While everyone would like a career they enjoy, many would also like that career to pay them well. Working out which jobs pay well isn't as simple as you think.
After all, somebody working in Dublin is unlikely to be paid the same salary as somebody working in County Clare in the same job.
Remember that the best-paid jobs are technically just those being done by the country's wealthiest.
Instead, let's look at careers that typically pay well in Ireland, good jobs you can do without a degree, well-paying jobs for teens, and online careers that can come with a nice salary.
The Top 15 Best Paid Jobs in Ireland
First, let's see which industries in Ireland typically command the highest salaries. These are the five industries within which you'll find some of the highest-paying roles in the country.
The average salaries we found were based on several sources, but mostly from employment sites, which use the salaries disclosed by individuals, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies. After all, some people are protective about their financial information, even if their disclosed salary is anonymous.
Aviation
While the reported average salary of pilots is €25,000 a year, you'll find that at the top end of the salary range, commercial and long-haul pilots do very well.
Air traffic controllers are also well-paid and both the roles we've outlined in this industry are ones you can do without an undergraduate degree.
Both pilots and air traffic controllers do require training and qualifications and in the case of pilots, this can work out far more expensive than a degree. However, it's worth thinking about if you're not that interested in university but still have aspirations of working in a lucrative career.
Business and Finance
Executive business and finance roles tend to pay well, too. Roles like actuary, investment managers, and financial service executives are all well-paid.
For most of these roles, you'll likely need to study business, economics, or finance at university. Postgraduate qualifications like an MBA are also recommended.
There are lots of roles in this area that command average salaries over €50,000 a year.
Dentistry and Medicine
While some of the hardest courses to get onto, dental and medical programmes are required for most professionals wanting to work in dentistry or medicine.
The top earners command impressive salaries, but it does take years of academic study. These careers are only really open to those with an impressive academic record.
To study dentistry or medicine, students typically need over 600 CAO points from their Leaving Cert and some even require the perfect score of 625!
Healthcare is a big business and requires very specialist employees with very specific skills.
Law
Legal professionals have very high salaries. After all, many of them spent years studying and training to do their jobs.
There are lots of different types of work for legal professionals and you'll find that earning potential can be further increased if you choose to specialise in a particular area of law.
Much like in medicine and dentistry, law degrees require very high scores for your Leaving Cert plus several years of study.
Tech and Engineering
Last but not least, technology and engineering roles can be very lucrative. These are also roles that typically require university degrees, but certain roles, in programming, for example, can be done without university qualifications.
Thanks to self-taught programmers and programming boot camps, you can develop programming skills and work in many different lucrative tech roles.
Years ago, engineering, healthcare, and law were considered safe and lucrative industries to work in, and while the roles may have changed somewhat, these industries still pay very high average salaries.
Highest Paying Jobs in Ireland Without a Degree
We've already mentioned a couple of the high-paying jobs you can do without a degree, but there are quite a few more.
Aviation
Air traffic controllers and pilots both require training, but you don't need to go to university to do these jobs.
These jobs are amongst some of the highest-paid in Ireland, too.
Trades and Vocational Work
With modern academia seemingly obsessed with pushing students through university education with promises of high-paying jobs, traditional trades are often overlooked.
However, this has greatly worked to many trades' advantage. After all, the smaller the number of qualified professionals, the more each professional can potentially earn.
The demand for plumbers and electricians hasn't decreased over time, but it doesn't seem like schools or teachers want to necessarily encourage their students into these careers when university remains an option.
This means that plumbers and electricians in Ireland can actually earn very good salaries and they don't have to attend university courses to do it.
The same is true in construction and while there are academic courses for construction managers, there are also pathways into construction management from within construction careers. In most cases, a role with manager in the title will pay more as they're usually the person with the most experience.
Digital Marketing and Sales Roles
In the world of digital marketing and sales, the figures are more important than which university you went to.
While a degree might help you get into certain companies, for remote jobs or freelancing, working in digital marketing and sales can be done without a university degree or any training at all.
There are certainly short courses you can consider to help you learn the basics of marketing and sales.
For Teens and Students: The Highest Paid Jobs in Ireland
For those in secondary school or those who've just finished, finding well-paid jobs is difficult. After all, teenagers tend to be in the awful position of needing either experience or qualifications to land a job and having neither.
In many cases, they can't get work experience because they don't have the experience to get a job in the first place.
However, there are some high paying jobs for teens.
Freelancing and Entrepreneurial Roles
If you're a self-starter, then you don't need to wait for somebody else to give you a job. Instead, create your own work as a freelancer and get paid for your skills.
While babysitting mightn't feel like a "real job", you can actually make a good amount of money if you offer a genuinely good service that parents would be willing to pay a premium for.
Whether you call yourself a babysitter, nanny, or childcare specialist, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you offer a service that parents will pay a lot for. Do a good job and with some smart marketing (both digital and in real life), you could earn quite well.
The same is true for looking after people's pets. Whether it's pet sitting or walking dogs, being entrepreneurial can turn the simple act of walking dogs in the park into a lucrative business idea. This is even better if you can open your home to multiple pets at once and essentially run a doggy hotel!
Retail and Hospitality
Working as a waiter or in a shop are some of those typical roles for teenagers. However, with high-end restaurants and shops, you could be paid quite well, especially if there are incentives such as tips or commissions.
Generally, the fancier the place you work in, the better the way should be. However, some larger companies pay surprisingly well.
Many customer-facing roles are well-suited to teenagers and some can pay quite well.
The Best Paying Online and Remote Jobs in Ireland
In the digital age, your work doesn't need to be confined to the borders of Ireland. After all, thanks to the internet, most work can be done remotely.
There are lots of different roles and industries where you can work from the comfort of your own home or while travelling the world!
For example, a virtual assistant could help a professional with admin and other tasks from anywhere in the world. Depending on who you're working for, you could be paid quite well.
A lot of financial and business services can also be done remotely. After all, financial services are offered all over the world so a global infrastructure is already in place. This allows individuals and businesses to operate anywhere in the world and since money is involved, every typical salary is usually quite good.
The tech industry is often forward-facing and has been allowing employees to work remotely for years.
With remote work, your salary will depend more on who you're working for rather than where you're working for. If you're working in industries in other countries, your salary will likely be reflective of the going rate in that country rather than Ireland. However, some countries will tailor their salaries to their employees' costs of living.
Get Career Help from a Private Tutor
Whether you dream of working as an account manager at a huge firm or want to freelance and work with each customer individually, you can get help developing the appropriate skills with a private tutor.
On the Superprof website, you just need to search for skills you want to develop. From there, take your time and compare the various tutors.
Many of them offer the first session for free so once you have a few potential candidates in mind, you can arrange some taster sessions with them before choosing the one that's right for you and what you need to learn!
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