SELF IMPROVEMENT

Shot girl

For a woman in her 20s, taking home between $300 and $600 a night is excellent pay, which is about how much shot girls make, The Wall Street Journal reports. They're paid 25 cents for every shot they sell at the bar, with the rest coming from tips, which vary between $1 and $20 per round. The watered-down tequila in a plastic test tube and Jell-O shots cost 15 cents to make and sell for $3 or $4. After the young woman gets her cut, the cash is evenly split between the bar and the company managers. The shot girls wear revealing tops and short shorts, which may not make it an appealing job for all women.

Submarine cook

In Australia, a senior submarine cook with more than six years of experience earns $200,000 (about $187,000 U.S.) per year, the same as a junior admiral.

The base pay is $58,806 per year, but the key is in the bonuses, which include a capability bonus of $40,000, seagoing allowance of $22,254, submarine service allowance of $26,703, and a bonus of $50,000 a year just for showing up for work, because the job is listed as "critical to the navy."

Macau junket operator

If you can convince millionaires to travel to the Chinese city of Macau to gamble at a casino, you could earn 1.2% or more of whatever the high-rollers gamble. Baccarat pays a 2.7% commission. That could add up to $5,000 per month.

Pearl diver

It's a dangerous occupation, but diving for pearls in Australia pays well. Offshore rates are $1,300 Australian dollars ($1,216 American) per day, and overseas daily rates start at $500 American.

Oil and gas diver

This may not be the most glamorous job since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but oil and gas divers can earn up to $80,000 a year. Tasks required in this demanding underwater job include inspecting and installing rigs, welding or laying pipe. The best news: It's a growing field.

Master sommelier

Experienced sommeliers, who help diners in upscale restaurants find wines that perfectly complement their meals and their palates, can earn $80,000 to $160,000 per year. They develop restaurants' wine lists, advise clients on pairings and must know many wines by detail.

Airplane repo man

If you like adventure and high-stress work, this is the high-paying job for you. Aircraft repossessors can get a 6 to10% commission of the resale price of a plane they get back for a bank. For planes costing millions of dollars, that can add up to $10,000 to $900,000 per plane. Be prepared for tough work, though. Some repo men get shot at or tossed in a foreign prison..

Bounty hunter

Like a repo man, this is a dangerous job that could get you killed. Someone who has paid bail to get out of jail and then skipped town is tracked down by a bounty hunter and brought back to jail. This person likely won't be cooperative.

Pay is 10 to 45% of the bail deposit amount, so a suspect who skips out on $100,000 bail could net the bounty hunter $10,000 to $45,000 upon his or her return. Experienced bounty hunters who take high-risk assignments can make more than $100,000 per year.

White hat hacker

Instead of trying to steal information from computers and use it to make money, these ethical hackers help companies find security holes in their computer systems. The top certified ethical hackers earn up to $123,900 per year, and need a bachelor's degree in computer science or information technology.

Voice-over work

From cartoons to radio commercials, voice-over work can pay well if you get the right job. Five minutes of finished audio can pay $325 to someone who is experienced. Even lesser-known voice-over artists can earn $50,000 to $80,000 per year.