Is an hourly wage worth it? Pros and cons explained

When you get paid by the hour, it can be really good or really bad.

I remember working at a little kids’ gym, making slightly over minimum wage, and having to wear a smelly, sweaty monkey mascot costume.

Not great.

Let’s just say those kids weren’t all angels to the person sweating bullets inside the monkey head.

Other jobs pay a sweet hourly rate and can offer reliable work, like a heating and cooling mechanic or a licensed practical nurse.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Top-paying hourly rate job in New Jersey

So if I told you the top-paying hourly rate job in New Jersey can earn close to $100,000 per year, it might get your attention. Can you guess?

It’s a job that pays an average $47.43 per hour in New Jersey. It’s also a job I could never do in a million years.

According to a research team at Homebase and based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the New Jersey job paying the most per hour is a dental hygienist.

Photo by Atikah Akhtar on Unsplash

Dental hygienists

Many get to work independently at more than one dental practice and often can make their own hours.

Dental hygienists I’ve known seem to be happy people who truly enjoy their work. Funny, because for me this job would be a never-ending vivid nightmare.

While I have worked in a dentist's office, I was only doing front desk work. I never had to work in people’s mouths.

Full disclosure, I cannot even watch myself brush my own teeth in the mirror. My gag reflex is kicking in just writing about this.

If I can’t handle seeing my own teeth being brushed, how on earth would I spend every working moment scraping unspeakable goo off strangers’ teeth? The spit. The blood. The sound of that suction hose.

Photo by Caroline LM on Unsplash

Ugh, the hair on my arm just stood up.

To be perfectly honest? They could up the pay from $47.43 an hour to $500 an hour and I would have to pass. I wouldn’t last a day.

However, for those without my mental issues, in New Jersey it takes just an associate's degree and some clinical training. So about a 3-year commitment. And bonus, no monkey suit.

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The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.

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Source: This NJ job pays the most per hour. But could you do it?