By Shannon Quinn
If you land a job you really love, it will never feel like work. But love won't necessarily pay the bills. So how do you find a job that's a blast AND provides a good salary?
Here's some help from readers of Ranker. They chose the top 41 jobs offering both fun and a nice paycheck. The pay info is the median salaries reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unless we say otherwise.
We were very surprised by No. 1! See if you agree.
41. Fire chief
A fire chief supervises fire crews and firefighting operations.
Salary: $77,050
Firefighters put their lives at risk to save people and property, and a fire chief has a tremendous responsibility, supervising fire crews and firefighting operations. The work is gratifying — and can be fun. Wouldn't you love to ride a fire truck?
In some states, like New Jersey, a fire chief can make way more than average: upwards of $175,000 a year.
40. Engineer
Electrical engineers and other engineers work to solve industrial problems.
Salary: $73,000+
Engineers come in many varieties, but the one thing they all have in common is that they work to solve problems in their respective industries.
Salaries vary, too. The median annual pay for an agricultural engineer is $73,640, a civil engineer makes $83,540, and a typical aerospace engineer (who helps test rockets and satellites) earns $109,650.
Doug Whiteman
Graham Hughes
Esther Trattner