What is the easiest, lowest-stress job one could do for $40,000 or more a year.?

Question

Looking for something that requires an associates degree or even less of an educational commitment and a stable schedule

Answer 1

Stress from a job depends on the person, not always the jobs.  I would look into working for a City, County or State job in the area of your associates degree.  Most have great benefits, good retirement potential, and a chance for advancement.  Think about going into the social services area like mental health technician, business office or maintenance.

Answer 2

Statisticians have great working conditions and low stress, but they do require more education than what you are looking for.

Among the jobs with the best pay for an associate's degree: ultrasound technician. Good ones can make $80,000 a year. They work in hospitals, though, so there will be some stress. Probably not so much on the stable schedule, either, though it seems like most ultrasounds are scheduled. They probably have an on-call rotation for emergencies.

US Census figures show that education doesn't make a big difference in income for people in their 20s, except for those with professional graduate degrees (doctors, lawyers, etc.). That's because employers are more interested in what you can do than what courses you've taken.

However, in your thirties, more education begins to pay off. In people's forties and fifties the income gap really widens between the different levels of education, especially for the folks with post graduate degrees (masters, PhD, etc.).  

A study done by Hawaii Community College suggests that it's not just a matter of college degrees. In fact, every college course you take should have a statistically significant impact on average income.

I imagine there are many people in several fields making $40,000 a year with less education than a four-year degree. I doubt many of them have less than ten years experience, or low-stress jobs, however. Where you live will have a big impact on the availability of such jobs as well. I imagine they are much more plentiful in cities where such an income is not enough to maintain rent on a one-bedroom apartment.