Best Careers Without a Degree

Is College Really Necessary?

As the price of a college education continues to skyrocket, parents and students alike are finding themselves wondering if a degree is truly a wise investment. While college can be a great learning experience and a source of tremendous personal enrichment, it’s not always a smart financial move.

A student who receives minimal grants and scholarships, thus financing his or her education almost entirely through student loans, is often graduating with a substantial amount of debt. The burden is even higher for students who attend private colleges or universities, where costs can easily exceed $120,000.

Students who are unsure of their future career plans may also find college to be a poor investment. Changing majors, skipping classes, transferring from another school, or simply failing to apply yourself properly to your studies can make it difficult to earn a degree in four years, thus drastically increasing the cost of your education.

To learn more about accessing the value of a college education from a purely economic perspective, visit these links:

• The Biggest Gamble of Your Life
• Is College Worth the Money?
• Investing in a College Education

Best Careers Without a Degree

For those who decide to forgo a college education, there are still plenty of valid career options to consider.

Best careers without a degree that pay $50,000 per year and above include:

• Real Estate Broker: Real estate brokers help clients sell residential property. The job is obtained through 60 to 90 hours of classroom professional training and on-the-job sales experience.
• Transportation Manager: In this job, you’re responsible for planning routes for transportation firms. Most people in these positions are truck drivers who’ve shown good work ethic and a willingness to learn new skills. Only half have any form of college education.
• Non-Retail Sales Supervisor: This job involves hiring, training, and scheduling cashiers, customer service representatives, and other workers. Most people in this occupation begin as low-level employees and work their way up by demonstrating good conversational skills and problem-solving ability.
• Gaming Manager: At casinos, the gaming manager is in charge of overseeing general operations. Most are dealers or floor workers who have been promoted.
• Power Distributor: A power distributor works at an electrical plant to control the flow of electricity. On-the-job training is combined with formal classroom instruction for most positions.
• Elevator Repairer: An elevator repairer gets his or her training through the International Union of Elevator Constructors. To begin an apprenticeship, you must be at least 18 years old, have a high school diploma or GED, pass an aptitude test, and be in good physical shape.

Other popular career choices for those without a degree include:

• Truck Driver: Demand for those who transport goods using commercial vehicles continues to grow each year. Drivers must earn a CDL from their state DMV.
• Fraud Investigator: This job involves finding cases of abuse among child support, missing persons, or unemployment insurance claims. On-the-job training is standard.
• Fitness Trainer or Aerobics Instructor: If you love the idea of getting paid to work out, this is the job for you. Experienced athletes with the ability to motivate and inspire others are in high demand at gyms across the United States.
• Home Health Aide: Those who live in areas with a high population of elderly residents will find this job in high demand. After a brief training period, home health aides help provide basic medical care to people who are unable to leave their homes.

Additional Information

To learn more the best careers without a degree, check out the following helpful reference books:

• But What If I Don't Want to Go to College?: A Guide to Success Through Alternative Education by Harlow G. Unger
• 300 Best Jobs Without a Four-Year Degree by J. Michael Farr and Laurence Shatkin
• 202 High Paying Jobs You Can Land Without a College Degree by Jason Rich
• Proving You're Qualified: Strategies for Competent People Without College Degrees by Charles D. Hayes