A Brisbane worker has shared how she is earning more than $300,000 a year after changing careers. The woman said she didn’t start the job until she was 35 years old and didn’t need to go to university to get into the role.

The woman was stopped in the street and revealed she was earning a lucrative salary as a mortgage broker running her own business. She said her income was made of commissions and an ongoing trail income, which is paid over the life of a loan.

“We’ve also got trail income that we build up over time. Month to month, it’s whatever we settle each month on top of that,” she told jobs app Getahead.

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The woman said she had been in the job for 10 years, having previously worked in the health and fitness industry.

She said the job could involve a “huge workload” and joked that was why she needed to go to the gym to “balance out stress and work”.

“I did a diploma in financial markets and mortgage broking. Initially, you’re dealing with probably more first-home buyers than anything else,” she said.

“As you move your way through the career, you are dealing with more investors, people wanting to upgrade.”

Aussies surprised by woman’s salary

Many Aussies online were impressed by the woman’s six-figure salary.

“$300,000 for something you can do yourself is wild,” one wrote.

“She has a good trail book, people don't realise brokers get paid monthly on your mortgage,” another added.

“People don’t realise developing that portfolio of clients is the hardest part … most won’t succeed at it,” a third said.

According to SEEK, mortgage brokers earn between $80,000 and $100,000 a year on average in Australia.

The woman said many people started out working for someone else, which often meant lower wages compared to working for yourself.

“I think a lot of people start out working for someone because you need a mentor for two years in my industry,” she said.

“Then I think they start realising they can get the referrals on their own and then make more of a cut.”

Lending industry on the rise

Lending managers, which are similar to mortgage brokers but are employed by one bank or institution, were recently named the top job on the rise by SEEK.

The job comes with an average salary of $133,903 and has reported a 163.30 per cent jump in advertisements on the platform.

"Even though prices have started to come down, there are obvious reasons for households to be speaking to lending managers more and more as they look to sort out their finance loans that have gone off from fixed rates to variable rates," SEEK senior economist Blair Chapman told Yahoo Finance.