If you’re seeking a lucrative career path that doesn’t require a college education and promises steady employment, exploring opportunities in skilled trades might be a wise choice.
College education is undeniably valuable, offering a structured environment for learning, fostering critical thinking skills, and providing access to specialized knowledge. However, there are numerous careers in the United States where a college degree is not a prerequisite for success. Professions such as skilled trades, entrepreneurship, and certain creative fields often prioritize hands-on experience, practical skills, and innovative thinking over formal education.
In these domains, individuals can carve out fulfilling and prosperous careers through apprenticeships, vocational training, and self-directed learning.
Factors such as aging workers leaving the workforce and a decline in young individuals pursuing trades like construction, plumbing, and welding contribute to a labor shortages, that can be an advantage for you.
Projections indicate a sustained high demand for skilled tradespeople in the U.S. over the next decade, driven by infrastructure projects, real estate developments, and investments in renewable energy.
These are the most demanded jobs:
Construction Superintendent: Median salary of $84,600
Manufacturing Production Manager: Median salary of $71,800
Journeyman Plumber: Median salary of $61,500
It’s worth noting that certain trade professions, like plumbing and electrical work, have different levels of certification. For instance, plumbers progress through apprentice, journeyman, and master levels. To become a journeyman plumber, one typically needs to apprentice under a licensed master plumber for a minimum of two years, depending on state regulations.
Payscale’s analysis of salary profiles from over 85,000 U.S. workers with a high school diploma or less, collected between April 2022 and April 2024, informed the identification and ranking of these high-paying jobs.
Additionally, ZipRecruiter examined hiring trends over the past six months to identify roles with significant increases in job openings. All the listed trade jobs experienced a minimum 16% surge in openings between October 2023 and March 2024. Construction superintendents saw the largest spike, with openings skyrocketing by over 128%.
Other lucrative trade jobs, albeit with slightly lower demand, include fleet managers and journeyman electricians. Fleet managers, responsible for overseeing company-owned or leased vehicles and drivers, earn a median salary of $64,600, while journeyman electricians earn an average of $62,600, according to Payscale.
Industries such as construction, manufacturing, and home services have traditionally valued skills over degrees in their hiring practices, offering ample opportunities for individuals to earn six-figure salaries without pursuing higher education. Ruth Thomas, a pay equity strategist at Payscale, underscores that while more companies are shifting away from degree requirements, skills-based hiring remains a relatively new trend that hasn’t yet become widespread across all sectors.