High-Paying Jobs That Don‘t Require a College Degree

People often associate good salaries with white-collar office jobs that demand four-year university degrees. However, many lucrative careers offering over $70 per hour are accessible without a bachelor‘s or even associate‘s degree. These roles instead require cultivating specialized skills through certification programs, vocational schooling, union apprenticeships, or self-directed learning.

For motivated workers willing to put in the effort developing expertise, the financial upside in fields like tech, construction, renewables, finance, and more can be tremendous even without formal tertiary education.

Understanding the Data

According to May 2020 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 16.5 million people in the United States held jobs with median annual pay exceeding $70 per hour (approximating $145,000 per year). Over 60% of these high earners age 25 and over had not completed a bachelor‘s degree or higher. Many came from vocational backgrounds in skilled trades, repair, construction, production, or transportation.

Several of the fastest growing and highest paying occupations in coming years identified by BLS economists share key traits:

• Specialized technical skills and job-specific knowledge cultivated through certification programs, licensure, apprenticeships or vocational school

• Hands-on capabilities from lab experience, simulation practice, or field training

• Soft skills like communication, analytical thinking, creativity and resilience

This suggests that deliberately developing expertise and abilities aimed at thriving in a particular role may ultimately prove more valuable than simply racking up academic credentials in the eyes of employers.

Dynamic Industry Landscape

The rapid evolution of technology and shifts in market conditions causes continual churn in the most in-demand and lucrative specialties. As innovations reshape industries, once-hot roles decline while new niches emerge.

Staying aligned to growth opportunities takes awareness and agility. Fortunately, relative to rigid four-year degree programs, developing skills for trades and vocational paths often proves fairly flexible.

For example, the renewable energy transition is accelerating demand for solar installers, wind technicians, EV infrastructure builders, grid modernizers, and more specialized green jobs across transportation, construction, utilities and related sectors.

Meanwhile automation and AI advances are transforming everything from warehouses and factories to hospitals and offices. Technical skills to complement machines – maintaining and maximizing output from robotic systems while minimizing disruptions – are vital for organizations maximizing returns on emerging technologies.

High Earning Potential Without a Degree

Here are 30 examples covering a range of industries for roles emerging as new economy jobs able to deliver over $70 per hour for qualified candidates:

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*OJT = On the Job Training

Distribution of Opportunities

High paying jobs open to candidates without university pedigrees exist across the country, though some regions and states offer more access and higher salaries.

Popular destinations include:

Texas – Houston, Dallas, Austin
Florida – Miami, Tampa, Orlando
Washington – Seattle region
Illinois – Chicago metro area
California – San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego

States with abundant natural resources also present solid job possibilities related to utilities, oil/gas, mining and other industries in rural regions:

Wyoming, North Dakota, Alaska, West Virginia

Major port cities tend to have opportunities for maritime roles as well:

New York, Los Angeles/Long Beach

Cost of Living Considerations

While salaries may prove alluring in finance hubs or tech hotspots like Manhattan and Silicon Valley, the higher cost of living makes building wealth more difficult. Places like Texas and Florida offer more affordable lifestyles along with plentiful job options.

Living expenses must be accounted for when assessing salaries. For example, Longview, Texas offers easy access to secure, well-paid utility operator and technician jobs with Median home prices around $180,000. Compare that to San Jose, California where tech salaries soar over $100 per hour yet median homes cost over $1 million.

Education Pathways

Many people envision vocational training pathways as simplistic or limiting options. Yet in reality, they provide focused teaching of precisely the specialties and capabilities employers in related industries hunger after. Coursework concentrates directly on building immediately applicable job skills.

For those seeking careers that provide financial stability without amassing college debt, vocational education presents an underrated route.

Vocational and Technical Schools

Also known as trade schools, vocational colleges cover a vast array of specializations. Many fields considered “blue collar” like plumbing, electrical work, and automotive repair are covered along with “white collar” paths like IT technician, web developer and data analyst. Even specialized medical roles like surgical technician are taught.

Key advantages of trade school include:

• Job-specific skills and knowledge
• Hands-on training
• Faster timeline to enter workforce
• Lower costs vs university
• Often easier admission

According to Georgetown University‘s Center on Education and the Workforce analysis, over 95% of trade school students graduate with job-ready skills and the majority secure good positions in their chosen occupational field.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships enable learning on the job under the guidance of journeyman professionals who pass on expertise gained from years of experience.

As an apprentice contributes to real world projects and tasks, they earn a wage (often rising progressively as skills develop). The structured programs last from 1-6 years depending on complexity, certification requirements, and mastery timelines within specific trades.

Combining work experience with applied education, apprentices graduate ready to pass any exams and meet licensure or journeyman requirements to begin working independently.

Large employers like GE, UPS and CVS run apprenticeship initiatives. Industry associations and unions like the IBEW electrical workers, Ironworkers and Plumbers unions also oversee highly structured programs.

Apprenticeships are accessible in diverse fields like banking, healthcare, electrical, carpentry, pipefitting, mechanics and more. Over 555,000 apprentices currently receive paid training across America in 1,600 occupations according to Department of Labor statistics.

Independent Contractor Opportunities

The rise of online platforms allows skilled individuals to connect directly with clients and operate as independent contractors or freelancers, dictating their own prices.

Carpenters, electricians, and mechanics can handle residential renovation and servicing contracts. Specialty welders bid on metal fabrication projects. Freight owner-operators log lucrative long haul routes in the transportation sector. Developers code e-commerce sites on contract. CPAs handle complex filings as external consultants.

The convergence of niche expertise, business savvy plus personal branding and marketing enables solo professionals to thrive. By establishing expertise and credibility, they build client rosters and loyalty. Top performers within given skill domains can thus command over $100 per hour, or the equivalent of $200,000+ as year as solo free agents.

Developing Expertise Pays

Overall, despite cultural messaging suggesting university as the only path to prosperity, ample data and examples demonstrate otherwise. For driven individuals, focused vocational education, self-directed learning, and continually developing expertise within specialized trades and technical fields can deliver high salaries rivaling or exceeding those earned by many college graduates working desk jobs.

The key is deliberately cultivating skills aligned to market needs and emerging high-value roles rather than simply defaulting to conventional academic programs out of habit or vague assumptions that a bachelor‘s degree alone guarantees income.

By identifying growing, well-compensated fields and charting pathways to develop relevant capabilities whether through formal education, apprenticeships, or calculated independent study, six-figure incomes are realistically attainable for millions able to perform at a high level in demanded specializations – no expensive four-year degree required.