For those who are not comfortable around the customer or service level environments and have no time for a degree, read our list of 10 high paying non customer service jobs without a degree.
The cost of college education in the U.S. has increased substantially since the 1980s. In a paper on the rising cost of college education in the U.S., Ronald Ehrenberg of Cornell University noted that tuitions at some of the private colleges and universities in the country have increased annually between 2% and 3% over the rate of inflation. The paper further notes that growth in tuition fees has consistently outstripped growth in the median family income since the 1980s.
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Rising tuition costs have meant that students are leaving colleges with a significant amount of debt. According to Education Department data analyzed by Huffington Post, financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz and economist Brad Hershbein of the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, student debt burdens have increased around 163.8% over the last 25 years. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York data shows that wages for recent college graduate have increased by 1.6% in the same period.
The question is why are students prepared to take a significant amount of debts to pursue the college education. It is mainly because a college education is still seen as a way to high-paying jobs. It is a gamble students are prepared to take. But is piling a huge amount of debt at an early age to pursue college education the only way to achieve the American Dream? The answer is no. From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, there are examples of successful executives and entrepreneurs who never went to college or dropped out mid-way.
Lewis S. Ranieri, who pioneered the mortgage-backed securities market in the late 70s, left St. John’s University without completing his degree. Ranieri was also named by Businessweek as “one of the greatest innovators of the past 75 years” back in 2004. Ranieri later returned to his university and completed a degree, however, much of the success he achieved on Wall Street was before this.
Of course, there are several examples in Silicon Valley. Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs never completed college.
Indeed, the American Dream can be achieved without a college degree. In fact, data from the Labor Department shows that there are several high paying non customer service jobs without a degree. Of course, some of these jobs require customer service, which can be challenging. However, there are also jobs that do not require any interaction with customers and still pay well. Therefore, for today’s article, we have checked BLS statistics and first found jobs that don’t require a degree, then among those we selected jobs that don’t require customer service, and finally, we rank those that we got according to its median annual wage. If you are looking only for a part time jobs of this kind, then head over to 12 Best Part-Time Jobs That Don’t Deal with Customers.
Now, without further ado, we present you high paying non customer service jobs without a degree.
10. Media and Communication Equipment Workers
The Labor Department data shows that the median annual wage for this group was $45,680 in 2016. Every time you watch your favorite television show or stream a movie on Netflix, the flawless broadcast is mainly thanks to media and communication equipment workers. This is a vast field and job responsibilities could vary. In general, though, a high school diploma is sufficient to get into this field.
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9. Athletes and Sports Competitors
As with artists, the sky is the limit for athletes. The median annual wage for athletes and sports competitors stood at $47,710 at the end of 2016. While a sporting career itself can be rewarding, several sportsmen post-retirement have turned to business and have been reasonably successful.
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8. Hearing Aid Specialists
The educational requirement for this field is a high school diploma, according to the Labor Department. Further, the Labor Department notes that the median annual wage for this group was $50,250 in 2016.
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7. Court Reporters
The median wage for court reporters totaled $51,320 in 2016. Court reporters also referred to as court stenographers, transcribe speeches during court hearings into written form. The written document is used as part of official transcripts of court hearings.
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6. Legal Support Workers
The tasks legal support workers, that are at number 6 on our list of high paying non customer service jobs without a degree, focus are administrative and secretarial in nature. Legal support workers are employed by law firms and they help lawyers in preparing documents during legal proceedings. The median annual wage for legal support workers in 2016 stood at $54,650.
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5. Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators
Insurance claims examiners and investigators are employed mainly by insurance companies but also by government and healthcare organizations. As the name suggests, their main task is to investigate and examine the claims submitted by a client and whether they are covered by the policy. In 2016, the median annual wage for this group of workers was $63,680.
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4. Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers
The median annual wage in 2016 for these jobs stood at $66,360. The usual requirement for this kind of jobs is a high school diploma. The main tasks include monitoring and assessment of the quality of farmland and livestock. Now, let’s see the top three entries on our list of high paying non customer service jobs without a degree.
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3. Artists and Related Workers
We now come to an area where talent is far more important than formal education and hence a definite consideration for our list of 10 high paying non-customer service jobs without a degree. If you are the creative type, then pursuing an artistic career is worth it. According to the Labor Department, artists and related workers made $70,080 in median annual wage in 2016. However, in this case, the sky is the limit in terms of earning potential if there is an audience for your talent.
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2. Postmasters and mail superintendents
The median annual wage for postmasters and mail superintendents, that rank 2nd on our list of high paying non customer service jobs without a degree, stood at $71,670 in 2017, according to data from the Labor Department. Most of the duties performed by postmasters are administrative in nature. While you can get a job as postmaster with a high school diploma, there is some moderate on-the-job training required. However, the outlook for these jobs isn’t favorable. According to the Labor Department, employment is expected to drop 26% between 2014 and 2024.
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1. Transportation, Storage and Distribution Managers
According to data from the Labor Department, the median annual wage for transportation, storage, and distribution managers stood at $89,190, making it first on our list of high paying non customer service jobs without a degree. These jobs require limited formal education. The main duty of transportation, storage, and distribution managers is to ensure that merchandise is allocated and shipped in an efficient way. They also analyze costs and create budgets.
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