~8m21:259 Boring Online Jobs Quietly Paying People Six Figures
Jul 19, 2026
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9 Boring Online Jobs Quietly Paying People Six Figures
Nine boring remote jobs with little competition that can pay six figures. Learn the pay ranges, certifications and steps to start each one.
Many career advisers recommend exciting, passion-driven work. The presenter argues that jobs with low public visibility often offer more stable demand, lower competition, and higher pay. This article reviews nine fully remote roles that the presenter says pay six figures at the top of their range.
The presenter, Shane, reports a YouTube channel with 1.5 million subscribers. He states that he and his business partners have helped more than 1,000 people land jobs, and that they hold verified testimonials for those cases. He also states that they have helped more people than that.
Data Sources and Limitations
- Salary ranges come from public listings on Glassdoor, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter. The presenter uses averages from these sources.
- The reported figures do not guarantee that any candidate will obtain these jobs or earn these amounts.
- Listed pay may differ from the amounts reported online.
- None of the roles may suit every candidate. Readers should conduct their own research.
Summary
| # | Role | Salary Range (per year unless stated) | Presenter's Opportunity Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Online probate specialist | Base from about 110,000 | 9.5/10 |
| 2 | AI compliance analyst | 160,000 | 10/10 |
| 3 | GRC cybersecurity compliance specialist | 150,000; senior roles above $180,000 | 10/10 |
| 4 | AI prompt engineer | 180,000; top AI lab performers above $200,000 | 9.5/10 |
| 5 | Patent paralegal | 110,000; senior roles at top IP firms above $130,000 | 8.5/10 |
| 6 | Online court transcriptionist | 120,000; top performers above $130,000 | 7.5/10 |
| 7 | Procurement and sourcing specialist | 110,000 | 8.5/10 |
| 8 | Title examiner | 95,000; specialized commercial examiners above $110,000 | 7.5/10 |
| 9 | AI voice or image annotator | 50 per hour; six figures possible at full-time higher-end rates | 8/10 |
1. Online Probate Specialist
Role. Probate is the legal process of settling a deceased person's estate. It covers the will, assets, property, and debts. A probate specialist helps families manage this process remotely. Tasks include preparing paperwork, filing with the court, ensuring the will is executed correctly, and communicating with family members.
Demand. The presenter cites a transfer of roughly $84 trillion from the baby boomer generation to younger generations over the next 20 years. He states that most boomers lack full estate plans, which he expects to increase probate work.
Adjacent market. The presenter reports that remote pet death care coordinators earn 85,000 per year. He attributes this to higher spending on cremation, memorials, and grief packages for pets.
Pay. Base pay starts near 110,000. Specialists who work with high-net-worth families or complex estates may earn more.
Skills required.
- Empathy
- Attention to detail
- Basic legal knowledge
- Clear communication with grieving families
- Emotional resilience
Entry path.
- Complete a probate paralegal certificate program. The presenter names NALA as the most respected option, with a cost of about $1,500. He notes that certification is not required everywhere and advises checking local requirements.
- Apply to estate planning law firms, many of which hire remote staff.
- Work directly with families through legal service platforms such as LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer.
Presenter's assessment. The presenter cites macroeconomic demand, low competition, and direct value to families. He describes the work as routine, which he says reduces the number of candidates.
2. AI Compliance Analyst
Role. An AI compliance analyst verifies that companies' AI systems comply with applicable laws and regulations. The presenter names the following frameworks:
- The EU AI Act
- US state-level AI privacy laws
- Healthcare AI rules
- Employment AI rules
The presenter states that the EU AI Act has recently taken effect and that US states pass new AI laws each quarter.
Pay. 160,000 per year. The presenter expects pay to rise quickly because demand for qualified candidates exceeds supply.
Requirements. A computer science degree and coding skills are not required. The role requires the ability to:
- Read and interpret policy documents
- Apply regulations to business systems
- Explain requirements to non-technical executives
The presenter states that human oversight of AI is required and that accountability cannot be delegated to an algorithm.
Entry path.
- Obtain the IAPP AI Governance Professional certification, which costs about $700. Candidates with backgrounds in legal, compliance, risk management, or HR have an advantage. The presenter notes that the field includes many self-taught professionals and that certification is not mandatory, but it helps candidates stand out.
- Apply to mid-size and large companies, particularly in healthcare, finance, and technology.
Presenter's assessment. Opportunity score: 10/10. The presenter cites a new field, high pay, limited qualified candidates, and government and regulatory ties that he considers a source of job security.
