Owning a buisness, providing some sort of service as a consultant, having a trade / or a niche specialisation. Those are pretty much the best options, otherwise working for someone else here won't really help you achieve any long term goals. From personal experience, and through experiences of others close to me, working for someone else for "good pay" or $1000 a month or more, usually means long hours are expected, about 6 days a week, or 70hrs/wk. That and employers will exploit you as much as they can, little advancement, pay incriments, or recognition of work. Employers often have a slave driver mentality, and no matter how good you are, you're dispensable - the way they say it, there's always someone else in line that's willing to work for less than you.
There might be a few jobs out there that pay well and treat their employees well, but they are few and far between - these may be comission based, or again for niche areas. If you are a geologist, do advanced IT stuff, a specialized surgeon, then things might be different. Other wise "good paying" jobs, don't pay enough $1000 - $1500 a month is not enough compensation for 50+hrs a week. One example, the US embassy was advertising for an accounting clerk, they want a university degree, 5 years + experience, and pay was something like 20 000 pesos.
Owning a business or consulting service is the way to go, trades seem to pay relatively well, but they may be hard to keep busy 7-8hrs a day. Working for someone else in the DR is not worth it 96% of the time, unless you want to be a beach bum.