No 4-Year Degree Required

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

·  Forest fire fighting and prevention supervisor

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.