10 Career Options for Non College Graduates

For those who are looking for an opportunity that doesn’t demand a college degree, read our list of 10 career options for non-college graduates.

With the recent fluctuations in economies around the world, affording a college education is costing a fortune to the students, leading them into a never-ending loop of debt. The increase in the number of success stories of young entrepreneurs both from and off Silicon Valley has started to boost the levels of confidence in students from all the age groups to do something efficient in the early stages of their life, rather than following the routine model of the college education. May whatever the circumstances be, billionaires like Richard Branson, Joe Lewis, etc. have proved that success in life can not necessarily be achieved only through a structured college education or a degree.

This usually motivates people to look out for challenges at the early stages of life by venturing into the business world in quest of money and opportunities. Most of the people that set out in search of different prospects at this stage in life are recent high-school graduates. It is prevalent for these students to look out for some easy money in the form of a part-time job or during their summer breaks. Usually, jobs are searched around hospitals, as they keep a student in the surrounding neighborhood and don’t demand any experience. Medical Assistant, Medical Biller, etc. are a few examples where individuals are hired without prior experience. The data from the Labor Department shows the rise in demand of potential jobs for students with a high school degree or an equivalent diploma.

However, It is an irrefutable fact that one should consider the other group of people that have a high-school degree but differ from the others in terms of experience. There is a considerable number of advantages when having work experience, especially when one is looking out for opportunities as a high-school graduate. Therefore, rather than focusing on only individuals that belong to only one group (in terms of level of experience), in this article, 10 career options for non-college graduates, we will focus on various opportunities that are available for people with different levels of proficiencies.

We have taken the data from Bureau of Labor Statistics as a reference for information and have filtered the jobs that don’t require any degree. Keeping the viewers from all the levels of experience in mind, we then have chosen the highest paid jobs in the categories of ‘jobs that require no experience’, ‘less than 5 years of experience’ and ‘more than 5 years of experience’ and then have ranked them according to the median annual wage. If you are looking for jobs that don’t require any degree and also does not have the mandate to work in the environments of ‘customer interaction’, you can head over to our 10 High Paying Non Customer Service Jobs Without a Degree

So, without any further delay, let us look at 10 career options for non-college graduates. 

 

10. Hearing aid specialists

Median annual wage (2016) : $50,250

Required work experience in a related occupation: None

On-the-job training needed to attain competency: None

Percentage of self-employed (2014): 4.9

With no requirement of a college degree, this can be one of the go-to jobs for students that can potentially attract students with no prior work experience.

9. Postal service clerks

Median annual wage (2016) : $56,790

Required work experience in a related occupation: None

On-the-job training needed to attain competency: Short- term

Percentage of self-employed (2014): No data available

Mostly being confined to and categorized as a desk job, this job, among the other career options for non-college graduates involves, according to the BLS, selling postage and revenue stamps, postal cards, and stamped envelopes; fill out and sell money orders, etc.

8. Postal service mail carriers

 

Median annual wage (2016) : $58,110

Required work experience in a related occupation: None

On-the-job training needed to attain competency: Short- term

Percentage of self-employed (2014): No data available 

 

With a good annual wage, this can be considered as an easy look out for summer jobs on our list of career options for non-college graduates.

7. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

Median annual wage (2016) : $62,980

Required work experience in a related occupation: 5 years or more

On-the-job training needed to attain competency: None

Percentage of self-employed (2014): 12.7

With a related working experience as a mandate, this job expects the employee to coordinate and supervise the construction activities.

6. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers

 

Median annual wage (2016) : $63,540

Required work experience in a related occupation: Less than 5 years

On-the-job training needed to attain competency: None

Percentage of self-employed (2014): 0

According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, this job that ranks 6th on our list of career options for non-college graduates expects the employee to directly supervise and coordinate the activities of mechanics, installers, and repairers. Excludes team or work leaders.

5. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

 

Median annual wage (2016) : $66,360

Required work experience in a related occupation: 5 years or more

On-the-job training needed to attain competency: None

Percentage of self-employed (2014): 70.7

 

Though it is one of the work experience demanding professions, being a field of work that attracts 70.7% of people to be self-employed, it is a definite consideration for the 10 career options for non college graduates.

4. Gaming managers

 

Median annual wage (2016) : $69,180

Required work experience in a related occupation: Less than 5 years

On-the-job training needed to attain competency: None

Percentage of self-employed (2014): 31.9

 

Usually confined to the casino floors, according to the BLS,  these individuals are responsible to plan, direct, or coordinate gaming operations in a casino.

3. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers

Median annual wage (2016) : $73,150

Required work experience in a related occupation: Less than 5 years

On-the-job training needed to attain competency: None

Percentage of self-employed (2014): 41.2

 

With the second highest percentage of self-employed individuals in our article about career options for non-college graduates, 10 career options for non college graduates, these individuals, in addition to their accounting and budgeting duties, are mainly responsible for the direct coordination of sales workers.

2. Media and communication equipment workers, all other

Median annual wage (2016) : $75,700

Required work experience in a related occupation: None

On-the-job training needed to attain competency: Short- term

Percentage of self-employed (2014): 6.8

 

Without much of a customer interaction, this profile can pay an average hourly wage of $36.39 and does not demand a college degree.

1. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers

Median annual wage (2016) : $89,190

Required work experience in a related occupation: 5 years or more

On-the-job training needed to attain competency: None

Percentage of self-employed (2014): 0.8

 

With the highest paid career option on our list of career options for non-college graduates, this profile is responsible for the planning of storage, transport and distribution activities in accordance with the government regulations.