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As America moves further and further away from the industrialized, assembly line work force that thrived during the early and mid-20th century, the wage gap between those with a 4-year college degree and those without has continued to rise. According to , working adults with a college degree made roughly 56.6% more than those that only had a high school diploma in 2016.
However, despite the increasing pay gap, many occupations that don’t require a 4-year degree still pay well over $37,040 – the median wage for all education levels in 2016. Additionally, with the rising costs of a college education, these occupations may be more appealing than ever since they don’t require taking on significant student debt.
To see which of these occupations pay top dollar, don’t require a college degree, and are expected to grow in size over the next decade, the business research firm combed through the most recent BLS data to curate the below list of jobs.
Here are the highest paying jobs that don’t require a college degree.
Methodology
The information in this article is based on data released by the , specifically their Occupational Employment Statistics and Employment Projections reports. The data was pulled on October 4th, 2017 and reports data for the year 2016. All occupations where the “typical entry-level education†was an Associate’s degree or lower was included. The list below has been ranked by the reported 2016 median wages. Occupations with a projected negative growth outlook over the next decade have been excluded.