3. GRC Cybersecurity Compliance Specialist
Role. GRC stands for governance, risk, and compliance. A GRC specialist helps companies meet cybersecurity compliance standards. Enterprise companies require these standards to close deals with other large companies. The work consists of documentation and checklists. It does not involve coding or hacking. The presenter notes that some cybersecurity knowledge is required.
Pay. 150,000 per year. Senior GRC specialists can exceed $180,000, particularly in fintech and healthcare.
Client example. The presenter describes a client, Nicole, who works in this role and runs a YouTube channel called GRC for Mere Mortals.
- She began working with the presenter with about 85 subscribers.
- The channel now has more than 60,000 subscribers.
- The presenter reports that she earned $80,000 in a single month from the channel.
- The presenter later estimated that her YouTube income reached about $80,000 over a two- to three-month period.
Entry path.
- Pursue CompTIA Security+. The exam costs about $370.
- Consider the (ISC)² Certified in Cybersecurity credential. The presenter states that it is currently free through a pilot program.
- Search for entry-level GRC analyst roles on LinkedIn, Indeed, and Welcome to the Jungle.
- Consider a GRC-focused boot camp. These programs run 8 to 12 weeks. Nicole operates one, according to the presenter.
Presenter's assessment. Opportunity score: 10/10. The presenter cites high demand, no coding requirement, a clear route to six-figure pay, and suitability for a YouTube channel. He notes that the work is highly routine.
4. AI Prompt Engineer
Role. An AI prompt engineer writes inputs that produce useful outputs from AI systems for businesses. The engineer designs workflows with tools such as Claude or ChatGPT. Examples include automating customer service, contract review, and data analysis. The presenter describes the role as a bridge between business needs and AI systems.
Pay. 180,000 per year. Top performers at AI labs, including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Scale AI, exceed $200,000 in base salary. The presenter states that equity at these companies can be substantial.
Requirements. A college degree is not required. The role requires the ability to experiment, think systematically, write clearly, and learn quickly.
Entry path.
- Complete Anthropic's free prompt engineering course, available on its website.
- Read OpenAI's documentation.
- Solve real business problems with prompt chains. For example, automate a process for a small business owner.
- Document each process and build a portfolio of five to 10 case studies. The presenter states that the portfolio functions as the resume.
- Apply to AI labs, AI startups, and Fortune 500 AI teams.
Presenter's assessment. Opportunity score: 9.5/10. The presenter cites the highest earning ceiling on the list, a rapidly growing field, and minimal degree requirements.
5. Patent Paralegal
Role. A patent paralegal helps law firms file and defend patents. Tasks include preparing documents and submitting filings to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Demand. The presenter states that AI development has accelerated and that companies file patents to protect intellectual property before competitors copy their work. He reports that patent filings in the AI sector are at an all-time high.
Pay. 110,000 per year. Senior paralegals at top intellectual property firms exceed $130,000.
Presenter's assessment. Opportunity score: 8.5/10.
6. Online Court Transcriptionist
Role. A court transcriptionist converts recorded legal proceedings into written transcripts. Recordings include court hearings, depositions, and sworn statements. Work is delivered digitally, and transcriptionists are paid per page.
Pay. 120,000 per year with experience. Fast and accurate transcriptionists exceed $130,000 because they produce more pages per day.
Ramp-up. The presenter states that the first three to six months are slow. Speed increases earnings in this role.
Presenter's assessment. Opportunity score: 7.5/10. The presenter cites recession resistance, skill-based scaling, full remote work, and suitability for introverts. He states that legal protections limit the risk of full automation, and compares this to pilots remaining in cockpits when aircraft can fly automatically.
7. Procurement and Sourcing Specialist
Role. A procurement and sourcing specialist buys goods and services for a company. Tasks include negotiating contracts with vendors, vetting suppliers, and securing the best prices for items such as office supplies, manufacturing materials, software subscriptions, and consulting contracts.
Value to employers. The presenter states that a specialist can produce a return several times the cost of the role. He gives an example: saving 90,000 salary.
Pay. 110,000 per year.
Nature of the work. The role includes regular human interaction, negotiation, and long-term relationship management.
Personal account. The presenter's cousin held this role. According to the presenter, the cousin found the pay good but disliked the work after a period of time.
Presenter's assessment. Opportunity score: 8.5/10.
8. Title Examiner
Role. Before a property sale closes, a title examiner researches the property's history. The examiner checks for liens, owner disputes, and other claims on the title. Real estate transactions cannot close without this review.
Pay. 95,000 per year. Specialized commercial title examiners can exceed $110,000.
Competition. The presenter states that competition is higher than for other roles on the list because the field is well established.
