Aussie woman reveals $180k career swerve

A former bartender has said a sudden career change led her to earn an impressive $180k a year – but she steered clear of one job.

A self proclaimed former “bar wench” has said she now makes $180k a year after an impressive career swerve into healthcare.

But there are several jobs in the profession she advises people not to do.

The unnamed healthcare professional set up her occupational therapy business the day she left her husband.

“If you want to help people, don’t be a nurse. Don’t be a physiotherapist. Be an occupational therapist,” she said.

“100 per cent we cannot get enough occupational therapists”.

The Aussie was interviewed on the street for job seeking app Getahead, which uploads videos of people talking about their salaries and chosen careers to social media.

“I make $180,000 a year,” the woman says.

“I specialise in mental health and forensics. I go into the prisons. I work with a lot of schizophrenics, murderers.”

Asked what she was doing before her current career, the women said: “I was a bar wench”.

However, her career goals changed when she discovered her son had autism and the family saw an occupational therapist.

“And I was like, ‘I can do that’. So I did that,” she said.

“I went to uni when I was 30, and I opened a business the day I left my ex-husband”.

The Aussie had a big career change. Picture: Instagram.

She warned people off popular careers. Picture: Instagram.

But she warned younger people off making rash career choices.

“Go to Europe, go and see what you enjoy, what you like, and then come back and make a decision”.

The woman has done very well in her field to earn $180k a year.

According to jobs website Seek, the annual average wage for an occupational therapist in Australia is between $85,000 and $100,000 a year.

But that is better than bar work which generally pays between $60,000 to $70,000 annually.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics states the average annual salary of an Australian, before tax, is $98,000.

She said she now earned $180,000 a year. Picture: Instagram.

Occupational therapy is not the only field calling out for new recruits. Research also shows that Australia desperately needs more psychologists to meet demand.

Data from Year13, an organisation dedicated to helping students find the right career path after schooling, showed that in 2024 psychology was the job most teenagers were interested in pursuing as a profession.

“Patient demand is very high, and increasingly, people can’t afford treatment due to the cost of living pressures and slow progress in mental health reform,” said Australian Psychological Society chief executive officer Dr Zena Burgess.

“Psychologists can work everywhere, from in sport to in marketing, health systems, mental health, forensic work with crime, working in schools so it’s really incredibly varied.”

According to Seek, the average wage for a psychologist in Australia ranges from $95,000 to $110,000.

Originally published as Aussie woman reveals $180k career swerve