21 Highest Paying Jobs You Don't Need a Degree For • Staff One (2023)

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College life is not for everyone. Rising tuition fees and the prospect of having to pay off student loans for the rest of the working day are putting young people off. But without a formal college degree, climbing the corporate ladder often seems impossible, so much so that many people enter college without giving much thought to their options.

In fact, there are several roles you can choose from that don't require you to have spent a few years in college to do well. If you think college life isn't for you, fear not: We've put together this handy list of the 21 highest-paying jobs that don't require a degree as part of their job description.

Your school's career counselor may not accept you, but there are plenty of reliable, high-paying jobs available to you, even if you think college isn't for you.

If your interest is writing or finance, there is a good chance that you can make a lot of money in your chosen career without spending a lot of money on rent, food and drink.

In fact, you might even become a true wolf of Wall Street, skipping years of crippling loan repayments in the process (just don't get addicted to insider trading).

Scroll down the list below to find out the 21 highest paying jobs that don't require a degree.

21. Cabin crew member - Average salary £25,000

While we're sure your daily cabin crew experience will depend on the airline and the flight routes you take each week, working as an airplane cabin crew can be a great opportunity for anyone who doesn't feel like exploring. the way of the future university studies.


However, keep in mind that you must complete full training before you can work with your chosen airline. Typically, this involves attending a rigorous four-week training center that includes online assessments and classroom learning.

When you're done, you can expect a starting salary of between £20,000 and £25,000 a year. Don't forget that you also travel the world and get paid for it.

On long-haul flights, larger companies like Virgin and Emirates are known for offering higher wages and accommodation to their employees.

20. Personal Assistant - Average Salary: £25,003

Becoming a personal assistant is an option for all school dropouts who do not plan to study.

Although we have given you a median salary of £25,003, your salary can vary greatly depending on who you work for (ie an individual or a company) and what your contracted hours are.

They require some very specific personal traits: Personal assistants generally need to be positive, organized people who can handle multiple deadlines at the same time.

However, if this describes you, then you could have a rewarding career as a corporate PA. Companies value their administrative staff, and you'd be surprised how much personal assistants can be paid to manage the daily schedules of CEOs and other executives.

Keep in mind that working as a personal assistant can be much more demanding on a person. While the salary may even exceed what a company offers, you may have to sacrifice your free time to meet the needs of your employer rather than your own.

19. Correctional Officer – Average Salary: £27,037

Corrections officers can make decent money without three years of college, so this particular path is definitely worth considering if you're looking for a career outside of academia.

You must be over the age of 18 to work at the stations and you must also pass a series of background checks. Ex-offenders cannot apply. Instead of earning a degree for the position, you must take a corrections officer selection test that tests various skills such as reading, writing, math, and even physical ability.

Remember that working with inmates has unique challenges. However, if you decide to become a corrections officer, you will have a starting salary of around £18,720, rising to £33,000 at higher levels.

18. Ethical Hacker – Average Salary: £30,071

The rise of the digital age has brought with it a variety of different jobs, but "ethical hacking" is definitely one of the weird ones! This particular role requires a computer expert who tests the company's IT systems by hacking into them.

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Today, most highly-skilled hackers are not college educated and are mostly self-taught, so this niche role definitely doesn't require a degree.

Companies start by paying ethical hackers a staggering £35,000 a year, which can grow to £90,000 over the course of their career. Definitely something to think about if you're interested in coding!

17. Journalist – Average salary: £30,998

Surprisingly, you don't need a degree to become a journalist.

While there are plenty of successful writers with a Cambridge or Oxford degree, this is certainly not a prerequisite for a career in journalism – all you need is the ability to find a good story and excellent written communication skills.


Caitlin Moran (pictured above) is aMalColumnist and author, but he has no formal education, let alone a college degree. Instead, he began his career by writing for the music publication,melodiemacher,at age 16, after winning several writing contests.

Another famous uneducated journalist is Julie Burchill (pictured above), who writes novels and is a regular columnist forIndependent. Julie once said, "As a child, I only wanted two things - to be alone to read my library books and to get away from my country hometown and go to London to be a writer. And I always knew that when I got there, I wanted to earn mucho dinero."

16. Fashion Industry – Average Salary: £32,500

all fans ofThe Devil Wears PradaYou probably want to avoid a career in fashion, but if you can't get enough of the latest trends, you should definitely consider a creative role in fashion.

The garment industry is an industry that really favors experience over skill. So if you don't like the college scene, you're in luck.


