On Reddit, there is an ongoing discussion about which professions are "overrated." It turns out thousands of users had strong opinions about which careers they think are given more money or acclaim than they merit. The thread was posted on the r/AskReddit subreddit and had, as of publication, more than 2,300 upvotes.
In the comments, people named a range of fields, such as health care administration, real estate, car sales and school administration.
Let's look at the careers that Reddit users consider to be the most overrated.
Hospital Administrators
Hospital administration is one of the most talked-about roles, and negatively so. A commenter, for example, said that "high- and middle-level hospital administration" is especially overrated, as those employees only indirectly affect patient care even though they are given high pay. Others agreed, especially about staffing and spending decisions.
Many users spoke of situations in which administrators prioritize cost-saving measures rather than the needs of staff and patients.
Still, one must note that the comments only reflect personal opinions and do not prove that hospital administrators, as a group, fail to contribute to health care. On the contrary, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), medical and health services managers plan, direct and coordinate the business activities of health care providers. The median annual wage for this occupation was $123,860 in May 2025, and employment is expected to increase by 24% between 2025 and 2035.
Realtors
Realtors, aka real estate agents, were also a common response. A Redditor even asked whether the profession is still as useful as it was before the internet made information about properties readily available. Another claimed that the amount of work involved in a transaction does not always seem to match the commission charged on a costly house. However, some said that skilled agents can spot possible problems, help buyers with the complicated process of homebuying transactions and get a good deal.
According to the BLS, real estate brokers and sales agents also have duties that include assessing local market conditions and dealing with financing options, mortgages and real estate laws. In May 2025, the median annual earnings of real estate sales agents were $52,830, whereas brokers earned a median amount of $73,220. The BLS also reported that a larger part of their income is derived from commissions and that this can vary.
Car salespeople and more
Car salespeople also had thousands of people against them. Some commenters spoke of how aggressive their sales techniques were or said that they had seen them try to maximize profits during negotiations. Other occupations that readers kept bringing up were those of school administrators, leadership coaches, efficiency consultants, project managers and certain not-so-dangerous military jobs.
While some criticized entire professions, others felt that individual workers can have very different levels of expertise and provide different levels of service.
