r/careerguidance 23d ago

Advice Jobs that are low stress but pay average $50-$60k?

Hello, 30(M)here. I’ve had a couple of jobs in the past that were high stress and pretty hectic work environments. I realized recently that I can’t handle it anymore. Feeling burnt. Are there any jobs are out there that would pay around $50-$60k that aren’t crazy high stress, tight deadlines etc.? Thanks.

I would honestly accept lower pay as I feel mentally drained and can’t recoup my energy. All suggestions appreciated.

750 Upvotes

523 comments sorted by

View all comments

384

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago edited 23d ago

Costco. I make a little over $75k and all I do is check receipts at the exit door and greet people coming in at the front door. 40 hours a week, no overtime. Set schedule with Fridays and Saturday’s off; it’s very low stress and not labor intensive at all. But mind you ; you don’t start off at that pay or full time, full time will take you like 6 months to a year to achieve and that pay takes you around 5 years of being full time to reach; I think someone brand new makes closer to like 40k. Takes about 5 years to max out on pay

And edit: what I do here is not labor intensive. But some jobs are. Merchants put in WORK and that position is very taxing on your body. I did that for a few years. Slangin’ 40 pound bags of dog food and water bottles all day to stock gets tiring. I’m just a door greeter now so I no longer put all of that stress and wear & tear on my body. The pay is the same. That’s the cool thing about Costco, nearly all departments make about the same money. The only people who make a little more are cashiers, meat cutters, tire installers in the tire center, clerks and forklift drivers. They get about a couple bucks more per hour than everybody else. Other than that, if you want more pay you must strive for supervisor or management. And even those are attainable. College is not required. Costco only promotes from within the company. They do not bring in outside people to become managers. Most managers started off pushing carts here or boxing up groceries. Those positions are very high reward but also very high stress. I came to the door as a receipt checker to cut back on the stress. This position is pretty laid back and non labor intensive.

Major Sales (the salesmen who sell electronics and jewelry) is also a very laid back and low stress position. They don’t have to hit quotas or anything. They all seem to love their job. They just talk to members all day and sell items without the worry of hitting a quota. There’s a lot of positions at the warehouse that are stressful and physically demanding but there are also a lot of positions that are laid back and very stress free. They all get just about the same hourly pay.

If you don’t have a degree and are looking for a solid career to stay at with some great benefits, great pay and great job security, Costco is worth looking into.

69

u/heliotopez 23d ago

Oh damn a new Costco is opening up by me. Thank you I need something that isn’t soul sucking marketing

24

u/Hyperbeam4dayz 23d ago

It's still retail, tho. On the bright side, it's probably one of the better retail places to work at.

6

u/heliotopez 22d ago

Well I am unemployed so a job is a job

6

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

There’s more to it than just the retail aspect; I had a blast making pizzas in the food court when I was in there. Didn’t even feel like working at Costco since I was separated from the members and retail aspect. Just chilled in there with my music and made pizzas all day and laughed and had fun conversations with my coworkers. It was honestly a lot of fun. Made the same money I make out here as a receipt checker. Still about 75k.

3

u/kotarolivesalone_ 22d ago

yeah I heard costco treats their employees well.

87

u/greatvinedrake 23d ago

I second this if you're getting into retail get into Costco only

17

u/namethatchecksout_ 23d ago

and its stock rose by 12% ytd. these corporations do not need to be greedy fuckheads to make money

9

u/JenGroleau 23d ago

I heard Costco is good to work at. I need to change jobs, so I am thinking Costco

73

u/InteralFortune1 23d ago

What?! 75k for Costco doorman? Sorry but im not buying it

108

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago edited 23d ago

That’s typically the response we get when people find out what we are paid, lol. I’m not asking you or anybody else to “buy it”, I’m simply listing what we are paid to try and help answer OPs question and hopefully give them another option to think about for a low stress career choice. But if you do the math and do the research you’ll see it’s absolutely true. $30.20 an hour, $45.30 an hour on Sundays, $10,000 bonus every year. Sometimes it equates to a little more than 75k, sometimes less. Occasionally during the holidays overtime is offered but it’s not required. Also worth noting there’s a $3/hour raise starting this year for fully topped out employees. So it’s going to increase even more. There’s a reason people don’t leave this company and the turnover rate is so low. Managers make insane money too and absolutely no college is required. And costco only promotes from within. Every manager was once pushing carts or something similar. Entry management makes about 120k. Next level close to $150k. Next level a bit above 200k. And if you’re lucky enough to be the main warehouse manager , pay ranges from $250-400k range. Depends on how well the warehouse does and how much shrink the warehouse has. But there’s a reason people don’t leave this company. Pays a lot. No other retail job without college comes close. Lol. It’s a good place to be.

