The 15 Highest-Paying Jobs That Dont Require a College Degree

The 15 Highest-Paying Jobs That Don’t Require a College Degree Conventional wisdom holds that earning a bachelor’s degree is the best path to a stable job that provides a livable income, but not every high-paying job requires a four-year college education. In fact, 345 out of the 787 occupations listed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in their 2012 to 2022 employment projections report require only a high school diploma. In 45 of the fields, the median wage is above the national median of $51,058 a year, according to an analysis by the research engine FindTheBest. However, while many jobs don’t demand a bachelor’s degree, a number of the best-paying ones call for additional training. Elevator installers and repairers, for example, earn a median income of $76,650 a year but have to complete an apprenticeship before entering the field full-time. Commercial pilots who handle charters, rescue operations, and aerial photography flights need a license from the Federal Aviation Administration. Nuclear power reactor operators must be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. What’s more, many of the best-paid positions are growing more slowly than the average 11% growth rate for all occupations for 2012 to 2022â€"or even shrinking. Postal workers, for example, earn a median of $53,100 a year, but the number of mail carriers, mail sorters, and clerks is forecast to decline by 28% by 2022. But for a handful of these professions, the outlook is healthy. That includes elevator installers and repairers, who are expected to increase their numbers by nearly 25% by 2022, and transportation inspectors and construction and building inspectors, all fields that are forecast to grow at double-digit rates. Here are 15 professions you can enter with a high school diploma and still earn above the median U.S. income. You can use FindTheBest’s tool to sort through more jobs by projected growth, median pay, and education required. Rank Job Category Median Annual Pay Projected Job Growth, 2012 to 2022 1 Supervisors/Managers of Police and Detectives $78,270 4.9% 2 Elevator Installers and Repairers $76,650 24.6% 3 Nuclear Power Reactor Operators $74,990 0.5% 4 Detectives and Criminal Investigators $74,300 2.0% 5 Commercial Pilots $73,280 9.4% 6 Power Distributors and Dispatchers $71,690 -0.9% 7 Supervisors/Managers of Non-Retail Sales Workers $70,060 -0.8% 8 Media and Communication Equipment Workers $68,810 -1.5% 9 Power Plant Operators $66,130 -10.8% 10 Business Operations Specialists $65,120 7.4% 11 Transportation Inspectors $63,680 11.2% 12 Electrical Power Line Installers and Repairers $63,250 8.9% 13 Subway and Streetcar Operators $62,730 6.5% 14 Petroleum, Refinery and Pump System Operators and Gaugers $61,850 -5.1% 15 Gas Plant Operators $61,140 -8.8%