Obscure six figure jobs which will leverage your financial services contacts

Last time we ran an article on six figure jobs outside banking, we were lambasted for suggesting things that take years to train for and aren't immediately accessible to former financiers locked out of the market (eg. becoming a GP)

Given that the CEBR is predicting that it will be 2021 before employment in the City of London recovers to its highs of 2007, there may be plenty of time for retraining. However, for those in need of readier cash, the New York Post offers a few alternatives.

According to the Post, personal trainers, chauffeurs, high end estate agents (and strippers) are all earning the equivalent of 100k a year in New York. Our investigations suggest it may be possible to earn this amount in the following roles in London.

Personal trainer

Most personal trainers don't make huge amounts of money. They do, however, have the advantage of looking fit at all times.

If the aesthetic advantages aren't enough for you, you'll need to pitch your training services at the high end market - ex-banking colleagues still in work, and their wives.

The average personal trainer in a gym earns around 40 an hour, but has to pay around 500 a month to the establishment. Based on a (possibly optimistic) 30 hour working week, this leaves 4,300 a month gross.

However, high end personal trainers with celebrity clients and a following among size zero housewives can charge $300 an hour according to the Post. This would appear to hold true in the UK: "the UK's top fitness expert' Dax Moy charges 150 an hour.

To make really big money out of personal training, you will, however, need to get a brand and write books about being fit.

Chauffeur

The Post claims to have unearthed a chauffeur who's earning up to $20k a day.

Sadly, we couldn't find a comparable specimen in London.

However, we did speak to Trevor Langley, who runs a chauffeur franchise company called Pinnacle.

Based on the following calculation, Langley says individual drivers are unlikely to clock up more than 44k a year - you charge 50 an hour and work a 40 hour week, amounting to 8k a month. However, over a year you could easily have 'operator costs' (nice car etc) amounting to 44k, leaving you with 52k. Unlike a personal training career, chauffering may also leave you fat and unhealthy.

However, Langley says it's possible to earn more by becoming a franchisee (through him) and running several different cars at once.

Close protection

This is one that wasn't specified by the New York Post, but which we are proud to have unearthed ourselves: close protection (AKA 'bodyguarding').

According to this guide to bodyguard careers, some close protection people are earning 1,500 a day. The clear disadvantage is that they are only earning this much because the job is 'high risk' and they may die before they get to spend it.

A close protection officer at one organization which schools bodyguarding types, says it would be impossible to earn 1.5k a day with no experience. Initially, you'd be looking at 150-200 a day, she says. However, with a few years' protecting under your belt, this could easily rise to 500 a day.

Most close protectors are self employed and work through agencies. You don't need to be a black belt at karate, although it may help. "All VIPs are looking for different things - they might want someone who can horse ride or can ski," she says.