Top 10 jobs that do not require a College Degree
January 9, 2009 
45 Comments
How many 6-figure jobs do you know that do not require a college degree? You may be surprised when you read the list I found.
These are the Top 10:
- Air Traffic Controller – Average pay is $117,240.00
- Construction Manager – Average pay is $73,700.00
- Transportation Manager – Average pay is $73,080.00
- Elevator Installer – Average pay is $63,620.00
- Manager of Fire Fighting – Average pay is $62,900.oo
- Gaming Manager – Average pay is $62,820.00
- Dental Hygienist – Average pay is $62,800.00
- Nuclear Medicine Technologists – Average pay is $62,300.00
- Powerhouse Electrical Repairers – Average pay is $57,400.00
- Railroad Conductors – Average pay is $55,530.00
Want more? Check out these stats from CityTownInfo.com.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Jim Stroud is a Social Media Development Manager for EnglishCafe, the premier English learning community for global professionals. Prior to EnglishCafe, Jim Stroud amassed a decade of recruiting experience consulting for such companies as Microsoft, Google, MCI and Siemens. Jim Stroud also produces iLiveOnline, a how-to blog on all things internet.
Related Posts
The Worst Paying Jobs in America According to BLSHow to find work by researching press releases
What overqualified really means
Gameshow Prospecting
A template for the perfect prospecting letter
Categories: Job Trends, Your Career Goals
Tags:
Bullshit….i make more then anyone on this list installing wellheads in the Alberta oil patch…I do have a degree….a couple actually but I happened to find a high paying job that doesn’t require me to use them. There are dozens of other jobs that pay more that those in the patch. Snubbing, Locating, Drilling, Testing, Swabbing, Hell there are truck drivers out here that make more then that…and I mean pretty much all of them do if they have some time in with a company.
ps. by the way I am 25 years old.
Thats a relay cool post jim.Thanks for useful information
No without college degree know one is giving you a job.Yes ,but you can say that college study not help to perform better in this job because college education is not job oriented.
Brian James,
Congratulations, you’re a douche bag.
Interesting article but where are these so called jobs that pay this kind of money? In Florida the dental hygienist are
doing well if they make $25, 000 a year. Most of these jobs
are never even seen offered, let alone at the salaries above. So more useful information would be where and
how to apply?
I dunno if it is different where ever this poster is from but in British Columbia Canada to be a dental hygenist you do need a degree in densitry.
This post is helpful- some people are ready for college or just are not suited for college. They still take training and classes that are specifically for these fields that they are interested in. Everyone always says, you need to have a college degree in order make great money, but as far as I am concerned, amking 117000 a year is good money!!
If two guys joined a firm together, having same job profile; one is having a masters degree or a specialized degree fit and another doesn’t have any, then who will be promoted first at the time of promotion?. So here the problem comes about having a well qualified degree or not.
This is a cool article. I can relate by it cause as of today, even though I am not a college graduate, I still have work. Continue the nice work guys!
That’s not like it. The author might be talking about some rare specific instances. Do not generalize that. Do not give unneccesary abimtions to people who do not deserve it!
People who do not deserve it???
there are more hard working people out there with out a degree than their are momma’s boys or daddy’s girls with college degrees, no work ethic and a snotty attitude.. get over yourself.
I don’t have a degree and you better hope you don’t find your self in a hospital anytime soon.. the people that actually take care of you, hands on… are the ones without the degree.
you pig.
Bhavesh,
People who do not deserve it???
there are more hard working people out there with out a degree than their are momma’s boys or daddy’s girls with college degrees, no work ethic and a snotty attitude.. get over yourself.
I don’t have a degree and you better hope you don’t find your self in a hospital anytime soon.. the people that actually take care of you, hands on… are the ones without the degree.
you pig.
Wow, I really had no idea… Nice article!
Incoming ATC’s recently took a big pay hit. They start around ~$90k now. You also need to be in a specialized program, most of which are fully degreed. The FAA also requires you to have 3 years of job experience or a full degree as well.
Dental hygienists and nuclear medicine technologists in Canada require a diploma. It is not a full 4 year degree, but it is definitely a few years of schooling. To deal with medicine or people’s teeth you better be fully trained!
I would like to know the average age of the of manager positions mentioned when they first got the job; I bet it takes longer than a 4 year degree program to get there.
How about putting up a list of $60,000+ jobs you CAN get with a degree? I know it will be longer than this one.
Brian James wrote: “Bullshit….i make more then anyone on this list…”
You have a couple of degrees? Really? So then you meant to write, “I make more than anyone on this list.” Right?
LOL
Strange didn’t know I could practice dental without a degree. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT! We do have a degree and we have regional licences that need continuing education to keep them current.
