Now we narrowed those down for you to highest-paying jobs that pay 100k per year without a degree, a list at 80k per year, and, more easily accessible jobs, from $35k a year or more, all with minimal education and requirements.

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#highest_paying_jobs_without_a_degree,
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Without a college degree

The sad truth is that a Bachelor’s Degree these days, has, more often than not, are bearing zeo financial success than it used to do.

Did you know that even the average Bachelor’s Degree holder will take 21 years to pay off a student loan? No wonder that 30% of graduates live with their parents, way beyond the age of 30(USA)!

To add extra gloom to the doom, a recent survey of fast food restaurants show that 15% of their workforce have Bachelor’s Degrees but earn less than $21,000 per annum. Today, over 25% of college graduates are overqualified for the jobs they are performing.

Herewith are the 20+ highest-paying jobs which do not require a Bachelor’s Degree:

Highest-paying jobs that pay $100k a year without a college degree

100k per year is a lot of money. Even if it’s less, having no student debt is a magnificent blessing. Earners of a 100k salary, those without a degree requirement, chose to obtain their professional qualifications through certifications and on-the-job experience, rather than spending 4 years in a (pricey) classroom.

1) Professional Sports Referee (Highest-paying jobs):

With a salary ranging between $120,000 to $555,000, this may sound too good to be true. No academic background is necessary, apart from obtaining a referee certification in the sport you want to referee. The stakes are high, but so is the return if you have the nerves for putting it all out there with no guarantees of ever gaining enough recognition to join in on this multi-billion-dollar industry!

Typical on-the-job training needed: 10 years or more
Top Salary: $210,000 per year
Median salary: $21,000 annual salary

2) Commercial Pilot (Highest-paying jobs):

Not your Top Gun scenario with fighter jets, white uniforms, and maverick air maneuvers but, if you want to spend most of your working day among the clouds ample opportunities are available in-flight charters, aerial photography, aerial fire-fighting to name but a few. Certification takes about 12-18 months, depending on how long it takes to accumulate your 250 flight hours. Once established, the average earnings range from $49k – $160k per annum.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 1 year to 1,5 year
Top Salary: $165,000 per year
Average salary: $91,000 annual salary

3) Master Sommelier (Highest-paying jobs):

Imagine spending your days dining and wining in the most excellent restaurants and hotels around the country….and getting paid for it. Master Sommeliers are the expert stewards of the food and hospitality industry. You will be responsible for sourcing wines to pair with the dishes that the establishment offers, conduct wine tastings, and offer wine recommendations to patrons.

Master Sommeliers are certified by the CMS (Court of Master Sommeliers) and may earn up to $160,000 per annum. However, before dusting off those forgotten bottles of wine in the cellar, be reminded that there are currently only 229 Master Sommeliers worldwide. If you want a taste of it, you’re going to have to work for it.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 4 years or more
Top Salary: $160,000 per year
Median Salary: $49,000 per year

4) Air Traffic Controllers (Highest-paying jobs):

Seen the movie Pushing Tin and you have it about right. Are you cool, calm, and collected in the face of adversity with next-level OCD when it comes to accuracy and detail? If affirmative, then is this potentially the job for you to earn a six-figure salary in just a few years after starting on an entry-level salary of around $94,000. Join the curators of the sky industry by enlisting the military or completing the necessary training through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Typical on-the-job training needed: 12 months
Top Salary: $153,000 per year
Average salary: $94,000 annual salary

5) Programmers (Highest-paying jobs) :

Do you have a neck for languages…. of the IT kind that is? Computer programmers are the brainchild behind the apps, programs, and systems we take for granted every day. Coding, coding, and more coding is your daily destiny. Programmers paid dearly for their everyday engagement with binary zeros and ones at $70,000 per year.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 1 year or more
Top Salary: $125,000 per year
Average salary: -$70,000 annual salary

6) Power Distributors (Highest-paying jobs) :

In this job, you are in power. Power Distributors monitor and control steam input and electricity output in power plants. On-the-job training is common, and coursework includes electrical engineering and power production subject matter. Distributors earn average salaries of $81,000.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 3 years or more
Top Salary: $121,000 per year
Average salary: -$81,000 annual salary

7) Database Managers (Highest-paying jobs) :

These individuals are responsible for organizing and storing data securely using specialized software and system architecture. Accessibility, integrity, and safety take on whole different meanings in this industry.

Numerous certifications are available for those not interested in spending four years at university before finding a job. The median yearly salary in this field is $70,000.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 1 year
Top Salary: $117,000 per year
Average salary: -$65,000 annual salary

8) Locomotive Engineer (Highest-paying jobs):

For any other engineering job, you would need a 4-year Bachelor’s Degree in chemical, electrical, or mechanical engineering. Not this one, though.

Locomotive Engineers need a high school diploma and a couple of certifications that can be completed while already working. Salaries bring in an average of $62,000 per annum. You will be responsible for operating electric, diesel or gas-turbine trains in the freight or passenger transportation sector.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 3 years or more
Top Salary: $114,000 per year
Average salary: -$62,000 annual salary

Highest-paying jobs that make 80k a year without a college degree

9) Underwater Welder (Highest-paying jobs):

Are you the first one to pack scuba gear when going on a beach holiday? Well, how about getting paid $60,000 a year for your underwater antics? If you are top-notch, that number can go up to a comfortable $110,000 package range.

