As a society, we stress to children that college is the best path to financial success. That’s not always true, however. While it’s true that on average, people with college degrees earn more than people without them do, there are plenty of exceptions.
A lot of smart, talented people without college degrees earn a good living, often making more than many of their peers with degrees do.
Carpentry
In this field, you get the satisfaction of creating something. Fun fact: a lot of people with degrees in engineering turn to carpentry because they get to spend more time actually building things than crunching numbers.
Cabinetry and Flooring
Here’s another field where you get to admire a finished product. At the installation level, you make a good wage, but when you have the experience to move to management or start your own company, that’s when you start to really do well.
Crane Operation
You’ll have to spend money on a certification course, but you’ll earn it back quickly. Crane operators typically earn 70-90K a year, and in unionized areas and management, they can earn two or three times that.
Machinist
This is a highly technical job that’s critical to so many industries. As in many other fields, starting pay isn’t great, but after some time, it’s pretty routine to earn 60K a year or more.
Truck Driver
You’ll spend long days and nights on the road and, in the case of long-distance trucking, long periods away from home. However, it pays well and it’s a high-demand position.
Welding
Like machining, welding is another job critical to so many industrial applications. It’s hard, sweaty work, but welders typically earn over 100K annually once they’re trained and established.
Oil and Gas
Jobs in these industries have always paid well from top to bottom. They aren’t easy jobs, but even the workers without engineering or geology degrees often earn 6-figure salaries.
UPS Driver
Driving for UPS has always paid well and comes with great benefits. In some instances, drivers earn around 200K a year. That might explain why, despite the long hours and heavy lifting, it isn’t easy to get one of these positions.
IT
Everyone knows that IT jobs pay well. What many don’t know is that a lot of those jobs require training and certifications, not degrees in computer science.
Working on Power Lines
Hard work that’s also essential work often pays well. It’s not uncommon to pull in 200K a year for working on power lines. In union states and places with a high cost of living, you can easily earn twice that.
Electrician
Most people can’t perform even basic electrical repairs, so trained electricians are always in demand and can earn a good income. It gets even better when you’re able to start your own business.
Selling Cars
You don’t need a college degree to be a good salesperson; you need good people skills and product knowledge. If you’re good at selling cars, the commissions will be great, and you might eventually be able to own your own dealership.
Trash Pickup
Riding on the back of a trash truck and loading the bin pays pretty well but won’t make you rich. However, there’s a lot of room for advancement, from truck drivers to managerial levels. That’s when you start to earn serious money.
U.S. Armed Forces
Obviously, your life and health are at risk, but if you stay in one piece and serve long enough, you’ll have access to one of the best retirement pensions there are. Also, you’ll have skills that the private sector prizes and is willingly to pay really well for.
Head Chef
It isn’t easy to become a head chef at a high-end restaurant. Those that do, though, earn a great salary, and they can attract even better offers from the competition.
Paving Driveways and Parking Lots
The work can be hot and messy, but it’s needed all over the place. Even the basic paving work pays well, and getting promoted to management pays even better.
Server at a High-End Restaurant
Just as it is with chefs, it’s tough to land a position as a server in a high-end restaurant. If you can, though, tips can easily get you close to earning a 6-figure salary. Once you have that experience, you can also take it anywhere.
Handyman
Are you good at fixing or making things, and do you have a good set of tools for those tasks? We’ve heard of handymen charging around $100 per hour for their work, and a lot of that work is off the books. After the cost of tools and materials, most of the rest is pure profit.
Landscaping
Mowing lawns isn’t going to get you into a mansion, but the skills you learn while working in landscaping will accrue and make you an expert. Then you can start your own firm and use your experience to help it grow.
Plumbing
When a plunger or a good rinsing of the sink isn’t enough, people call a plumber for messy, complicated repairs. Those repairs are also, due to those factors, expensive. Right now, the average annual plumber salary is almost 60K. That will vary by region, of course. Owning your own successful plumbing business will bring in even more.
18 Jobs You Can Do Without Ever Leaving Your Home (Or Your Pajamas)
When you can’t leave home for work or simply don’t want to, there is a wealth of jobs you can do from home.
Some of them require specific types of experience, while others you can learn as you do them. Here are 18 jobs you can do without leaving home.
18 Jobs You Can Do Without Ever Leaving Your Home (Or Your Pajamas)
19 of the Best Stay-At-Home Job Ideas
Earning money does not have to involve a commute or going to a place of work anymore. Thanks to modern technology, anyone can now work from anywhere as long as they have a strong internet connection. Because of this, there are now alternative ways of having full-time employment without leaving the comforts of your own home.
19 of the Best Stay-At-Home Job Ideas
20 Ways Make Money Really Fast
Maybe you have some unexpected bills to pay. Maybe you want to move out of your parent’s home into a place of your own. Maybe you need to make a down payment on a new car. Whatever it is, you need to make some money fast.
Fortunately, there are a lot of good ways to do that!
20 Ways Make Money Really Fast
19 Ways Lazy People Make Money Without a Job
Technically, almost any endeavor that earns you money and involves activity on your part is a job. However, in a practical sense, most of us think of a job as something regular, i.e. what you do for a living. There are other ways to earn money without a traditional job that follows a set schedule and pays a set wage.
Many of them are things you can do just a single time or on the side according to your schedule. Some have the potential to turn into full-time jobs on their own.
19 Ways Lazy People Make Money Without a Job
6 Great Ways To Make Money Fast
Nearly half of Americans are living with no savings at all. This becomes a serious problem when they are faced with unexpected expenses or a decline in income. If you need ways to make money fast, there are plenty of ways to do it if you are willing to exert some effort. Here are some of the best ways to make money fast.
6 Great Ways To Make Money Fast