You can find a high paying job without earning a college degree. Apple founder Steve Jobs didn’t have one. Neither does Microsoft founder Bill Gates, or entertainment mogul David Geffen. None of these self-made billionaires needed a college degree. While you may not achieve their status, you can prepare for a great job in less than four years.
More and more, it’s accepted that a college degree isn’t required to earn good money and have a successful career. Eight out of ten of the fastest-growing occupations don’t require a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. If you’re switching to a new career, wouldn’t you rather spend a shorter time at vocational training or getting an associate degree than going into debt for a four-year diploma?
Here are the 25 top-paying jobs and their average salaries, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Indeed.com.
Place your cursor over each image to see top paying job title, salary and ranking!
Remember that location will heavily influence the salary earned for any job. Metropolitan areas are likely to pay more than smaller towns.
“The thing to keep in mind is that there are something like 50 million jobs out there that don’t require a bachelor’s degree and pay upwards of $40,000 a year,” says Harlow Unger, author of But What If I Don’t Want to Go to College? A Guide to Success Through Alternative Education. Unger reminds readers that according to the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly two-thirds of all projected job openings require only on-the-job training.
Even though this information is tantalizing, it’s not wise to just leap into one of these jobs. Find out which one you will enjoy most and which you have the aptitudes for. I recommend using the COPS3 System from www.TestEts to find out which one of these jobs will make you most happy. This test is inexpensive, yet a thorough assessment of career decision factors.