Welders of the waters repair submerged areas of structures like oil rigs and bridges. You would need quite a few diving licenses, but you probably already have that certification done and dusted already.

Typical training needed: 2-6 years
Top Salary: $110,000 per year
Average salary: -$83,000 annual salary

10) Boilermakers (Highest-paying jobs):

A very in-demand trade primarily in food manufacturing, gas, mining, and industrial plant facilities. They assemble, install, and repair boilers, closed vats, and other large vessels or containers that hold liquids and gases. The work can be physically demanding and even dangerous at times. If you are willing to take the risk, are flexible to work in remote locations, and are not afraid of heights, you will always have job prospects in this field. The further away from home, the higher the pay. In Alaska, the average salary is around $75,000 per year.
Boilermakers in the oil and gas sector can easily make $100k a year.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 3 years or more
Top Salary: $108,000 per year
Average salary: -$75,000 annual salary

11) Dental Hygienist:

Love interacting with people (who cannot talk back most of the time)? A dental hygienist is instrumental in creating noteworthy smiles. As humanity will always be subject to vanity, employment growth in this sector is forecasted at around 20%. A 2-year associate’s degree gets you in and at a pay scale of between $80,000 to $100,000 with set office hours to plan the rest of your life; you will be smiling to the bank.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 2 years or more
Top Salary: $102.000 per year
Average salary: -$72,000 annual salary

12) Detectives:

Not quite a Sherlock Holmes story where every case has a happy ending. Detectives or Criminal Investigators are responsible for investigating crime scenes, collecting evidence, and write reports for use in court cases. Due to highly stressful and downright dangerous working conditions, detectives earn at the higher end of the salary scale of the law enforcement sector.

After completing a police academy program, coupled with a few years of experience, you can expect to make nearly $95,000 per year.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 5 years or more
Top Salary: $103,000 per year
Average salary: -$72,000 annual salary

13) Diagnostic Medical Sonographer:

Perhaps you did not get the GPA to spend your days as a Neuro Surgeon to the likes of Grey’s Anatomy, or maybe funding is an issue. Consider the opportunities in sonography then. An essential part of patient care where you will be scouting around in the internal anatomy of the human body to track disease progression, find evidence of medical conditions or even monitor the development of tiny humans to be.

An after-school diploma and a few exams with the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) will open the door to a meaningful career with earnings of up to $100k.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 4 years or more
Top Salary: $98,000 per year
Average salary: -$68,000 annual salary

14) Aircraft Mechanic:

Allow your career to take off! (From the ground that is). Aircraft Mechanics paid lucratively, up to $95 000 per year. Formal certification is not required but advised, and you can attend training schools with registered Federal Aviation Authority providers.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 2 years
Top Salary: $95,000 per year
Average salary: -$58,000 annual salary

16) Shipping Engineer (and other amazing, well paid, shipping jobs):

These individuals don’t spend much time on solid ground and a day in the office is somewhere in the Atlantic, Pacific, or Caribbean Ocean. Shipping Engineers supervise and coordinate worker crews responsible for maintaining engines, boilers, deck machinery or electrical, refrigeration and sanitation equipment aboard shipping vessels. Although some companies require a 4-year degree, you can work yourself up to the ranks based on experience if you join the military and complete certifications through the US Marine Academy. Shipping Engineers are well rewarded and earn, on average $70 000 per year.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 5 years or more
Top Salary: $94,000 per year (Tax free!)
Average salary: -$72,000 annual salary (Tax free!)

17) Golf Ball Retriever:

Yes, that’s correct. There are people out there earning a living from diving into ponds, dams, and rivers to collect golf balls. No degree needed, just a driver’s license to get you started. Golf Ball Divers earn from $50 000 to $100 000 dollars per year. Caution though, you need to have nerves of steel to brace for encounters with snakes and crocodiles lying beneath those murky waters.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 2 years or more
Top Salary: $92,000 per year
Average salary: -$63,000 annual salary

Highest-paying jobs that pay 65k A year without a degree

18) Plumber:

Plumbing is usually the last thing on our minds until you wake up to a drain overflow, waterless taps, or a broken geyser. Also, these little mishaps with showers, sinks, bathtubs, and toilets, usually occur at the most inconvenient of times, which is why there will always be sufficient demand for plumbing services.

To enter this field, you need to complete an apprenticeship at a certified institution. The average salary for a plumber these days is $52.000.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 3 years or more
Top Salary: $78,000 per year
Average salary: -$52,000 annual salary

19) Web Developer: These artists don’t use paint and canvas, web developers create masterpieces with graphics, fonts, and images. They design layouts, interactive features, user interfaces, and the backend platforms of websites. Web Developers can work in any industry as permanent employees or freelance consultants. Remuneration may vary, but average earnings are between $64 000 and $76 000.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 2 years or more
Top Salary: $76,000 per year
Average salary: -$64,000 annual salary

20) Wind Turbine Technician:

Certainly not a profession for those afraid of heights. These technicians are responsible for the maintenance and troubleshooting of electrical, mechanical, hydraulic components of turbines. Take note though these turbines are 328 ft high with 116ft blades to contend with. Adrenaline junkies interested in this type of career can expect to earn in the range of $52 000 per year, and you have to pass a couple of certified courses before being allowed in the air up there.

Typical on-the-job training needed: 5 years or more
Top Salary: $74,000 per year
Average salary: -$53,000 annual salary

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