The jobs that pay $100k without a college degree... including one in serious demand
As college gets more expensive and white-collar jobs become harder to land, more young Americans are skipping the six-figure student debt — and earning just as much without a degree.
Ironically, the shift is being driven by too many people going to college.
That flood of degrees has created a growing imbalance: too many graduates, and not enough workers trained for essential skilled careers that don't require a four-year degree.
As a result, companies are boosting salaries for roles that require hands-on training instead of academic credentials. These include traditional trades like plumbing and electrical work, as well as specialized professions like lift mechanics and commercial pilots.
One example is commercial pilots. There's a nationwide shortage of them, and the demand for pilots keeps growing — for things like charter flights, firefighting, and rescue missions.
That's why the average salary is $113,000, and some earn up to $239,000.
Another example is air traffic controllers. It's a stressful and important job that takes special training. Since few people are qualified, the average salary is $179,000.
Even in tech, a degree isn't always required. Web developers and digital designers are in demand across industries. If you can code or design, you can earn a strong salary — without spending four years in college.
The median pay for these roles is just under $100,000 but top pay can far exceed that at around $176,000, according to the careers site.
As these jobs don't require formal education achievements the best way to land the best-paying gigs is to have a strong portfolio of past work and good references.
Becoming a special effects animator can also pay six figures and does not require a college degree.
Although many animators and digital artists do choose to complete a short specialized diploma in the field, it is not a strict criteria.
Some of the best-paying animator jobs can earn workers around $170,000, according to Trade Schools.
Other six-figure jobs include roles that many high schoolers may not have even considered.
Elevator and escalator installers earn just over $100,000 on average, Fortune reported.
This niche job is the highest-paid trade job in the country, according to 2023 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
However, the conditions of such a trade can be tough with long hours often at great heights and in confined spaces.
There are also relatively few roles, with around 2,100 job openings each year, according to the Bureau.
Mike Rowe, the CEO of MikeRoweWorks Foundation, has dedicated his organization to changing the perception of skilled labor jobs and help encourage young people to take up a trade.
Rowe's Foundation offers scholarships to help train people in skilled jobs that are facing employment shortages.
'We're redefining a good education and a good job, because we don't think a four-year degree is the best path for the most people,' Rowe wrote on his website.
'Blue-collar jobs are a straight path to a six-figure job,' Rowe told Fortune magazine.
Meanwhile, a CEO recently revealed the one crucial question he asks every candidate during job interviews.
Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), asks applicants how soon they could start their new role.
If they say they can start in less than two weeks 'they don't get the job, because they'll treat us the way they treat that former employer,' the 68-year-old explained.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Ryder Cup icon's son, 21, misses out on US Open spot in sudden death play-off after amateur produced sublime final round in Florida
Luke Poulter, the son of European Ryder Cup icon Ian Poulter, has missed out on a place in next week's US Open by the most brutal of margins after losing a sudden-death play-off in Florida on Tuesday. The 21-year-old amateur, a student at the University of Florida, fired a sublime, bogey-free 65 in his second round at Emerald Dunes Golf Club to finish tied for fourth at the 36-hole qualifier. With only four progressing to the season's third major at Oakmont, the world No 3,228 went on to be defeated in the shootout against Austen Truslow, an American who has eight PGA Tour starts to his name. Poulter, chasing his first major appearance barely a year after suffering a stress fracture in his back, finished ahead of Graeme McDowell and Nicolai Hojgaard, among other renowned professionals. He must now rely on withdrawals to make the 156-strong field at the US Open. 'I can't believe how impressive today's 65 was to get into that position,' Ian Poulter said. 'We keep using this as incredible experience and we keep getting better. An alternate spot but not sure what number it will be.' A day earlier, Tayler Weaver, another son of a sporting father, went a step further by sealing qualification. The 22-year-old, whose dad Jason rode more than 1,000 winners over his career as a jockey and is now a respected pundit, beat two-time major champion Zach Johnson to one of the five spots available at Piedmont Driving Club in Georgia. Like Poulter, Weaver has been blazing a path through the US college circuit after leaving home in Newmarket. He said: 'This is definitely up there with my biggest achievement. Playing in a major championship is a dream of mine and it still hasn't quite sunk in that I will be teeing it up at Oakmont.'