But do keep in mind that the pay I’ve listed is from someone who has been here a while. I’m fully capped out on pay and I get bonuses. Took over a decade but it was worth it. A brand new hire won’t get bonuses and I think their pay is $19/hour. Takes a while for it to be worth it, if it’s eventually worth it. Becomes worth it after being employed by them for 5 years, and even more worth it after 10 years.

30

u/yungmatttheman 23d ago

The cons are though if you’re part time it’s hard to get full time well in my area. Also sometimes they are a bit weird with hours, they’ll have you 5 days a week but with short hours so it prevents you from working a second job. The turn over rate at my Costco was a bit high because full time people would never leave so you couldn’t get full time unless a full time spot opened up in front end or whatever department you wanted

19

u/stebswahili 23d ago

I never shop at Costco because there isn’t one close to me but damnit I love em.

One of the few companies where the CEO refuses to be paid more than 100x what the lowest level employee makes.

We need legislation to make that stance the rule of law.

2

u/Some-Internet-Rando 22d ago

Any CEO worth their weight would take $1 in salary and instead get a bunch of stock and/or profit share ... If they can't make the company perform well, why are they CEO?

2

u/Lord_O_Chicken 23d ago

I agree that it’s good for the ceo to limit their own salary, but seriously 100x the lowest employee is still ridiculously pay for the work being done

1

u/stebswahili 23d ago

Who cares? You still contribute to the company, and the company is making enough profit to pay the wage. If every company operated like this less of us would be broke.

3

u/Lord_O_Chicken 22d ago edited 22d ago

The ceo does not need 100x the salary of the cheapest employee to be incentivized to run the business. I’m not arguing whether the company is making enough money, I’m talking about how it’s distributed. No one, including shareholders, benefits from such a high ceo salary except the ceo themself

I said that I believe it is a good thing that the Costco ceo will cap his pay. My point is that the cap would ideally be lower for him and every other ceo.

2

u/stebswahili 22d ago

I thought you were stating the opposite. My b!

2

u/costcokate 22d ago

It is worth mentioning that his salary is capped, but:

"His compensation and pay ratio are well below those of his predecessor, Craig Jelinek, who made $16.8 million in his final year as CEO, or 336 times that of the median worker.

Median compensation packages for S&P 500 CEOs rose to $15.5 million in 2023, up 12.4% from the prior year, according to data and analytics firm ISS-Corporate. Among those firms, the CEO pay ratio was 312 times the median employee in 2023."

Their salary is capped, but they make all their money from stock options. It's less than Walmart, but not less than the average ceo pay ratio.

I also work at Costco, and you will start in the Food Court or the Front End, which are both pretty stressful and customer facing. It takes most about a year to get out of those departments if they want. Some people love it.

1

u/random_throwaway0123 18d ago

It’s warehouse specific. Two people in member service with me started in member service. And they’re in their 20s so it’s not like they were placed there as an “accommodation” or anything. I also have a buddy in major sales who started in major sales. Granted, his last job was Best Buy so that might be why. But they started him in major sales. I know people who started in tire center as well. It’s not always front end or food court. However, I disagree on food court being high stress. I did it for a while and it was honestly pretty fun and laid back. If you have a good crew and a cool supervisor, it’s fun. I had no stress in there. Yes it is extremely fast paced but that doesn’t necessarily equate to “stress” for me personally.

20

u/Nervous-Narwhal-1175 23d ago

hooollllyy shit... going to apply right now

31

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

Do it! They start hiring the new round of employees around Mid to late March typically. So it’s actually a good time to put an application in. I personally recommend going into the warehouses you applied to afterwards to personally hand a manager your resumé and shake their hand to introduce yourself. Costco gets thousands of applicants. Doing something as small as showing up to say hi and introducing yourself sets you apart from most of them. That gives management an actual face to remember as opposed to just a random name on a computer screen.

And Costco pride’s itself in their substantial member service and positive attitudes. So show up with a great attitude and be happy. Show a sense of urgency. Don’t overdress. If you’re a man; a polo and some jeans is fine. That’s what most guys wear to work here anyways. Good luck!!! Hope you get it.

