# Is there a profession that it's a great time to be right now? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 28, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597 "2019-10-28T15:12:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/21 "2019-10-28T20:22:27Z")
My Son is a heavy equipment mechanic. They can’t keep enough help. It’s hard work but he gets paid well. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/22 "2019-10-28T20:48:18Z")
I learned in college that whatever line of work is supposed to be good to be in, that time actually passed before we started, and now it really sucks. That was 45 years ago and I haven’t seen anything since then that’s changed my mind. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/23 "2019-10-28T20:53:39Z")
I don’t know if nursing has ever been a great job, but I imagine this is as good a time to do it as any. More older people means more demand. And some of the cost pressure on the medical system pushes interesting work from doctors to nurse practitioners. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/24 "2019-10-28T20:58:29Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > In some fields of AI the professors keep getting offers to leave academia and work in industry, and now there aren’t enough professors to train the next generation of AI researchers at colleges and universities. > > Let’s hope there isn’t another AI winter. So many silenced voices. I hope it’s not an AI Winter Mute. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/25 "2019-10-28T21:24:50Z")
Political Bag Man…? ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/26 "2019-10-28T21:43:03Z")
I’d say psychiatry is a great field right now. [Anxiety and depression](https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics) are extremely common at an 80-year high, according to some sources, as is awareness of ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, PTSD and more. > **[Data and Statistics on Children's Mental Health | CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html)** > > Read data highlights about children's mental health. > **[Mental Health By the Numbers | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness](https://www.nami.org/mhstats)** > > Learn about different mental health conditions' stats in easy to read info-graphics. > **[Mental Illness](https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness)** > > An overview of statistics for mental illnesses. Mental illnesses are common in the United States. One in six U.S. adults lives with a mental illness (43.4 million in 2015). Mental illnesses include many different conditions that vary in degree of... Both private and partnership practices are becoming more common, and there’s definitely a high demand, and without trying to sound crass, it can be quite lucrative. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/27 "2019-10-28T21:49:17Z")
Isn’t psychiatry one of the lowest paying jobs? Also with the medical system in the US falling apart for a lot of people, it seems a lot of people are making do by visiting a nurse practitioner to get medication and a therapist to get counseling and avoiding the psychiatrist. ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/28 "2019-10-28T22:09:52Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Isn’t psychiatry one of the lowest paying jobs? Also with the medical system in the US falling apart for a lot of people, it seems a lot of people are making do by visiting a nurse practitioner to get medication and a therapist to get counseling and avoiding the psychiatrist. I guess for clarification, I’d change it to “the psychiatric field.” There are areas, even urban areas, where the demand way outstrips the availability. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/29 "2019-10-28T22:10:29Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Isn’t psychiatry one of the lowest paying jobs? Also with the medical system in the US falling apart for a lot of people, it seems a lot of people are making do by visiting a nurse practitioner to get medication and a therapist to get counseling and avoiding the psychiatrist. It’s not low paying these days. Psychiatrists are in VERY high demand right now. I know some who are being offered as much as $250/hour for 40+ hours a week, office and staff and malpractice provided. Both the private and public sector can’t find enough help, neither psychiatrists nor psychiatric NPs. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/30 "2019-10-28T22:18:27Z")
> [@Swampwolf](#): > > I’d say psychiatry is a great field right now. [Anxiety and depression](https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics) are extremely common at an 80-year high, according to some sources, as is awareness of ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, PTSD and more. > [Data and Statistics on Children's Mental Health | CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html) > [Mental Health By the Numbers | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness](https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers) > [Mental Illness - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)](https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml) > > Both private and partnership practices are becoming more common, and there’s definitely a high demand, and without trying to sound crass, it can be quite lucrative. I assume you mean general therapy, not specifically medication-based psychiatry? There is really only a handful of job types in the latter category, and they all involve years of schooling. As for psychology degrees, social work, etc. The pay varies **greatly** by state or metro area, and it’s not always easy to predict - naturally heavily urbanized areas will have more opportunity, but 2 states with similar demographics and issues may pay much differently. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/31 "2019-10-28T23:21:33Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > It’s not low paying these days. Psychiatrists are in VERY high demand right now. I know some who are being offered as much as $250/hour for 40+ hours a week, office and staff and malpractice provided. Both the private and public sector can’t find enough help, neither psychiatrists nor psychiatric NPs. Thats interesting. I always thought psychiatry paid closer to $100/hr and was one of the lowest paying physician jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/32 "2019-10-29T00:44:19Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > So many silenced voices. I hope it’s not an AI Winter Mute. I got this. Just so you know 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/33 "2019-10-29T00:59:46Z")
> [@Swampwolf](#): > > I’d say psychiatry is a great field right now. [Anxiety and depression](https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics) are extremely common at an 80-year high, according to some sources, as is awareness of ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, PTSD and more. > [Data and Statistics on Children's Mental Health | CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html) > [Mental Health By the Numbers | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness](https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers) > [Mental Illness - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)](https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml) > > Both private and partnership practices are becoming more common, and there’s definitely a high demand, and without trying to sound crass, it can be quite lucrative. But like being a doctor or a teacher, it sort of sucks. Yeah, there is a lot of demand, but when anxiety and depression is high, that means your patients are also on edge, needy, and suicidal - you can end up too busy to be able to squeeze in the people who need you. Insurance payouts are relatively small for therapists. It isn’t easy work and has high burnout rates. ---
**Author:** ![ski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ski)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/34 "2019-10-29T02:21:19Z")
Pilot, definitely. The airlines are sucking up so many pilots right now that there’s a demand for pilots at all levels, from pipeline patrol and skydiving to corporate jets. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/35 "2019-10-29T02:44:22Z")
> [@ski](#): > > Pilot, definitely. The airlines are sucking up so many pilots right now that there’s a demand for pilots at all levels, from pipeline patrol and skydiving to corporate jets. I thought there was an issue with pilots working long hours for 20k a year. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/36 "2019-10-29T04:54:40Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I got this. Just so you know 🙂 Not many people are going to get what the color of a dead channel is, anymore. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/37 "2019-10-29T05:45:10Z")
in threads like this, I always reply with the (semi-serious) answer: Get a job as a TSA inspector at the airport. for verily, I say unto ye, the TSA shall be with us until the end of days. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/38 "2019-10-29T11:49:05Z")
If you’re a loner and mechanically inclined, CDL drivers are in MASSIVE demand, especially of the long-haul variety. The industry is one of the few that are actually dying for self-driving vehicles, because they just can’t get enough warm bodies willing to take the job, and it’s not the sort of thing they can just hire a bunch of random undocumented workers. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/39 "2019-10-29T12:42:42Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I’m wondering how much demand plays into certain professions being better to work in? Mostly everything. Generally when certain skills or professions are in demand, not only is there more jobs, but people hiring for them are often so desperate for their services that they fall all over themselves throwing money at you to do them. It doesn’t last though. Skills start to become commoditized, lending them to replacement by automation or outsourcing. Buyers become more sophisticated, demanding more value for their money. The field might even become highly regulated, requiring all sorts of bureaucratic hoops to jump through, sucking the life out of work. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597/40 "2019-10-29T12:53:31Z")
This is a good time to be President of the United States. In the past, the job was needlessly constrained by lots of protocols and having to quickly learn about difficult but important subjects. I understand it has loosened up and now offers more possibilities. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-profession-that-its-a-great-time-to-be-right-now/842597.md?page=3)