High Paying Jobs with No Degree Requirements

• Post-secondary education is not for everyone, leading many turning to jobs that do not require a bachelor's degree.
• Jobs are available that pay six figures that do not require a bachelor's degree.
• You can set yourself up for future long-term wealth by having a higher disposable income in the absence of student loans.

Not everyone wishes to attend a four-year university or pursue a bachelor's degree or higher; thus, they turn to jobs that do not have a post-secondary degree as a job requirement. Due to the U.S.'s current political and economic state, countless jobs do not require having a college education. It is also contributed to a change in the work climate where many companies now value experience over degrees. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, below is a list of some of the high-paying jobs that do not require you to have a bachelor's degree.  

10. First-Line Supervisor for Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers

Median Salary: $71,260

Level of Education Required: High School Diploma or an equivalent

Job Description: A first-line supervisor's responsibilities revolve around overseeing the daily operations of their employees. In this scenario, the first-line supervisor oversees mechanics, installers, and repairers, ensuring that they perform their tasks to the best of their ability.

9. Electric Power Line Installer

Median Salary: $78,310

Level of Education Required: High School Diploma or an equivalent

Job Description: The installers work with the large electric cables found on the side of the street. Their main job is to install, repair, and maintain these cables and ensure that there are no faulty parts since they could cause a fire, power outage, and many other problems. 

8. Locomotive Engineer

Median Salary: $79,740

Level of Education Required: High School Diploma or an equivalent

Job Description: A locomotive engineer's main job is to operate trains, which can carry either cargo or passengers, depending on their work field. 

7. Subway Operator

Median Salary: $81,180

Level of Education Required: High School Diploma or an equivalent

Job Description: A subway operator's main job is to drive the train on its track and ensure the train itself is safe for passengers. Furthermore, if they encounter an issue, the operator contacts their supervisor and informs the supervisor of the problem so that it can be resolved as soon as possible. 

6. Radiation Therapist

Median Salary: $82,790



Level of Education Required: Associate's Degree

Job Description: A radiation therapist provides continuous care to patients coming in for radiation treatments. They also help the patients' families with any questions and update them if anything changes. 

An associate's degree is required to be eligible for the job as a radiation therapist.

5. Detective

Median Salary: $83,640



Level of Education Required: High School Diploma or an equivalent

Job Description: There are two types of detectives–public and private. 

A public detective's job has many different parts. Firstly, they use evidence gathered by police officers from a crime scene to help solve cases, ranging from homicides to recovering stolen property. In addition, public detectives deal with public cases and investigate cases that involve criminal activity. 

On the other hand, a private detective can be hired and focus on more personal matters that do not require public law enforcement. These detectives specialize in gathering evidence and resolving personal cases that may not concern public law enforcement, such as a missing person's cold case. 

4. Elevator and Escalator Installer/Repairer

Median Salary: $97,860

Level of Education Required: High School Diploma or an equivalent

Job Description: As the role states, an elevator and escalator installer/repair technician works directly with these two types of machinery and ensures they are working correctly and do not have any faulty equipment. 

Should they encounter machinery with out-of-date or poor performing equipment, they will bring the necessary items needed to repair or replace the piece. 

3. First-Line Supervisor for Law Enforcement

Median Salary: $99,330

Level of Education Required: High School Diploma or an equivalent

Job Description: Similar to the other first-line supervisor role, a first-line supervisor for law enforcement checks in with their subordinates. They check in with them to ensure that their jobs are being performed properly and try to help them resolve any issues they may have. 

2. Commercial Pilot

Median Salary: $99,640

Level of Education Required: High School Diploma or an equivalent

Job Description: A commercial pilot is different from an airline pilot, as they have different roles and requirements. Commercial pilots cannot fly all commercial aircraft models. Although these pilots do not fly airline planes, they are involved in other aerial operations that require their expertise. 

Also, unlike an airline pilot, commercial pilots require only 250 hours of flight experience versus the 1,500 required for an airline pilot.

1. Air Traffic Controller

Median Salary: $129,750

Level of Education Required: Associate's Degree

Job Description: Air traffic controllers work within the towers found at the airport. Their job is to instruct pilots when to take off, land, or change the course of their flight to ensure that there is sufficient space and time for them when they do eventually land on the runway. 

Although this job requires a degree, it is not the same as a bachelor's degree. An associate's degree is essentially a degree that you earn by training on the job, and it only takes two years to complete. 

Benefits of having a job that does need a degree.

Many jobs require an applicant to have, at minimum, a bachelor's degree. 

Research data show that men and women will make approximately $900,000 and $630,000, respectively, more in median lifetime earnings than high school graduates. However, though data shows having a degree will equate to more money over time, the reality is that many who receive a bachelor's degree are also left with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt. Student debt can result in times of financial hardship, even with a decent-paying job. Once you begin working, you also have to start aggressively paying off your student loans to ensure the interest rates do not affect your credit score. 

However, times are changing, and there are now numerous good-paying jobs that do not require a bachelor's degree. A major benefit of working a job that does not require a post-secondary education is that it allows workers to not worry about being deep in student loan debt or having no debt at all. Due to the higher disposable income, those without a bachelor's degree can use their money for some pleasantries and make more investments for their future. 

How to utilize a high disposable income effectively.

It is important to get an early jump and begin taking these financial steps to set yourself up for retirement and long-term generational wealth. 

Set up an Emergency Fund

The first financial step is setting up an emergency fund. The emergency fund contains three to six months' worth of living expenses, such as groceries, phone bills, rent, utilities, etc. The savings account is crucial as it sets you up for any unexpected circumstances, such as getting fired or injured at your job. 

Investing in the Stock Market

After you have saved up enough money in your emergency fund, it is time to invest in the stock market. To create long-term wealth, investing in the stock market is key. After all, if all your money just sits in a savings account, your money will be worth less over time due to inflation.

However, once money is invested in the stock market, compound interest will help increase the value of your money over time. When you choose to retire from your job, you will have a large sum of money waiting to be withdrawn from your investment account.

Recommended Read: How to Start Investing | Investing for Beginners

Set up and contribute to an IRA account.

Lastly, it is essential to set up a retirement account that you contribute to regularly. By having money in both your retirement account and your investment account, you are saving a significant portion of your wealth for the future, which is a vital issue for many who have to pay off student loans. 

Recommended Read: How to Choose a Suitable IRA Account

The Money Wrap-Up

Depending on your goals after high school graduation, you may or may not want to pursue post-secondary education. Regardless of which educational path you choose to follow, note that both options have advantages and disadvantages, such as high student loans for the post-secondary education route and the possibility of a lack of job growth due to no further education.

The thing to remember is that both paths provide you with the possibility of making a large sum of money. It is how you choose to use that money that makes the difference between being financially independent and stable in the future or not.