No Degree? No Problem. These No-College-Required Jobs Pay $59K+ a Year
How many recent college grads do you know who are still living at home or making less than $20,000 a year pulling shots at Starbucks?
Although traditionally a college degree promised a career with a good salary, today’s landscape is less clear.
With the narrowing of the wage gap between grads and non-grads, and the climbing total of student loans, a college degree may not offer as much in the way of ROI.
Although college is an unparalleled opportunity to learn about yourself, don’t think it’s the only option you face when you graduate high school — especially if your main goal is making bank.
Get a Great Job Without a College Degree
Thankfully, many well-paid careers don’t require higher education.
Entrepreneur and best-selling author Kevin O’Leary suggests 10 options to consider — though his list includes a couple of jobs that do require degrees, but might be considered “blue collar” enough not to have a place on your doctors and lawyers and software engineers-crammed radar of high-payout positions.
Here are three high-paid trade positions that don’t require degrees — and their most recent mean annual salaries as per the Bureau of Labour Statistics.
Elevator Installer and Repairer: $76,490
If you have a high school diploma, O’Leary says, you can probably apprentice for this high-paying maintenance position. Those in the top 10% of the field make more than $100,000 a year — talk about moving up!
Subway and Streetcar Operator: $59,230
Turn your morning commute into your actual career, and you could cash in. The top 10% in this industry make closer to $77,000 per year.
Oil and Gas Rotary Drill Operator: $61,070
Although physically demanding, this position could lead you to beautiful destinations — including a trip to the bank with an annual paycheck of almost $95,000, if you’re in the top 10% of earners.
Alaska, land of salmon, mountains and the northern lights, is the best state to live in for this industry — and you’ll get paid to live there.
Sound interesting? Be sure to check out O’Leary’s full list over at The Huffington Post.
Your Turn: Do you have a well-paid job that doesn’t require a college degree? Tell us about it in the comments!
Jamie Cattanach (@jamiecattanach) is junior writer at The Penny Hoarder and a native Floridian. As a double-major in English and philosophy with a psychology minor, she knows a whole lot about useless degrees.