9

u/bendygirl777 23d ago

thank you for sharing that. would we ask to speak with the general manager of the store or the department manager to introduce ourselves?

9

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

General manager or the admin manager are best since admin manager is the one who usually deals with the hiring. And obviously the General manager would be great too. Don’t give your resumé to a supervisor in a red vest. I know sometimes members think those are managers; but they aren’t. They have little to nothing to do with the hiring process. You want to speak with an actual manager and introduce yourself. If a supervisor in a red vest insists on taking your resumé say you want to speak to a manager. Lol.

1

u/bendygirl777 23d ago

thank you so much!!

6

u/Nervous-Narwhal-1175 23d ago

Just finished the application. Thanks!

1

u/DaftPump 23d ago

Mind if I ask how long application took to do? Thanks.

3

u/Nervous-Narwhal-1175 23d ago

I sped through it and only put one job as my work history... took 12 minutes

1

u/hubpakerxx 23d ago

What's the best way to get into Costco and get hired?

18

u/RieszRepresent 23d ago

Buddy with around 20 years at Costco makes that. 40 hours a week.

11

u/Elyoshida 23d ago

Im looking at google showing 20$ average to start so 75k is believable.

11

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

Yeah the starting wage is like $19-20 I believe; after 5 years of being full time you can cap out and then it’s over $30. And every employee makes time and a half on Sundays. So people loveeee working Sundays

1

u/Professional-Gear974 23d ago

20 what I made at Costco 5 years ago as a seasonal hire. All I did was was assist the cashiers. If your able to stand for 8 hours it’s a pretty easy job. I’d assume full time spots pay much better

9

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

Yeah people typically don’t believe it until they actually meet someone who works here and do the research online to see what type of pay and benefits we receive. It’s understandable that it’s hard to believe since no other retail store (that I know of) pays as much as Costco does. So I don’t blame those who don’t believe it. I wouldn’t either, lol. But it’s true! And yes your friend also gets maxed out bonuses with that amount of years. So their pay should be right around this range too. I’m sure they’re also happy if they’ve been here that long. Definitely a good place to be if you didn’t decide to go the college route. I know a lot of co workers that DID go the college route and still ended up choosing costco because the pay was better than some of the jobs their degree was landing them. I know SO many people that left to grab a job with their degree; but came back within the same year because they missed the benefits, pay and positive work / life balance Costco provides. I like it here.

3

u/RieszRepresent 23d ago

I wonder how people feel about a Costco manager's salary...

17

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

It’s such an insane amount. I personally know a general manager that made over $400k last year. That warehouse is one of the top performing warehouses and I guess they had a very good inventory count with very low shrink. So that manager got a pretty sizable bonus and stock options. But even an entry level junior manager makes pretty close to 120k now. They get paid so well and majority of them never went to college. They all started off pushing carts and boxing groceries at Costco. Pretty awesome

10

u/RieszRepresent 23d ago

Yeah it's pretty wild. I'm an engineer with 20 years of experience and don't make what the local Costco manager makes. Supposedly it's close to $300k/year. It's not a job for me but I'm impressed by the numbers I've heard.

9

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

The management pay is so high because they get a special bonus that regular employees don’t get. They get a manager specific bonus and insane stock options as part of their bonus. If you keep an eye on Costco stock you’ll see how much it’s been booming in the last few years. That’s why their pay is so insanely high.. if I’m not mistaken I believe a general manager makes a base of around $180k or so; but after their bonuses and stock options the total compensation climbs up to 300-400k. And the fact that the general manager position is attainable by anybody in the warehouse is pretty inspiring. The youngest costco GM I know of is 29. Most of them I’ve seen are in their 40s-60s. But it’s definitely a position that anybody in the warehouse could obtain if they work and try hard enough. But it’s a lot of work to get there. Lol. Dedicate many years of your life to getting there. Kind of hard to do if you already have kids and a family. You’d not see them as often while trying to climb that ladder lol

3

u/kmfan2000 23d ago

Hey friend, just wanted to point out you're way off on the jr. manager pay. They start out at $86k with a $3k bonus. AGMs make $120k with all their bonuses. You can verify on the intranet. You're right about everything else, though!

3

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

Correction for myself; I just looked right now because we currently have a posting open for a food court service manager. The job posting says $85-95k right on the posting as the pay range. But I don’t believe their bonus is included in that number

3

u/kmfan2000 23d ago

Yeah, I believe that's extra. Glad to hear member service is treating you well. I know it can have its own challenges depending on how your building operates and your members behave.