Keep in mind, though, that before you can climb the fashion ladder to the top, you'll likely need to start your career in the early days as an unpaid job or low-paying internship. Once you do that, the salary is extremely competitive.

The average fashion job can earn up to £32,500 a year, so all fashionistas should reconsider planning to go straight to university.

15. Emergency Services – Average Salary: £32,500

Working as an ambulance can be very exhausting, both mentally and physically.

However, for those who take up the challenge, it may be worth knowing that you don't necessarily need to have a college degree to become a police officer or firefighter.


You need a high level of fitness and also pass some written tests for each role. Your potential employers will look for some specific characteristics, such as: B. the ability to quickly understand facts and processes, as well as a calm and determined attitude in stressful situations.

Starting salaries are typically around £20,000, but they are rising fast: the average salary for an ambulance worker in the UK is around £32,500.

14. Marketing – Average Salary: £32,698

The marketing industry is always looking for creative people who are full of ideas. If this sounds like you, then you may be interested to know that not all marketing jobs require a college degree.

Most entry-level roles start with a starting salary of £18,000, which is perfect for anyone just out of high school who thinks the industry could be for them. There are plenty of opportunities to advance your career if you choose this particular path, but you'll likely start with an internship or internship before becoming a digital assistant or researcher.

Once you reach a higher position in the industry, you can expect to pay between £40,000 and £50,000 for your services, depending on which company you work for. Some of these roles include head of marketing, marketing manager, and marketing executive.

13. Military Security – Average Salary: £35,144

If you're an ex-military or ex-military man, you're in luck: The top tier of military security is dominated by Army veterans, and they make a decent amount of money doing it.

While you don't need a degree to find a position in private security, some experience is necessary.

Employers like G4S and Securitas value the level of threat intelligence you acquired in the military more than your qualifications on paper. They are also interested in your organizational and logistical experience.

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If you're looking for a job, British Military Security might be the right place to start your search. It was founded by two officers who saw action in Afghanistan and Iraq and now do security work for festivals like Glastonbury and Reading. Have fun looking for a job!

12. House Manager – Average Salary: £35,654

Most people would probably assume that being a paid employee would probably not make you that much money, but you would be dead wrong. Also, hoping to have a wealthy family doesn't require any qualifications, just a hard-working attitude and the will to succeed at what you do.

True, cleaners and gardeners probably don't make that much money, but as you rise through the ranks and become a butler or house manager, you can expect to earn upwards of £150,000 a year, depending on your employer.

You should be comfortable waiting on people you don't necessarily consider your equal, but if you get paid on time, the pay might be worth it!

11. Hazardous Waste Manager - Average Salary: £36,684

OK, it may not be the most glamorous job, but it certainly pays well at just over £36,000 a year.

And to enter the world of waste management, you don't need a college degree, you just need to be willing to work with dangerous chemicals every day!

Big companies like Veolia and Suez Environment dispose of dangerous by-products that are produced in hospitals, pesticide factories, oil refineries, and the like. The average salary is so high because it takes a lot of skill and care to handle these products correctly; it's also a much higher risk factor when you're in close contact with them every day.

However, it's definitely a career to consider if you don't want to go to college, so why not join Tony Soprano and get a job managing waste?

10. HR Manager – Average Salary: £38,677

The world of human resources probably doesn't excite many people, but it is a great opportunity for people without a degree to earn a lot of money.

Also, it is a useful feature and ensures that everyone in the office is happy and all administration is done on time.

If you decide to go into human resources, there's a good chance you'll need to get a qualification at some point if you want to advance in the industry. It may be worth checking the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development for more information.

In the meantime, you can be a HR manager like Toby dathe usa officequick, we just hope you don't have the same sick boss as him!

9. Chicken sexer – Average salary: £40,000

Ok, sounds like a joke, but trust us: you can earn an average of £40,000 as a chicken sexer. And you don't need any experience or qualifications to do this. So what's the catch?

His job is to check up to 1,000 chicks per hour during a 12-hour shift. The work is extremely monotonous and perhaps a little crazy, so despite the generous pay, most people just aren't interested.

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The only skills you'll need are good eyesight, patience, and quick hands, because you'll be examining a lot of girls every day.

Maybe more people would want to do this if they didn't have to tell people they are chicken sexers?

8. Air Traffic Controller – Average Salary: £41,011

Despite the complexity of their job, air traffic controllers don't need a college degree if they want to get off to a good start in the industry.

Instead, the National Air Traffic Services (or NATS) offer courses for people interested in working in the air traffic control industry.

