No College? No Problem!

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In my previous post, I summarized key points from a business owner herself and what she looked for in someone she wanted to promote, which often means a better salary. So now we know a method to gaining a bigger salary whether it’s working for Microsoft or working for McDonalds, but clearly there is a difference between working at these companies: One generally required a college degree, and one doesn’t. So the question now came to me: is there any jobs that don’t require a college degree that start with a high salary?

I was expecting to find dozens of articles with the headline “College not Worth it! Takes these jobs instead,” you know, probably written by people who dropped out of college and had a stroke of luck. What I found was perhaps a hundred articles talking about how college IS worth it, written by successful business people or people who didn’t go to college and are struggling, and a few articles on shady websites with horrible grammar about not going to college.

Before I go off topic and rant about the grammar, I should get to the point: college is worth it. Unfortunately, I’m looking for how to make a greater salary with or without a college degree, so I need to find an answer. I’m not asking if it’s possible, I’m asking how to do it. In addition, some people simply can’t afford college and/or cannot pay off student loans. So for those of you who don’t think college is your thing, I found an article by Jenna Goudreau titled “You don’t Need College to Make Good Money” on nbcnews.com. Goudreau talks about getting a job with an associate’s degree, which means you don’t need a good four years of college to get the job. So, let’s do some Q & A based on the article. I’ll ask a question, and provide an answer based on what the article says, sometimes directly quoting it:

Q: Let’s get the big one out of the way: What job CAN I get with just an associates degree?

A: The first job example Goudreau gives is nursing. Believe it or not, apparently most nursing jobs only require an associates degree and a national licensing exam. If you think getting a national licensing exam is too much work, think of it this way: What’s easier, taking one exam, or taking 4+ years of college plus many exams? That’s what I thought.

Here’s a quote directly from Goudreau to more accurately answer the questions:

“At the top of the list, the No. 1 best job that doesn’t require a bachelor’s degree is registered nursing. The field is expected to grow at a faster-than-average rate of 26 percent and will have more than 120,000 annual openings. Registered nurses earn a median income of $65,950 working in hospitals, doctors’ offices, home health care services and nursing care facilities. While workers may choose to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing, only an associate’s degree and passing a national licensing exam are required.”

Q: Okay, but what other jobs are available? What if I don’t want to be a nurse?

A: Sorry, but the options are pretty limited without college. Sure, there are a lot of jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree, but most of these jobs are minimum wage. Fortunately for you, Goudreau does mention other jobs. Here’s another quote from Goudreau that lists some jobs:

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts health care services will experience some of the fastest growth through 2020, and many of these jobs offer good pay and require only an associate’s degree. Dental hygienists (No. 2) earn a median income of $69,280, radiologic technologists and technicians (No. 4) earn $55,120, diagnostic medical sonographers (No. 8) earn $65,210, respiratory therapists (No. 9) earn $55,250 and physical therapist assistants (No. 13) earn $51,040.”

Q: But do all these jobs require some sort of college education of training?

A: Luckily for you, Gordreau also lists jobs that might only require a high school diploma:

“Many of the jobs on the list, particularly in construction and skilled labor, call for only a high school degree or its equivalent and on-the-job or vocational training. At No. 3, supervisors of construction and extraction workers earn a median of $59,150 and the number of jobs in this category is expected to grow by 23.5 percent. Similarly, electricians (No. 5), plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (No. 6), and brick masons and block masons (No. 14) earn more than $45,000 a year and typically learn through a formal apprenticeship.”

Yeah, it’s true that some of the jobs still require some form of formal training, but I’m going to be honest with you: there isn’t a single job that isn’t minimum wage that doesn’t require some sort of formal training. Actually, even McDonalds, a company that pays it’s cooks and cashiers minimum wage, still gives a bit of training. I’m sorry to say this, but it’s nearly impossible to graduate high school one day and then start working your lifetime job the next.

Q: Wait, but why should I need the formal training? How does it help me?

A: If you want to get a job, you need to work for it. The formal training is important for getting and keeping a job. However, it’s not only important for one job. Here’s something Goudreau quoted:

“‘By choosing a career that you can learn through on-the-job training, you can earn while you learn,’ said Shatkin. ‘Apprenticeships are especially valuable because at the end of your training period you have a credential that you can take anywhere, just like a college degree.’”

So let’s say you want to be an electrician, so you get the training. However, the job doesn’t work out too well. But now you know how circuits work and you have some basic engineering skills! Now when applying for other jobs, you can tell your employer which, depending on the job, may increase your chances of getting the job.

Now obviously you probably have more questions, which I will try to answer in my future blog posts. If you don’t have any questions, then here is a couple to think about.

-Why should I want a bigger salary?

-Will I be happier with a bigger salary?

I’m interested in researching these questions next because I know that if you’ve read all my posts so far, you’ve probably thought to yourself at one point, “Why would I need a bigger salary that one that already supports all my needs?” I’m actually wondering this myself, so that’s why I’m going to research it.