Not all high-paying jobs are worth the paycheck. Some corporate roles offer six-figure salaries, great benefits, and job security—but at the cost of your mental health, work-life balance, and overall happiness.
These jobs look great on paper, but once you’re in them, you might find yourself drowning in stress, pointless meetings, and a never-ending grind that makes you question your life choices. Here are 10 corporate jobs that pay well but can drain your soul.
1. Investment Banker
💰 Average Salary: $150,000–$400,000+ (with bonuses)
⏳ Work Hours: 80–100 hours per week
Investment banking is notorious for its brutal hours, high pressure, and toxic work culture. The money is great, but you’ll likely be pulling all-nighters, working weekends, and sacrificing your health and relationships.
Many investment bankers burn out within a few years, realizing they’ve traded their entire life for money they don’t even have time to enjoy.
2. Corporate Lawyer
💰 Average Salary: $150,000–$500,000+ (for top firms)
⏳ Work Hours: 70–90 hours per week
Being a corporate lawyer means constant deadlines, aggressive clients, and soul-crushing workloads. It’s a prestigious, high-paying career, but many lawyers work themselves into severe burnout.
The stress level is off the charts, and if you’re at a big firm, you’re expected to be available 24/7. Many attorneys leave the profession before they even hit their 40s.
3. Management Consultant
💰 Average Salary: $120,000–$300,000+
⏳ Work Hours: 60–80 hours per week
Management consulting is basically being paid to tell companies what they already know—but with extreme travel schedules, long hours, and high-stakes projects. You’re constantly flying from city to city, living in hotels, and faking enthusiasm while regurgitating corporate jargon.
Many consultants realize they’re just glorified PowerPoint creators and that their “high-impact strategies” rarely get implemented. The burnout is real, and the work-life balance? Nonexistent.
4. Big Tech Product Manager
💰 Average Salary: $150,000–$400,000+
⏳ Work Hours: 50–70 hours per week
Product managers (PMs) in tech are paid extremely well, but the job is a never-ending cycle of meetings, conflicting priorities, and impossible deadlines.
You’re constantly stuck between executives, engineers, and customers, trying to please everyone while dealing with last-minute scope changes. The pressure to launch new features quickly means you’re always in crisis mode, and if something fails? It’s your fault.
5. Advertising Account Executive
💰 Average Salary: $100,000–$250,000+
⏳ Work Hours: 50–70 hours per week
Working in advertising sounds fun—until you realize that you’re basically a highly paid babysitter for demanding clients.
The hours are long, the deadlines are insane, and you’re constantly putting out fires while clients change their minds every five minutes. If you hate selling your soul to make people buy things they don’t need, this job will crush you.
6. Wall Street Trader
💰 Average Salary: $150,000–$500,000+ (with bonuses)
⏳ Work Hours: 60–80 hours per week
Trading is a high-stakes, high-pressure job where you can make a ton of money—but at the cost of constant anxiety. Every decision can mean millions gained or lost, and the stress is relentless.
The market never sleeps, and neither do you. The burnout rate is high, and many traders crash hard after a few years of non-stop adrenaline-fueled chaos.
7. Senior HR Executive (at a Cutthroat Company)
💰 Average Salary: $120,000–$250,000+
⏳ Work Hours: 50–60 hours per week
Being a senior HR executive at a corporate giant is basically getting paid to fire people, enforce soul-crushing policies, and deal with endless complaints.
You’re expected to pretend to care about employees while prioritizing company profits, handle toxic work environments without actually fixing them, and implement policies that everyone hates. The cognitive dissonance is exhausting.
8. Corporate Auditor
💰 Average Salary: $100,000–$250,000+
⏳ Work Hours: 50–70 hours per week (worse during tax season)
Corporate auditing is soul-draining number crunching on steroids. If you love staring at spreadsheets all day, this job is for you.
Auditors deal with endless compliance regulations, constant deadlines, and zero creativity. The pressure is high, the work is repetitive, and during tax season? Say goodbye to your social life.
Read More: 10 Career Skills That Will Be in High Demand Over the Next 10 Years
9. High-Level Corporate Recruiter
💰 Average Salary: $120,000–$300,000+
⏳ Work Hours: 50–60 hours per week
Recruiting sounds exciting, but at high levels, it’s just a never-ending cycle of chasing candidates, handling unrealistic hiring goals, and dealing with insane job market fluctuations.
Executives demand the “perfect” hire, but when you find one, they reject the offer, ghost you, or take a counteroffer from another company. It’s a thankless, stressful grind.
Read More: I Applied to 50 Jobs in a Week — Here’s What I Learned
10. Corporate Compliance Officer
💰 Average Salary: $120,000–$250,000+
⏳ Work Hours: 50–60 hours per week
Compliance officers are paid well to make sure no one in the company screws up legally—which means reading endless regulations, writing policies that no one follows, and investigating ethical violations that executives try to ignore.
It’s a high-pressure role with zero appreciation, and if something goes wrong? You get blamed.
Read More: I Took a Pay Cut for Work-Life Balance — Was It Worth It?
