What are you willing to do to change your life and your finances?
Nothing in life is easy, but if you are willing to do dirty and dangerous work no one else wants to do, you can potentially make a lot of money.
Here are three to consider.
Trash collector
The world needs garbage collectors, but it is a profession that does not get a lot of respect. Notice how fast a city can shut down if the trash does not get collected from street corners.
Furthermore, being a garbage collector is a hazardous profession. You have to hang from a moving truck to collect garbage. Garbage smells and could pose environmental hazards when people throw inappropriate chemicals in the trash.
It is a dirty job, and you could be hurt, crushed, run over, or killed if you don’t operate the garbage truck carefully. About 90 out of 100,000 garbage collectors are killed annually on the job.
All you need to be a garbage collector is a high school diploma or G.E.D. and a commercial driver’s license.
The starting salary is about $20,000 but increases to an average of $70,000. Garbage collectors in Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming can make more than the average.
Septic tank cleaner
If you live out in the suburbs or in a remote area, there may be no sewer systems. So, a septic tank system may be used. A septic tank holds wastewater and then ferries it to a nearby drain field.
Over 25% of American homes use a septic tank system.
Whenever you flush a toilet, wash dishes, take a shower, or use a washing machine, the wastewater flows to the septic tank. Over time, the septic tank will slowly fill with the buildup of solid waste and particles from your home’s wastewater. It becomes a toxic sludge that must be regularly pumped out.
It becomes an environmental hazard if it isn’t pumped out. Septic tank cleaners could be exposed to infectious diseases, toxic and poisonous gas buildups, raw sewage, electrical shocks, and bad smells.
All you need to become a septic tank cleaner is a high school diploma or a G.E.D.
The starting salary is $20,000, but the average salary is $44,000. Some septic tank cleaners even make as much as $92,000.
Crime scene cleanup
Being a crime scene cleaner, also known as a “trauma scene waste management professional,” is a thankless and extremely hazardous job.
After the police have finished investigating a crime scene, the crime scene cleaner crew is brought in, usually hired by surviving relatives or property owners.
After a violent crime, car crash, or industrial accident, bodily fluids or bodily decomposition particulates can’t be left behind. They have to be professionally cleaned to prevent the formation of public biohazards.
Crime scene cleaners are susceptible to exposure to bodily fluids, disease, pathogens, and traumatic emotional damage after constant exposure to the aftermath of violent crimes or accidents.
All that you need to start a career in crime scene cleanup is a diploma or G.E.D. Some states like California require you to get a license.
The starting salary is $20,000 and the average ranges between $38,000 and $58,000. However, if you live in a population-dense city and have good connections, you can charge any price you want, especially if the cleanup grows proportionally more hazardous.
One crime scene cleaner claims to make as much as $300,000 annually.
