Passion might be the biggest driver among Gen Zs when choosing a career.
Eighty four per cent of the young people we surveyed as part of our Year13 YouthSense research told us it’s important for them when considering a career.
But money isn’t actually that far behind.
At number two on the list, two thirds (65%) of young Australians told us how much money they can earn is on their radar when making a decision about the career path they want to pursue. And with the skyrocketing cost of living and a housing affordability crisis causing many young Australians to resign themselves to a future of lifelong renting…
Are we really surprised?
So to help guide money-conscious Gen Zs deliberating which career path to choose we consulted this Reddit thread and official labour market and industry data to compile a list of professions in which you’ll struggle to make $100,000 a year as you advance in your career.
And some of the answers might surprise you.
- Pharmacist
Being a pharmacist is much more than working in a white coat and preparing and dispensing often life-saving medications, with pharmacists studying for up to five years to become medicine experts.
But despite playing a key role in medicine safety (and saving lives), the average wage for early-career pharmacists is just $32.77 per hour or $66,955, with an average salary of $80,943. That’s just more than a third of what a general practitioner earns and about two thirds of what a nurse practitioner earns.
- Physiotherapist
Physiotherapists dedicate their lives to helping us heal from and prevent injuries, spending many years studying human anatomy. However, the average base salary for a physiotherapist in Australia is $88,212 based on the 6.7k salaries reported to Indeed.
That being said, wages can increase up to 40% (or even more) depending on a physio’s specialisation. The highest-paid expert physiotherapists typically work in sports physiotherapy working with elite athletes or sports teams, followed by physiotherapists that work in the cardiovascular, geriatrics, neurology and paediatrics fields.
- Marketing Professional
With the explosion in popularity of social media and the dramatic rise of e-commerce businesses over the past decade marketing professionals are increasingly in-demand. But despite their essential role in the success of businesses (and by extension, a healthy economy), marketing managers aren’t the most generously paid professionals in Australia.
According to Glassdoor, salaries for entry-level marketing positions such as Marketing Coordinator start at around $65,000 per year, with general marketing roles averaging at around $82,500. However, some companies do report salaries upwards of $100k for senior or executive marketing roles, such as Koala ($130k), AGL (122k), News Corp ($120k), Westpac Group ($100k) and Foxtel Group ($100k).
- Childcare Educator
Despite taking care of our little ones and playing a huge role in some of their most critical formative years, childcare educators are some of the most staggeringly underpaid workers in Australia. According to Seek, the average salary of a childcare worker in Australia averages at just $59,500 ($30.51 per hour). That’s only slightly more than a barista makes.
On the upside, childcare workers tend to love their jobs and job placement after finishing a course in childcare is extremely high with 90% of all students finding a job immediately after graduating. And the more experience you have the more your wage will increase. According to talent.com, the most experienced childcare workers can make up to $81,050 per year.
- Horticulturist
Despite their essential role in the branch of agriculture that deals with the applied science, technology and sustainable cultivation and growing of food, horticulturalists earn very little. According to Seek horticulturalists earn about as much as childcare workers with an average salary between $55-65,000.
However, there is a little wriggle room for people seriously passionate about feeding the planet, with more experienced horticulturalists earning up to $75,000 per year.