I KNOW YOU HAVE A DEGREE AND THATS AWESOME BUT THE TOP TEN LIST WAS OF JOBS THAT DID NOT REQUIRE A DEGREE. SO IS IT ACTUALLY REQUIRED BY LAW?? I KNOW THE LICENSING IS.
I found your blog via Google while searching for how much money do dental assistants make, thank you for posting jobs that do not require a College Degree | ResumeBear Blog!
Why go to college right after high school when you can find a job and see if it goes anywhere first? College is a waste of money. However, if you know exactly what you want to do for a career, then yeah college is for you. I skipped college. I find writing novels works for me. I’m so happy I didn’t bother going for a degree.
Anyone know, if you need a degree for these jobs? Airport Screener, customs inspector, passport examiner, border patrol, dispatcher,park ranger, postal inspector, corrections officer, probation officer, D.E.A agent/field officer? any help would be awesome ive been looking for a job for a few months now after being laid off. ive been looking into federal jobs id probibly be interisted in.
Yeah definitely some little white lies there, yeah you dont need a degree but you need some background + schooling…Nuke Techs, Dental Hygienists, ATC’s, Powerhouse Electrical Repairmen, and any of the management positions. What you think your just going to walk on a job first day as a manager never having done the same thing as the people your supervising and know more than them? Thats just ignorant…ATC’s pretty much need a college degree or to have come from doing that exact job in the military…
I enjoy reading your blog. Thanks.
Good Day.
I just want to let you know that I have benefited from the information here. Thanks a lot.
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
grrrreat info….
Funny that your Number 1 is ATC. You may not need to have a college degree but you still have to go through the ATC academy, Embry Riddle, or join the military. IF you join the military you dont need the degree but its six years of the military and you may not be a controller anyway. and the starting pay is about 33k. 117k is about what the people retiring are making.So good luck.
If you are a professional in human resources, counseling, social work, market research, advertising, sales or any job fields which need a lot of interaction with people and you need to enhance your psychology background in order to do a better job or enhance your job professionalism, a degree in psychology definitely can help you to achieve your goal.
IF YOU DON’T GO TO COLLEGE YOU ARE RETARDED
Hold up their buddy. Not everyone can afford to go to college. no matter how much they save their money. DUH LOOK AT THE ECONOMY. THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK DUMBASS.
to some “DEGREE.” lol.
The biggest retards I know have college degrees.
I’m so glad I found this site…Keep up the good work
Dental Hygentist requires 2 yrs. of college and a state board exam. Not just anyone can do the work without book work. Whoever wrote this doesn’t know what they are talking about.
A friend of mine was trained by the dentist who hired her. He wanted to train her to do things his way. He said that most certified hygenists wanted to do things the way they had been taught in school and were not flexible in perhaps doing something a different way.
My friend was fortunate that she “fell” into this job. So, it can happen without needing a certification. Depends on the dentist.
I’d also like to point out that even a dental assistant has to get a certification…as well as anyone working for the railroad. I have a few friends working for railroad companies and all of them went through training, some paid, some not, and depending on job complexity, that training could last anywhere from 3 months to 1 year.
Many jobs open to people don’t require a college degree. Nonetheless, it’s always good to have a college degree on your resume. Therefore, if you can go to college then take the opportunity.
I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and I was wondering what type of jobs do I qualify for?
Just having a degree doesn’t qualify you for a particular job. You will probably also need some experience relevant to the particular job you are applying for. With the current unemployment rate, there are many applicants for every available job, and employers can afford to be picky. It used to be that if you met 7 or 8 out of 10 criteria you probably got the job. Now it could be 9, or even 10 out of 10. If you are not experienced, you may want to do a search for entry level jobs. Good luck!
ok so how stupid is that so if someone is gonna go to school for 4 years for a bachlors then need to start entry level those 4 years were a waste. if you start the job 4 years ago instead of going to school for some useless diploma then you would have advanced in that job to be a manager already.
Omg…This is GREAT!!!
NOT GOin 2 College…so ya tht’s y i’m readin this article…n o, i luv the cmmnts..i’m ova here rofl!!
Could you update this top ten jobs for 2011? I would love to have that information. Thanks! Carla
The top 10 jobs state that you don’t require a college degree. They don’t claim that you don’t have to know anything. Experience is the best teacher-so go out into the real world and get some in the field your trying to get into.
You do need a college degree to be a dental hygienist, you do NOT need a degree to be a dental asst. however, but in many states you still need to be certified or at least have 1000 hours training on the job. In Illinois the hygienists here make 40+/hour at least. Im an assistant, believe me, if I didn’t need a degree to be one, I’d be doing that job right now! Have to work your way to the top.