Depending on the area you wish to specialize in, the course takes between 5 and 11 months and you'll earn a starting salary of just under £12,000 while you study. However, once you acquire your qualifications, the salary quickly rises to the industry standard of around £40,000, which is worth considering if you're not interested in university life.

You probably want to make sure you enjoy doing the math, since the function is full of numbers. Once you qualify, you'll be safely taking planes to the airport in no time.

7. Nuclear Workers – Average Salary: £44,494

That's right: you can become a nuclear power worker without having a college education to back it up, which means you can follow in Homer Simpson's footsteps and start earning a nice yearly salary at a nuclear power plant.

In this industry, most non-degree positions are still highly specialized and you must have developed specific skills to perform well.

This means that instead of college, you should look at courses offered by the National Skills Academy for Nuclear, which offers courses to help people qualify for specific roles.


All you need to be successful is a little creativity and a willingness to learn new things to go from unpaid internships to your first high-paying job. If you work in a financial position, you can later earn up to £50,000 a year.

6. Digital Marketing – Average Salary: £47,500

We've already talked about marketing, but did you know that the digital marketing industry pays even more?

You don't need a degree to get started here either, because the industry moves fast. If you're familiar with terms like SEO and Adwords, a career in digital marketing might be for you.

All you need to be successful is a little creativity and a willingness to learn new things to go from unpaid internships to your first high-paying job. If you work in a financial position, you can later earn up to £50,000 a year.

Entry-level positions might include feature intern and content writer (so you'll need excellent written communication skills), while senior roles might be head of SEO or digital marketing manager. Happy hunting!

5. Offshore Oil Rig Workers – Average Salary: £49,278

Working as an offshore oil rig operator is a great option for people who are just starting their careers and don't have many commitments (eg family commitments, strong ties to their region).

Because working on an oil platform requires a stay of several months.

It is also a job that can involve hard and dangerous work, often for many hours at a time. For example, did you know that workers on Maersk's oil rigs have to work a 12-hour shift system? While you don't need a degree to work abroad, and you will earn a lot of money doing it, you should be 100% sure that this type of lifestyle is right for you.

There are many different roles to choose from, including equipment maintenance, rig operations, drilling operations, and asset management. Employers compensate their workers for long hours and long stays at sea with very rewarding salary packages.

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4. Commodity Trader – Average Salary: £53,003

If you want to emulate the success of Bud Fox and Gordon Gekko infinancial world, then you may want to consider a career as a commodity trader.

There are still plenty of traders working in London who entered the financial services industry right out of high school, so it's definitely a viable option if you're thinking about what to do instead of university.

Like most jobs in finance, the commodity trader job pays well and may be worth working at for a few years until you decide what you really want to do in life. Grade-wise, make sure you're good at math, and personality-wise, having a knack for mouthing is probably a plus.

However, you'll also need to check for industry-specific qualifications for the position you're interested in. Traders must be licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment offers courses for those interested in becoming a securities dealer.

3. Accountant - Average Salary: £56,000

Accounting sometimes gets a bad rap for being boring, but one thing that has never been questioned is how well it pays off. Also, you might be surprised to learn that you don't need a degree to become a qualified accountant.


However, most employers require you to study for an AAT score before moving on, so you'll need to study beforehand. However, when this is over, you can expect to start your career with a salary of around £35,000, rising to £100,000 if you make it to CFO.

Typical day-to-day tasks include maintaining business accounts, advising clients on budgets, filing tax returns, and other related activities.

2. Mining Building - Average Salary: £56,260

Mining has a high average wage for very similar reasons to the oil industry.

If you decide to get a job in mining, you have to keep in mind that it could take several months of your life at a time. Also, much of the industry is based abroad, so you will likely need to relocate if the need arises.


In terms of qualifications, you don't need a degree to work in mine construction, but some trade or construction experience would be an advantage. Some basic jobs may also require you to have special permits that allow you to operate things like bulldozers and other heavy machinery.

However, with an average salary package of just over £56,000, it's worth considering if you're not interested in spending three years or more in higher education.

1. Stock Trader – Average Salary: £59,475

As with commodity trading, it can be interesting for young people to know that they can get into the stock market without having a college degree, just by being a good salesperson.


However, you need to get approval from the FCA and CISI to start working. You will also need to obtain a CISI Capital Markets certification; Again, you can do without a degree, but you have to study to pass an ethics test.

Just make sure you don't make a Wolf of Wall Street and you'll be fine - the £59,000 annual salary really speaks for itself!

What job would you choose over studying? Let us know in the comments section!

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