Presenter's assessment. Opportunity score: 7.5/10. The presenter states that the field is protected by law and that the real estate industry is stable.
9. AI Voice or Image Annotator
Role. An AI annotator labels the data that AI systems use for training. Tasks include:
- Transcribing audio clips
- Tagging objects in images
- Describing events in video clips
The presenter states that major AI developers, including the developers of Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini, employ thousands of remote annotators.
Pay. 50 per hour, depending on the task and skill level. Candidates working full-time hours at the higher end can reach six figures. The presenter states that this outcome is not guaranteed.
Entry requirements. No degree, certificate, or experience is required. The presenter describes this role as an entry point to higher-paying AI positions.
Presenter's assessment. Opportunity score: 8/10.
Income Beyond Base Salary
The presenter states that each role has a salary ceiling. He cites AI prompt engineers, whose top base salaries are about $180,000 per year. He argues that a YouTube channel can extend income beyond that level. Suggested approaches include:
- Creating content about the job itself
- Teaching others how to obtain the job
- Teaching others how to use AI, software, and skills within the job
Nicole's channel is the presenter's primary example. He also states that his brother Zach, age 50, with a background in the trades and no prior online experience, built a YouTube channel and earned AdSense revenue within months. The presenter also cites Brian, age 59, who entered a fully remote digital marketing role through the presenter's program. The presenter states that age, background, and technical ability are not barriers to these outcomes and that effort and strategy determine results.
Introduction and Premise
The speaker argues that boring jobs with low competition are the highest-paying, and says every job on the list is fully remote and pays six figures at the top end.
- Claims the highest-paying online jobs in 2026 are mostly boring and rarely discussed, which is why they are always hiring.
- Says every job on the list is fully remote, pays six figures at the top end, and has little to zero competition.
- Says passionate fields have massive competition, while boring fields are easier to enter and typically pay more.
- Cites students helped: a 50-year-old technologically challenged brother, a 59-year-old named Brian who landed a remote digital marketing job, and over a thousand people helped land jobs according to the speaker.
- Pay figures are said to come from Glassdoor, Indeed, ZipRecruiter and similar sites, with the speaker stating no guarantee of results.
1. Online Probate Specialist
Probate specialists handle the legal paperwork of estates remotely. The speaker ties this to the coming great wealth transfer and gives a pay range of about 55,000 to over 110,000 dollars.
- Probate is the legal process of dealing with a deceased person's will, assets, house and debts.
- The probate specialist files with the court, ensures the will is executed, communicates with families and works remotely.
- The great wealth transfer is about 84 trillion dollars moving from the boomer generation to younger generations over the next 20 years.
- Pet death care coordinators reportedly make 45,000 to 85,000 dollars a year.
- Base pay starts around 55,000 dollars, with the top end pushing past 110,000 dollars.
- Training route: a probate paralegal certificate from NALA (National Association of Legal Assistants, named by the speaker as National Association of Legal Associates), about 1,500 dollars.
- Employers include estate planning law firms, and platforms such as LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer.
- Opportunity score: 9.5 out of 10.
2. AI Compliance Analyst
AI compliance analysts check that companies' AI systems follow laws and regulations. The role needs no coding and pays 80,000 to 160,000 dollars.
- The job checks that companies' AI systems comply with the EU AI Act, US state AI privacy laws, healthcare AI rules and employment AI rules.
- The speaker says the role did not exist two years ago and that companies may be sued for 50 million dollars without compliance.
- Salary range is 80,000 to 160,000 dollars a year.
- No computer science degree or coding is required; the key skill is reading policy documents and explaining them to non-technical executives.
- Certification: IAPP AI Governance Professional, about 700 dollars.
- Background in legal, compliance, risk management or HR helps; self-taught people are common in the field.
- Target employers: mid-size to large companies in healthcare, finance and tech.
- Opportunity score: 10 out of 10.
3. GRC Cybersecurity Compliance Specialist
GRC (governance, risk and compliance) specialists help companies meet cybersecurity compliance standards through paperwork and checklists. The speaker cites a client who earned 80,000 dollars in one month from a related YouTube channel.
- GRC stands for governance, risk and compliance.
- Companies selling to enterprises need compliance to close deals with other large companies.
- The work is paperwork and checklist work, with no coding or hacking, though some cybersecurity knowledge is needed.
- Salary range is 80,000 to 150,000 dollars a year; senior GRC roles can exceed 180,000 dollars in fintech and healthcare.
- The speaker cites client Nicole, whose YouTube channel went from about 85 subscribers to over 60,000 and who earned 80,000 dollars in a single month.
