This is the first post in a new series on jobs high schoolers have never heard of. I don’t mean literally, of course. Some high school students have parents or relatives who work in these jobs. At the same time, these aren’t jobs that most high school seniors would name if you asked them what they wanted to do after college.

My goal is to highlight jobs that pay well (or very well), generally require a 4 year degree, but not in a STEM field, and are widely available. If you have any ideas for a job I should highlight, let me know.

We all know you can make more money by negotiating your salary and benefits when starting a new job, or save money by negotiating on home, car, or other major purposes. But have you ever thought about making your living as a negotiator? I’m not talking about the negotiators brought in by the police in hostage situations or anything like that (talk about a high stress job), but there are a lot of people out there who make their living negotiating contracts between businesses. I’m not saying it’s a low stress job, just not on the same lines as military/police negotiators.

I bring this up because I was in a meeting last week where one of my directors was talking about filling some vacancies we have for Contract Managers and saying that she was concerned with being able to bring in the talent she wants at only $100k/year.

Take a step back and think about that. Now, we’re not looking to bring in newbies. We want people who are roughly mid-career. So a Contract Manager, in my company, mid-career should make over $100k/yr. That’s pretty good money.

And think of all those people who say you can only make good money with a STEM degree. Not in this case. I would guess that degrees in Communications, Psychology, or even English or History would stand you in good stead in this position. A Business degree could also be useful, but what matters most in this type of position is soft skills.

Yes, it helps to understand the numbers, but we have contract analysts (who make substantially less than contract managers) who run the numbers. The managers just need to be able to understand the reports and the limits set on them by leadership.

Their main job is to walk into a meeting and get the best deal possible for our company from the people representing another company. People skills are the key, not the ability to run the numbers.

Our company employs 12 contract managers and 2 directors of contracting- and we’re pretty small, with a service area only in our state. Think of how many people larger corporations employ. Because trust me, they all have contracts with other companies or the government, and they all need people in the room to negotiate those contracts for them.

A quick search for jobs with the title Contract Manager on the National Contract Management Association website brings up 126 openings, 33 of those in Virginia and 15 in Maryland (the government hires a lot of contract managers). Of those that specify education, 90 require a 4 year degree, but only 3 want a masters or higher.

Is this a job for everyone? Of course not. I’d be miserable in a job that required me to negotiate all the time, but there are plenty of people who are good at it and like doing it. But it’s not one of the jobs you hear about all the time. Honestly, how many high school students do you know, if you asked them what they wanted to do for a living, would say Contract Manager? But it’s a good job, with good pay, with opportunities all over the world, from small towns to major cities. Every business has contracts they need someone to negotiate and manage.