No 4-Year Degree Required
By: careerbuilder.com
Updated: May 13, 2008
Here are 20 of the top-paying jobs that don't require a degree:
· Air traffic controller
Annual income: $102,030
· Storage and distribution manager
Annual income: $66,600
· Transportation manager
Annual income: $66,600
· Police and detectives supervisor
Annual income: $64,430
· Non-retail sales manager
Annual income: $59,300
·
Annual income: $58,920
· Municipal fire fighting and prevention supervisor
Annual income: $58,902
· Real estate broker
Annual income: $58,720
· Elevator installers and repairer
Annual income: $58,710
· Sales representative
Annual income: $58,580
· Dental hygienist
Annual income: $58,350
· Radiation therapist
Annual income: $57,700
· Nuclear medicine technologist
Annual income: $56,450
· Child support, missing persons and unemployment insurance fraud investigator
Annual income: $53,900
· Criminal investigators and special agent
Annual income: $53,990
· Immigration and Customs inspector
Annual income: $53,990
· Police detective
Annual Income: $53,990
· Police identification and records officer
Annual income: $53,990
· Commercial pilot
Annual income: $53,870
· Talent director
Annual income: $52,840
Though a college degree is not a requirement for these positions, all require moderate to extensive on-the-job training or apprenticeship. In addition, dental hygienists, radiation therapists, nuclear medicine technologists and commercial pilots require an associate degree at a vocational or technical school.
Highest demand, competitive-paying jobs:
Competitive paying jobs for which there is high demand for workers include:
· Vocational education teachers at the post secondary level, with annual earnings of $40,740 and 216,000 openings each year;
· Registered nurses, with annual earnings of $52,330 and 215,000 openings each year;
· Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives, with annual earnings of $45,400 and 160,000 openings annually; and
· Tractor trailer/truck drivers, with annual earnings of $33,520 and 300,000 annual openings.
"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."
He goes on to say that according to the U.S. Department of Labor, by 2010, almost two-thirds of all projected job openings will require only on-the-job training.
So while a college degree was de rigueur for the baby boom generation, that's not necessarily the case now. In today's highly technical and service-related market, workers are judged more on their skills than their sheepskins.
