11 Best Paying Jobs for Community College Graduates

1. Air traffic controllers

Median Pay – $122,340

Working as an air traffic controller is a very taxing job; it takes a lot of attention and quick thinking to keep everyone in the air safe. On the job you have to coordinate the movement of air traffic to make sure all planes stay at a safe distance apart.

The work is very difficult, especially since this isn’t a 9 to 5 job, but rather it takes place at all times, be it a night, weekend, or holiday. In order to get an entry level job you need to have an associate’s degree, to pass medical and background checks, as well as exams and a course at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). There’s also a lot of on-the-job training in this field of work.

While the median pay in 2014 was extremely good – $122,340 per year – there weren’t all that many jobs in the field, the number sitting at 24,500. Employment of air traffic controllers is also projected to drop by 9 percent by 2024.

Even so, this makes the top of the list of the 11 best paying jobs for community college graduates.

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