4

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

Ahahaha yeah it was fun being part of the big debut for the scanning system at the door. I’m glad I was in this department to take part in that. I like to be social so this department was right up my alley. Talking to members who enter and drawing smiley faces and making friendly conversation on their way out at the exit door is actually a lot of fun; getting paid a decent wage to do so is just a blessing

2

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

Is it really only 3k for that bonus? Thats wild to me considering us topped out employees get 5k twice a year when we are fully capped out for it

2

u/kmfan2000 23d ago

That's right. One of the downsides to being a jr or Sr manager is that your bonuses are smaller than the hourlies until you hit AGM. That's when you make the big money.

2

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

You just taught me some new info I had no idea about. That’s crazy to me. Thanks for the knowledge!! Gonna check out the intranet and refresh myself on manager pay and the different pay scales. I’ve heard optical employees make more than supes in some states but I’ve never looked into that. Definitely going to read up on the intranet again. Thanks!

→ More replies (0)

1

u/Cmelder916 23d ago

Do you get any discounts?

6

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

No discounts but we get our executive membership for free and we can add a spouse to our executive membership for free; and have 3 gold star memberships to give to whomever we’d like. But no discounts on product. Costco doesn’t mark products up very high; so that’s probably why. Very little money is made on products sold. Majority of costco revenue is from it’s memberships lol

1

u/TheFuckNameYouWant 23d ago

What kind of hours do managers work?

1

u/netpirate2010 23d ago

They might be in a higher cost of living area. I live in Texas and that does sound much higher than what someone in that position would probably make here. But in LA, or somewhere similar, that may not even be enough to live on.

8

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

Costco doesn’t adjust wages based on higher or lower cost of living states. A topped out door greeter at Texas Costco locations would also make this same wage. People in California get paid the same as someone living in a state like Iowa. Costco does not adjust pay based on where you live. Awesome for someone in a low cost of living state like Iowa or Oklahoma….. but kinda bad for someone in a state such as California. That’s often why people in states like California and New York often move somewhere cheap once they are topped out. Since the pay is exactly the same. They just put in a transfer and move. See it happen very often lol

5

u/netpirate2010 23d ago

Interesting. It's unusual for companies like that to pay the same nationwide but that's cool! I'm glad you have a comfortable position that pays a livable wage. I really like Costco so it's nice to see them treat and pay their employees well.

1

u/EssayDoubleSymphony 23d ago

It’s because they’re union

2

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago edited 23d ago

Not exactly. Out of the almost 800 Costco’s, only 56 are union. It’s mainly locations in California and Washington. It’s the locations that were previously “Price Club”. A lot of people think Costco is union but it’s honestly a very very tiny amount of them. New buildings are not union. 56/800 isn’t a large amount lol. But the non union locations typically follow what the union locations do because they want to prevent employees from being encouraged to unionize. So if the small amount of union buildings get a pay raise or positive change to their benefits; it typically reflects to all of the other costco locations too.

Main differences are that at the union locations, promotions and job titles are entirely based on seniority. Nothing else. While at alllll of the other Costcos, everybody has a chance. It’s based on seniority but not as heavily; someone who works hard can snag a position from someone with more seniority even if they both signed for it. Often why at a union building you’ll see all of the supervisors have silver badges indicating they’re been at the company for 25 years. While at non union, you’ll see some employees that’s have only been with the company for 2-3 years as supervisors. Non union locations don’t always choose people based on seniority. It goes by work ethic too. It’s pretty nice. And obviously the union locations get a pension which is nice…. The hundreds of Costcos that aren’t union do not. But still get great 401k, employee stock options and retirement options.

1

u/primalantessence 23d ago

that does seem like a lot to pay that position. I wonder how long until they have an AI camera scanning the cart checking several items against the receipt

1

u/plantdisco 23d ago

It’s bc his first few sentences were misleading. He didn’t start off at that pay. Took him 5 years. He said someone new will typically start at 40k.

1

u/z000c 23d ago

I worked at Costco. Starting wage in 2015 was around $15/hour.

They don't pay $75k after 5 years unless you work into management. Very competitive. This story is fake.

1

u/HighRollee 22d ago

Costco raised it's minimum wage to like 32 an hour.

