $90k or more. A degree isn't required; leisure travel is almost always done as an independent contractor."
15. "Overnight IT jobs. Some people get paid six figures to mostly exist in case something breaks at 2 a.m."
16. "I mean, I'm a glorified Costco greeter making $32/hr."
17. "Pharma sales. Some weeks, I don't even leave my house and only hop on a team meeting or two. I make $200k in a 'bad' year. There have been times when I've gone weeks at a time, only working an hour or two a week."
18. "Sales engineer/solutions consultant for a cybersecurity vendor. I worked my ass off in my 20s and 30s to get experience and certifications. Now, I jump on a few calls a week and fly around the country. I get paid commissions, but I don't rely on them. My sales counterparts are held to their quota, not me. Broke $250k last year."
19. "I find being a locomotive engineer quite lazy, and come July, I'll be making $68 an hour. Goes up to $75 an hour in 2029."
20. Lastly: "Fire safety director for high-rise buildings. You get paid for your knowledge, and most jobs start out at $70k, but can go up to $150–200k. Almost nothing happens, but you are on the payroll of a billionaire in case something happens."
Honestly, I didn't know some of these jobs existed, but good for those who are working them! If you work a "lazy" job that still makes good money, what is it? Let us know in the comments, or you can anonymously share your thoughts using the form below.
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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