7 Good Paying Jobs You Won’t Need A College Degree For

Best Paying Jobs Without A Degree…

Despite what you may have been told by guidance counselors in the past, there are plenty of good paying jobs that don’t require a college degree. A rule of thumb is the higher the pay, the higher the required skill set. This is why doctors, lawyers, and salespeople all make big money. Doctors and Lawyers must attend many years of college, however, successful salespeople simply need to possess the right set of skills, such as critical thinking and the ability to read one’s body language, not to mention the ‘gift of the gab.’

In order of lowest median salary to highest, here are seven jobs a college degree is not required for:

1. Personal Trainer
Median salary: $37,500
Personal trainers have knowledge of anatomy, including muscles and body fat, nutrition, and often first aid. While many people go to school to achieve specialized certification in the above mentioned areas, which may increase pay, this is not a necessity. Personal trainers can either work for a gym or set up a private practice. You’ll need physical stamina to be a personal trainer, and if working on your own, you’ll need time management skills and customer service skills.

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Air Traffic Controller: Best Job without College Degree

2. Freelance Photographer
Median salary: $47,800
Not only do you need to have a good eye for artistic pictures, you’ll need to understand lighting and physical movement if working in a studio. There are however many areas of photography one could specialize in. For example, you might take product shots for magazines, houses and structures for building companies, family portraits, model portfolios, weddings, or corporate headshots.

3. Private Investigator
Median salary: $50,600
This job isn’t for everyone. You’ll often need brains and sometimes brawn, but at the very least personal initiative. A private investigator or detective will often be called to testify at hearings, analyze data, search databases, or work long hours during investigations and stakeouts. This job requires knowledge of the law, psychology, and critical thinking.

4. Air Traffic Controller
Median salary: $60,200
Surprisingly, the person in charge of several airplanes full of hundreds of passengers doesn’t need a degree to help those planes take-off and land. Thankfully, the FAA has a rigorous screening and application with several pre-employment tests and requirements. In addition to issuing take-offs and giving pilots landing instructions, an air traffic controller monitors aircraft in the air and directs ground traffic.

5. Elevator Mechanic
Median salary: $61,500
Elevator mechanics can often require a lot of traveling and working odd hours. For example, if a 40-story building in Dallas loses the use of one of its main elevators, you may be flown in from Phoenix in the middle of the night to have that elevator operational before the building opens the next day. Mechanical skills are a requirement, plus understanding assembly and disassembly of elevators is a must.

6. Director of Security
Median salary: $62,400
This is commonly a job that one works their way up to; often the assistant to the director of security is the next in line. Duties include analyzing security data, security breach investigations, supervision of all security guards. On the job training is necessary for this position, and it doesn’t hurt to be a more physical, hands-on type of person.

7. Nuclear Power Reactor Operator
Median salary: $79,100
Nuclear power reactor operators work with highly sensitive equipment, so one would think that a lot of education would be a requirement. The truth is a lot of education and understanding of physics and engineering is needed to do this job, but this training is often achieved through certification programs. Active learning and troubleshooting skills are beneficial for this job.

Related Information
7 Jobs to Skip College For
Top 10 Highest Paying Occupations For Which a Degree Isn’t Required
The Best Career Opportunities, “College Degree Not Required”
High Paying Careers with Only An Associates Degree
Highest Paying Jobs In The U.S.

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