High paying flexible jobs

Not the highest paying here (mid-40kish, a promotion would see me into the mid 50s but that’s as far as I’d like to go) but complete flexibility.

Full time WFH, I occasionally have to go to the office to complete work that can only been done there (it’s a pain, it’s a 3 hour train journey but as I’m contracted WFH, work pay and the journey is work time and I can chose when I go to suit myself).

In the words of my boss ‘As long as you’re online at some point during the normal work day so people can contact you, I don’t care when you work’. I work 4 days in 5 but, especially in winter, I take time out my day to go ride or deal with the farrier etc..

It’s very niche though (criminal justice related). I was a police officer before but got fed up of having no work/life balance.

This has to be my dream job that I never knew existed.
 
Identityincrisis said:
I don’t know how virtual offices haven’t taken off! I WFH full time but I’m in the virtual office all day along with my colleagues, it scares people at first but it is brilliant!! We work collaboratively, we have break out rooms where we can have separate meetings or quiet time, if we’re just working, we’re generally in the ‘main office’, we bring clients in to have meetings and take them into a break out room.

We meet in person every quarter but as we see each other every day it’s no different

It’s definitely the way forward
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Sorry if I am being dim... do you mean a virtual office as in you are all sat together online like a computer game?! Call me archaic but I've never heard of it!
 
Identityincrisis said:
I don’t know how virtual offices haven’t taken off! I WFH full time but I’m in the virtual office all day along with my colleagues, it scares people at first but it is brilliant!! We work collaboratively, we have break out rooms where we can have separate meetings or quiet time, if we’re just working, we’re generally in the ‘main office’, we bring clients in to have meetings and take them into a break out room.

We meet in person every quarter but as we see each other every day it’s no different

It’s definitely the way forward
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Whereas I think this is my idea of hell! I work from home and am alone apart from when I am in calls, which is about half the day. Total introvert and I always hated office life, especially the big open plan sort. I don't relax in that environment and am always borderline on edge, which isn't good for productivity or thinking. I do get a social fix at the yard, or meeting friends (neighbours) for dog walks, which stops me turning into a hermit.
 
HopOnTrot said:
I did waitressing as a teen too. I learned I should not have a public facing job.

Apparently when someone asks for “red sauce” you don’t respond with “Cranberry or tomato?”
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…and when someone says ‘waitress, there is a fly in my soup’, don’t start laughing! Yes I did, and they were Americans and were not amused.
 
I’ve been in the Civil Service for about 10 years now and always recommend it to others. I work from home (with the option to go to my local office but isn’t mandatory in my department, although the last department I was in I had to go in 3 days a week), and work flexible hours so can start/finish when I like. The pay is good too.
 
MarvelVillis said:
I’ve been in the Civil Service for about 10 years now and always recommend it to others. I work from home (with the option to go to my local office but isn’t mandatory in my department, although the last department I was in I had to go in 3 days a week), and work flexible hours so can start/finish when I like. The pay is good too.
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A friend of mine was a civil servant within DWP. She was at a level where she managed her own diary so could schedule in late morning or early afternoons here and there to meet the farrier or vet etc. She also recommended this to me, but I didn't like the part of the job where she was 'reapplying' for her job every year. It felt very unsafe to be in that situation. But she worked her whole working life in the same area so it obviously worked for her and she is now retired on a pretty decent pension.
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
Sorry if I am being dim... do you mean a virtual office as in you are all sat together online like a computer game?! Call me archaic but I've never heard of it!
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So we all meet at 9am in the main office, we have our cameras on, it’s just on Zoom, we discuss anything that needs to be discussed then get on with our day. If you want quiet time you go into a meeting room, likewise if you’re in meetings with colleagues. We’re expected to stay online until we finish for the day but if you’re not feeling peopley you hide in a breakout room. As someone who is very affected by noise I thought it would be hell but it’s WAY better than being trapped in an office, i can escape the mindless chatter if i want
 
Identityincrisis said:
So we all meet at 9am in the main office, we have our cameras on, it’s just on Zoom, we discuss anything that needs to be discussed then get on with our day. If you want quiet time you go into a meeting room, likewise if you’re in meetings with colleagues. We’re expected to stay online until we finish for the day but if you’re not feeling peopley you hide in a breakout room. As someone who is very affected by noise I thought it would be hell but it’s WAY better than being trapped in an office, i can escape the mindless chatter if i want
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So it's basically an all day Teams call with your whole office?
I understand that it will work for some and not for others, and I'm glad you enjoy it, but my god that sounds like hell on earth for me 😂
 
dorsetladette said:
A friend of mine was a civil servant within DWP. She was at a level where she managed her own diary so could schedule in late morning or early afternoons here and there to meet the farrier or vet etc. She also recommended this to me, but I didn't like the part of the job where she was 'reapplying' for her job every year. It felt very unsafe to be in that situation. But she worked her whole working life in the same area so it obviously worked for her and she is now retired on a pretty decent pension.
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Yeah, the constantly renewing doesn't happen everywhere. As I said in my original post, the CS varies so much between departments. The attitude, flexibility and professionalism in my current dept is a world away to what it was like in my previous dept for example.

Identityincrisis said:
So we all meet at 9am in the main office, we have our cameras on, it’s just on Zoom, we discuss anything that needs to be discussed then get on with our day. If you want quiet time you go into a meeting room, likewise if you’re in meetings with colleagues. We’re expected to stay online until we finish for the day but if you’re not feeling peopley you hide in a breakout room. As someone who is very affected by noise I thought it would be hell but it’s WAY better than being trapped in an office, i can escape the mindless chatter if i want
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This seems like overkill? What's wrong with just logging on, setting your status to whatever it needs to be, and if you need something either IM that person or schedule a call? Feels like a hidden way of forcing ensuring people are present online 9-5...
 
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teapot said:
What's wrong with just logging on, setting your status to whatever it needs to be, and if you need something either IM that person or schedule a call? Feels like a hidden way of forcing ensuring people are present online 9-5...
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This is what we do. I WFH 4 out of 5 days - Gmail and Slack quickly work out if you're not really there, and we have regular team meetings for general catch ups, project meetings, client meetings, the occasional social chit chat or quiz....all via Zoom. It works really well for me but you do have to be very engaged to get the best out of it - I do quite a lot of ad hoc five minute video calls with colleagues to make up for the fact that I can't wander over to their desk or go for a coffee to talk over an issue that's arisen. People who are not up for that do start to become a bit disconnected, which isn't great.

Sorry, this is slightly tangential to the OP's post but I do think it's relevant! As others have said, WFH can be great, but not for everyone, all the time.
 
teapot said:
Yeah, the constantly renewing doesn't happen everywhere. As I said in my original post, the CS varies so much between departments. The attitude, flexibility and professionalism in my current dept is a world away to what it was like in my previous dept for example.



This seems like overkill? What's wrong with just logging on, setting your status to whatever it needs to be, and if you need something either IM that person or schedule a call? Feels like a hidden way of forcing ensuring people are present online 9-5...
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It is the least micro managed i have ever been in a role. We do it so if you have a question you can just chat as you would in an offIce rather than using some kind of messenger app. Many companies say wfh stops collaboration which is not true in our case as we’re essentially in an office but with the advantages of wfh. Everyone is horrified at the thought of it at first, myself included but it really is the best of both worlds
 
LillyTheCat said:
What do people see as ‘high’ pay? Just ballpark as it seems to vary wildly
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I imagine expectations would vary by industry, role, age, region. What is high pay to someone working a city job in London would probably look very different to someone working a science job in Cambridge, to a farming job in Cumbria.
 
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