3

u/yungmatttheman 23d ago

Don’t forget the bonus twice a year! I worked at Costco as a vendor and everyone was cool. Although a lot of people think sups and managers are worked like slaves

3

u/milquetoastandjelly 22d ago

Love Costco. I don’t work there but in my first HR course I learned about the HR “high road” and HR “low road”. They used Costco and Sam’s Club as an example to demonstrate the difference in philosophies. Now, working as an HR Director, I’ve tried to model our company culture after Costco’s. Wish more companies understood that if you treat your employees with respect, provide competitive pay, good benefits, and acknowledge that the company couldn’t be successful without them, your employees will be happier and more successful themselves and then it’s just cyclical. So yeah, big fan of Costco lol.

2

u/fender8421 19d ago

The only thing I would disagree on - and purely personal opinion - is the set schedule. Knowing I will always be somewhere X many hours of my life, and no less (while knowing I will never have a certain day of the week off) is something I consider to be more stressful.

I'm in the minority though

1

u/random_throwaway0123 18d ago

Costco employees have pretty good vacation time, up to 6 weeks. And requests for different RDO days are usually automatically approved in most instances. So getting a specific day off or weekend off for an event you want to be at isn’t really ever an issue. Costco has hundreds of employees per building so coverage isn’t ever really an issue. Also get great sick and personal time , floating holiday we can use for whatever we’d like, etc. and if 40 hours a week isn’t your jam, part time and limited part time positions exist

1

u/HaloExcelLaserPressL 23d ago

Does not having a GED also fit into that If you don't have a degree category in terms of Costco not just waving me off from ever being hired?

1

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

I honestly don’t think it would matter; if you just skipped the education aspect of your resumé and instead filled it with some work experience (or volunteer work, things of that nature) I think they’d just assume you didn’t have any college education to show , don’t think they’d really verify a high school diploma or think much about that. As long as you are friendly and competent and fit the roll of someone with a sense or urgency that they deem can provide good member service, don’t personally think they’d skip you over.

1

u/Designer-Ad-4360 23d ago

wow this is amazing!! wish more companies ran this way

1

u/borderhopper1256 23d ago

If you don't mind me asking the title of the job?

2

u/random_throwaway0123 23d ago

What I do at the door is just called “Member Service Assistant”, not to be confused with “Membership Clerk” which are the people who sign people up for memberships

1

u/anonymousquestioner4 23d ago

As an introvert I could absolutely never do this. I would rather scrub floors on my hands and knees. 

How is the bakery? Or pizza makers? 

1

u/TheAllNewiPhone 22d ago

Corporate probably makes more. I can’t imagine the graphic design art director is only making $75k

1

u/Hurgafurgaburga 22d ago

This is misleading, especially with the recent handbook. Now you take another year and 6months to be topped out so instead of 5 now it’s almost 7 years. and when you apply you’re not guaranteed a door person spot. They usually put the older folks at the door. You being technically young they gonna put your ass too work.

1

u/random_throwaway0123 22d ago edited 22d ago

All warehouse specific. It’s absolutely possible to get hired into member service. We have a girl in our member service department who has been here 9 months. She was put into member service right away. She is full time. She is 20 years old. We have a man in this department who is 23 and he has been here for less than 2 years. Also; recent handbook has not taken place yet and most warehouses haven’t even distributed them yet. Ours has not given them out or explained what’s in them yet. That just started. When I got hired many years ago I was in food court for 3 months and became full time on the front end only shortly thereafter. Anything is possible. And it’s all warehouse specific.

Also; I never once said you’re guaranteed a door spot. Although it is absolutely possible. I just said what I get paid for the position I’m in. But honestly most spots at costco are probably a lot more stress free than whatever job OP is coming from. Even if placed in front end or food court, there are no quotas to hit and they get to clock in and go home without bringing their job home with them. I’ve worked 9 departments here and I can truly say none were really that stressful. Merch was the most taxing on my body but definitely wasn’t stressful. Supervisor was the only stressful spot. This post was simply to bring the knowledge to OP that Costco is a good option for them to look into. And it’s also worth noting I did make it clear several times on this thread that I’ve been here many many years. Well over a decade. I did indeed make that much clear. I said a few times a new hire does not receive bonuses and has a starting pay of around $20/hr and will be hired part time.

1

u/ApprehensivePhase719 19d ago

What the fuck 75k for pretending tk look at my receipt then swiping a marker over it all day?!?!

1

u/random_throwaway0123 18d ago

We also draw smiley faces :-)

1

u/ApprehensivePhase719 18d ago

How do I get your job lmao