Funny you should say that. So here's my situation: college diploma (massage, 2005-07), BSc (bio/psych, 2007-11), MSc (psych, 2013-15), MSc (econ/bus, 2018-19)... and yet my main money-maker continues to be massage because:

1. $110 CAD ($83 USD)/h

2. I set my own schedule, both weekly and time off (self-employed).

3. Zero stress: no one's ever stressed coming in, and I get to directly help people in pain. These people tend to be very neat and I have an hour to get to know them and the interesting lives they lead. It's very fulfilling.

Since starting my current practice in Vancouver six years ago I've made $300,000 CAD ($230,000 USD) total, working an average of 3.5 months/year (or, more accurately, averaging 8 months/year, 3.5 days/week). It's paid off my BSc student loan and covered an expensive MSc that I was able to finance while simultaneously completing it full-time in Europe for two years. I'm now able to turn my focus to helping my family get out of debt.

I should add that I've worked the same in Toronto, Nova Scotia, Montreal, and Yellowknife, and nowhere was it this good. I'm also quite good at what I do and am a real people person -- these are key. And a white male as well, but our clinic is made up primarily of ladies who make the same as me, just less in total as I work longer -- 8-10h compared to their 5-7h days.

I'm so happy this conversation was started. I wish I could have read this post before diving headlong into student loan debts the first decade of my adult life.