The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump is ‘obsessed' about having a call with China's Xi this week to hammer out trade deal, insiders reveal
President Donald Trump has grown increasingly focused on calling Chinese President Xi Jinping this week to get closer to a deal to end the ongoing trade war between the world's two largest economies. The White House has said that Trump and Xi will 'likely' speak this week. However, it may not be the barrier-breaking conversation the president is aiming for. 'The president is obsessed with having a call with Xi,' a person familiar with the talks told Politico. Trump believes he can untie the knot even though the U.S. is trying to change a trade relationship worth $600 billion and doing so without losing too much political capital in the U.S. The person familiar with the discussions told the outlet that the administration is 'under a lot of pressure' following China 's critical minerals blockade, which blocks U.S. access to essential components in auto and electronics manufacturing as well as the production of munitions. 'I don't think Xi is too interested in exporting any more rare earths or magnets to the United States; he's made his position clear,' the person noted. But they added that Xi would likely take Trump's call. 'The president has some leverage, and the question is when he's ready to impose maximum pressure on the Chinese government,' they said. Meanwhile, a former Trump official who remains close to the White House told Politico that the president 'feels like a call between principals is a way to cut through a lot of this noise, and get right to the heart of the matter.' However, some observers think Trump will struggle to get Xi on the phone. Obama's assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Daniel Russel, told Politico that China 'has a sharp nose for weakness, and for all his bravado, Trump is signaling eagerness, even desperation, to cut a direct deal with Xi.' 'That only stiffens Beijing's resolve,' he added. Beijing has reportedly also been disturbed by Trump's very public showdowns with world leaders, such as with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. This has made the Chinese hesitant to participate in high-level discussions. Biden National Security Council deputy senior director for China and Taiwan, Rush Doshi, told the outlet that China 'sees President Trump as unpredictable, which poses risks reputationally for President Xi.' 'It's not usual practice for PRC diplomats to put the leader at risk of a potentially embarrassing or unpredictable encounter,' he added. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that Xi and Trump would 'likely talk this week,' but a call has yet to be scheduled, a White House official told Politico. Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, 'I have no information to share' regarding a call. Last month, China and the U.S. reached an agreement to lower U.S. tariffs from 145 to 30 percent. Beijing cut back on levies on imports from the U.S. to 10 percent, and they said they would remove barriers on the exports of essential minerals. The agreement included a 90-day deadline to begin fresh discussions on a wider trade deal to take into account U.S. concerns regarding Chinese trade practices. However, these new talks have gotten off to a bad start with miscommunication and differing expectations. The Trump administration has argued that China has slowed its new shipments of critical minerals and rare earth magnets. Appearing on CNBC on Friday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said: 'When they agreed in Geneva to remove their tariff and their countermeasures, they removed the tariff like we did. But some of the countermeasures, they've slowed on.' While a business official told Politico that 'Everyone agrees that for any additional progress to happen on tariffs, the gateway is fentanyl,' the U.S. hasn't responded to two proposals put forward by Beijing to deal with the issue. The proposals have been described as being designed by Beijing to provoke talks about what the Chinese can do to stop the flow of components that Mexican cartels use to make the drug. However, many officials in the Trump administration don't believe China would actually take the steps required to adhere to any fentanyl agreement. Former Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush assistant U.S. trade representative Harry Broadman told Politico that while 'Trump is a deal maker,' Xi is not. 'He's a Party guy at the top of an administrative superstructure,' he said. 'I cannot imagine that Xi would get into specifics — at most, they might agree on certain principles, but that's not likely to satisfy Trump.'
The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
One of the nation's largest egg producers has lost 95% of its chickens to bird flu. It could spell price hikes
Arizona's largest egg producer has lost 95 percent of its chickens due to the bird flu, signaling a potential price increase for eggs. On Monday, the Arizona Department of Agriculture announced a third commercial farm had tested positive for bird flu in Maricopa County. At the same time, Hickman's Egg Ranch, which is Arizona's largest egg producer and one of the nation's top 20 producers, has had to destroy the chickens at three of its four farms due to the bird flu. "All of our layer flocks have been on the west side of town, have been determined to be positive. We're in the act of depopulating those farms and removing the chickens and trying to start the cleanup process," Glenn Hickman, the president and CEO of Hickman's Egg Ranch, told Fox 10 Phoenix. Hickman expressed his frustration at the three-year-long flu forcing him to destroy egg-laying chickens. "You know, since this outbreak started in February of 2022, we've lost 170 million birds and that's just got to stop," he said. According to Hickman, it will take 20 months to fully repopulate his farms. The company is trying to get by in the meantime with help from other farms. "Thankfully, we have some other farmers that we are cooperative with, and some of those have had some extra eggs. So we've been able to kind of reshift and reprioritize where those eggs are going," he said. While egg prices have been lowering around the country since they spiked earlier this year, a supply chain expert told Fox 10 Phoenix that there is a chance that egg prices in Arizona will increase. "Hickman's supplies about 80 percent of Arizona's egg production. You are reducing about 80 percent of Arizona's supply chain from about 2.2 billion to 450 million eggs," Hitendra Chaturvedi, an Arizona State University Professor of Practice for the department of supply chain management told the broadcaster. Hickman disagreed, and said the impact of losing his chickens on the market will be "pretty nominal." Arizona's egg struggles are playing out as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is singing President Donald Trump 's praises for a reduction in egg prices. She blamed the spike in egg prices on former President Joe Biden 's administration. "I remember my very first briefing, I was asked about the cost of eggs, the reporter tried to insinuate this administration was at fault, even though he had only been here for a few days or weeks," Leavitt said. "It was a result of the previous administration's terrible polices and in record time, this president has fixed that problem he inherited from Joe Biden, and prices have dropped 61 percent since this president took office." According to Trading Economics data, white, large shell eggs are around $2.52 per dozen nationally. On January 21, the same carton would have cost approximately $6.49, nationally. According to analysts at Clarify Capital, the price drop is partially a result of Americans buying fewer eggs due to their spike in prices — thus creating more supply — and a lull in new bird flu cases. Reuters also reported in April that the U.S. has increased its egg imports from Turkey, Brazil, and South Korea to help bolster supply and bring down prices. Since the outbreak began in 2022, the bird flu has affects more than 166 million birds, including 127 million egg laying birds.
