Best Jobs without a College Degree

As much as we would like to, not everyone is able to go to college or finish it, after high school. There are many reasons for this, but in the end, it is really not important.

However, for those that couldn’t get a college degree, it sometimes can get a bit difficult to get a good paying job. However, it is possible to get a job with a median salary of around $55,000 that requires a high diploma or associate’s degree.

On this list, you will find some of those jobs that can give you a salary that will allow you to have a more than comfortable life, as well as the possible job openings for each position.

Dental Hygienist

Dental hygienists perform dental cleanings examining patients for oral ailments and provide preventive care. They can earn as much as $70k with an associate’s degree. This job has an anticipated 113,000 openings.

Farmers, Ranchers, and Agricultural Managers

This job consists of taking a role in the operation of farms, ranches, greenhouses, and any other agricultural field. It has excellent job prospects, with around 150,200 openings expected through 2022. The median salary is $69,300 and you only need a high school diploma.

Diagnostic Sonographers

This is an interesting way to enter one of the largest industries in the U.S. without needing a college degree. This tech-forward way to work in healthcare involves using equipment that will help diagnose and assess patients through the use of sound waves.

This job requires an associate’s degree and the median salary is $65,860. It is projected that this line of work will have around 35,300 job openings in the next six years.

Detectives and Criminal Investigators

While this is not a job for everyone, it is a very important and exciting job. They assist law enforcement and private citizens in following leads and tracking down law violations, in both prevention and crime solving duties. The median salary is $74,000 and it also includes on-the-job training. There will be around 28,000 openings coming.

Power Plant Operators

This employment also comes with long-term training on the job. Here you’ll learn how to control, maintain and operate the equipment that generates electricity. You need a high school diploma and the median salary for this job is $66,130.

Funeral Service Directors

This job also provides the chance to run your own business, as long as you can deal with living off funeral services. This requires a special sensibility to also provide service to people when they’re grieving.

For this, you need an associate’s degree and it is recommended that you take some business classes too, but it’s not a requirement. You can earn as much as $66,720 for this job, and there are currently around 3,200 openings for this line of work.

First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers

Supervising the activity of the sales workforce, including sales goals and company revenue, is mostly what this job entails. The median salary is $70,060 and the requirements include a high school diploma or equivalent, and the good thing is that the number of job openings for this field is over 50 thousand.

Nuclear Medicine Technologists

Here you will perform scans of a patient’s body and create images, as well as giving radioactive drugs to those undergoing scans. The salary in this line of work is $70,180 and you will need an associate’s degree.

Power Distributors and Dispatchers

The coordination, regulation, and distribution of electricity or steam lie in the hands of these jobs. It usually means that you will work in a technical facility or plant, and you will get long-term on-the-job training. You need a high school diploma or equivalent. The median salary breaks the $71,000 mark and it is expected to have over 3,000 openings in the upcoming years.

Commercial Pilots

A commercial pilot normally flies aircraft on non-scheduled air-carrier routes or helicopter trips, and it can be an exciting and lucrative career. Besides your high school diploma, you will need a commercial pilot certificate, and you can expect to earn about $73,000, also take into consideration that there will be around 14,000 openings available in the next few years.

Nuclear Reactor Operators

While this was Homer Simpson’s job, it is pretty safe to say that it is a challenging and exciting line of work that definitely needs a degree of intelligence way above this cartoon character.

You will be using technology and equipment in a nuclear reactor, monitoring and recording data. You will also need to deal with possible emergencies and it’s important to know how to work under pressure. The median salary is almost $80,000 and you will receive long-term on-the-job training.

Elevator Installers and Repairers

The job description for this line of work is rather self-explanatory, but it’s good to know that it involves dealing with the maintenance of electric and hydraulic systems. The median salary is $76,650 and you need a high school diploma. In the next few years, it is expected to have over 8,000 job openings.

Radiation Therapists

This line of work is great because it allows you to have a career in healthcare, but without the years of medical school, money, and sometimes your sanity at risk. You will be in charge of checking equipment, monitoring patients after their treatments, and keeping a record of each session.

The median salary is $77,650 and you will need an associate’s degree. There will be about 8,400 job openings for this in the next few years.

Air-Traffic Controllers

The reason this pays so much is because of the intensity and high-stress levels associated with this job. You have to be absolutely alert and on-task all the time. You will be monitoring and directing aircraft and you will earn up to $122,530.

This is the highest paying job without a college degree that you will find. You will receive constant on-the-job training and be aware that it is rigorous.