- Certifications: CompTIA Security+ (about 370 dollars for the exam) and the (ISC)2 Certified in Cybersecurity, free through a pilot program.
- Job search sources: LinkedIn, Indeed and Welcome to the Jungle.
- Opportunity score: 10 out of 10.
4. AI Prompt Engineer
AI prompt engineers design inputs and workflows that make AI tools useful for businesses. The role pays 70,000 to 180,000 dollars, with top performers at AI labs earning over 200,000 dollars.
- The role writes inputs that get AI systems to produce useful business outputs, acting as a translator between business needs and AI.
- Example tasks include automating customer service, contract review and data analysis.
- Salary range is 70,000 to 180,000 dollars a year; top performers at Anthropic, OpenAI and Scale AI exceed 200,000 dollars, plus equity.
- No college degree is needed; key traits are experimenting, systematic thinking, clear writing and fast learning.
- Start with Anthropic's free prompt engineering course and read OpenAI's documentation.
- Build a portfolio of five to 10 case studies that serves as the resume.
- Opportunity score: 9.5 out of 10.
5. Patent Paralegal
Patent paralegals help law firms file and defend patents. AI patent growth drives demand, and salaries run 65,000 to 110,000 dollars, with senior roles above 130,000 dollars.
- Duties include handling paperwork and filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
- AI companies are filing patents at an all-time high to protect intellectual property.
- Salary range is 65,000 to 110,000 dollars a year; senior paralegals at top IP law firms exceed 130,000 dollars.
- Opportunity score: 8.5 out of 10.
6. Online Court Transcriptionist
Online court transcriptionists turn recorded legal proceedings into written transcripts, paid per page. The job is fully remote, pays 50,000 to 120,000 dollars, and rewards speed and accuracy.
- Work covers court hearings, depositions and sworn statements.
- Transcripts are typed and sent back digitally, with pay per page.
- Salary range is 50,000 to 120,000 dollars a year with experience; top fast and accurate transcriptionists exceed 130,000 dollars.
- The first three to six months are described as slow and frustrating.
- The speaker says the job is partly protected legally and that airplanes fly automatically while pilots remain in the seat.
- Opportunity score: 7.5 out of 10.
7. Procurement and Sourcing Specialist
Procurement and sourcing specialists negotiate contracts, vet suppliers and secure the best prices for companies. They are paid 60,000 to 110,000 dollars because they save the company money.
- Responsibilities include negotiating contracts with vendors, vetting suppliers and getting the best prices on supplies, materials, software and consulting.
- The example given: saving a company 1 million dollars while paid 90,000 dollars gives a strong return on investment.
- Salary range is 60,000 to 110,000 dollars a year.
- The role involves human interaction, negotiation and relationship management.
- The speaker's cousin did this job and reportedly hated it after a while.
- Opportunity score: 8.5 out of 10.
8. Title Examiner
Title examiners research property history to confirm there are no liens, disputes or weird claims before real estate closes. Base pay is below six figures, but specialized commercial examiners can exceed 110,000 dollars.
- Title examiners research property history for liens, owner disputes and other claims on the title.
- Real estate transactions cannot close without title examination.
- Salary range is 55,000 to 95,000 dollars a year; specialized commercial title examiners can exceed 110,000 dollars.
- The speaker says there is more competition than in other roles but the field is well established.
- Opportunity score: 7.5 out of 10.
9. AI Voice or Image Annotator
AI voice and image annotators label data, transcribe audio and tag images to train AI systems. Pay is 20 to 50 dollars per hour, with six figures possible at full-time hours; the barrier to entry is very low.
- Tasks include labeling data, transcribing audio clips, tagging images and describing video events for AI training.
- Pay is typically 20 to 50 dollars per hour depending on task and skill; six figures are possible at higher end full-time hours but not guaranteed.
- No degree, certificate or experience is required, and the job can be started immediately.
- Companies behind major AI systems such as Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini hire thousands of remote annotators.
- The speaker sees this as an entry point to better AI jobs.
- Opportunity score: 8 out of 10.
Conclusion: The Floor and the Ceiling
The speaker argues that a stable boring job is the floor, and a YouTube channel built on that skill is the ceiling. Age, background and tech skill are presented as barriers only if effort and strategy are lacking.
- The speaker says AI prompt engineer tops out around 180,000 dollars a year, and the client Nicole reportedly earned that in two or three months from YouTube alone.
- Brother Zach, 50 years old and a tradesperson with no online experience, built a YouTube channel and earned AdSense revenue within months.
- Client Brian, 59, pivoted into a fully remote digital marketing role.
- The speaker argues that age, background and technological skill are not barriers; effort and strategy are.