Striking the perfect work/life balance is easier said than done but there are a number of golden jobs that pay handsomely for a short working week.
Money Mail combed the jobs market to find the highest-paying roles with short hours. Often, these don’t require specific experience if you have transferrable skills.
And any gaps in knowledge can usually be filled with on-the-job learning or training. Here’s a selection.
Executive assistant
In this role you provide support for senior executives, helping to manage their schedules, correspondence and admin.
Anyone who has experience in the corporate world could find they are suited to part-time executive assistant positions if they are highly organised and adept at managing emails.
One such position is being advertised at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Office work: Anyone who has experience in the corporate world could find they are suited to part-time executive assistant positions
It is part-time and the salary is equivalent to between £32,555 and £34,585 full-time.
The role requires no specific experience as an executive assistant but looks for candidates who are highly organised, have experience managing diaries and have good communication skills.
With experience, executive assistants can command salaries of up to £80,000 for a full-time position, based on current job postings.
Recruitment agency Ashdown Group, for example, is offering up to £275 per day – equivalent to more than £70,000 per year full-time for a role at a financial services firm.
Candidates for this role need prior experience in project management and coordinating calendars. They will also need proven experience in writing and putting together reports and presentation decks.
Security officer
If a desk-based role isn’t what you had in mind, you could consider the world of private security.
To work in many security jobs in the UK you need a Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence – but this is not hard to get.
SIA licences can be obtained through approved training providers which can be found at services.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk. SIA courses generally take around four days to complete and typically cost around £220.
Security jobs may require you to work longer shifts but fewer days each week. One role listed by Sterling Facilities Management in
Cheltenham offers between £13 and £18 per hour, equivalent to an annual salary of between £27,000 and £37,000 for a full-time role.
The position requires no prior experience, instead asking for an SIA licence and a ‘willingness to work shifts’.
Another advertised by Wilson James in Chertsey offers £14.74 per hour –the equivalent to £30,659 if you work full-time.
However, the position requires you to do around 832 hours a year on a variable shift pattern, which works out as just 16 hours a week on average.
Meanwhile, there are also close protection roles available, which involve acting as personal security to celebrities, politicians or other important people.
These generally require an SIA Close Protection Licence, which takes 16 days to complete and will cost £899, according to security training provider Get Licensed.
After completing the course you must also pay a licence fee of £184, which is valid for three years and allows you to work in close protection.
These roles pay better than door security, with an average hourly rate of between £22 and £32, equivalent to a salary of between £45,000 and £65,000 for full-time work.
Driving instructor
Most driving instructors are in control of the hours they work, taking on however many students suits them.
Based on 30 working hours, you could take home an average of £1,110 per week, according to Red Driving School, the largest driver education firm in the UK.
On the road: Based on 30 working hours, a driving instructor could take home an average of £1,110 per week, according to Red Driving School, the largest driver education firm in the UK
This means that, across a 50-week working year, you would earn as much as £55,500.
One Direction, which offers driving instruction courses, says instructors can earn up to £73,000 a year. These figures don’t account for costs such as fuel and specialised training vehicles.
To become an approved driving instructor (ADI) in the UK, you must be 21 or over, a qualified driver and have had a full licence for at least three years.
You must also be on the ADI register or have a trainee driving instructor licence. It is illegal to charge someone for driving lessons without being qualified and registered or being a trainee.
To become an approved instructor, you must train with an approved organisation (see gov.uk/find-driving-instructor-training). These courses cost in the region of £1,500 to £3,000.
Trainee instructors must then complete a theory test costing £81 and driving ability and instructional ability tests at £111 each.
Housekeeper
If you are hoping to wind down your working hours and perhaps get away from the corporate world, turning your hand to housekeeping could offer a healthy salary, especially in London and other affluent areas.
Housekeepers, whether working for private clients or for hotels or businesses, organise the cleanliness of the environment and have responsibilities such as managing laundry, cooking and grocery shopping.
Tidy earnings: Housekeepers, whether working for private clients or for hotels or businesses have responsibilities such as managing laundry, cooking and grocery shopping
London-based roles that require no experience still offer good salaries, with one self-employed role through Earls Court Cleaning offering £16 per hour as a housekeeper for serviced apartments.
This would pay as much as £33,000 full-time.
Another London-based cleaner position through jobs website Indeed will pay between £20 and £32 per hour and offers shifts during the week or weekend, with flexible hours.
With experience, these roles routinely pay around £25 per hour, current job postings suggest, equivalent to £52,000 for a full-time post.
Outside of London, roles that require no experience can still pay well, with one at Clementine Cleaning in Woking offering £15 per hour, equivalent to around £31,000 per year. This offers between 10 and 35 hours a week.
The position requires no prior experience but candidates must be ‘willing to take feedback from clients’ and be committed to at least ten hours each week.
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