Young Americans Skip College for No-Degree Jobs Paying $100K+

For some young people in the U.S., higher education is losing its luster.

New college graduates are currently facing the worst entry-level job market since the pandemic, per The Guardian. 

What’s more, the average tuition for both public and private four-year colleges has essentially doubled over the past 30 years when adjusted for inflation, NPR reported last year. 

Undergraduate enrollment was 15% lower in fall 2021 than in fall 2010, with 42% of the dropoff taking place amid the pandemic, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

High school graduates who plan to join the workforce right away might wonder which no-degree-required roles pay the most.

Online lender NetCredit’s new study, which examined occupations that don’t require a degree (per the BLS Occupational Handbook) and the average yearly salary for each role, reveals the highest-paying job options in the U.S. 

The top seven no-degree roles boast national average salaries ranging from $102,482 (gambling managers) to $122,824 (nuclear power reactor operators). 

Transportation, storage and distribution managers, with an average wage of $116,022, and police sergeants and captains, with an average wage of $110,989, rounded out the top three best-paying occupations that don’t require a college degree. 

Read on to see all of NetCredit’s no-degree, six-figure jobs, along with 18 others that offer national average wages starting at about $85,000:

For some young people in the U.S., higher education is losing its luster.

New college graduates are currently facing the worst entry-level job market since the pandemic, per The Guardian. 

What’s more, the average tuition for both public and private four-year colleges has essentially doubled over the past 30 years when adjusted for inflation, NPR reported last year. 

Undergraduate enrollment was 15% lower in fall 2021 than in fall 2010, with 42% of the dropoff taking place amid the pandemic, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

High school graduates who plan to join the workforce right away might wonder which no-degree-required roles pay the most.

Online lender NetCredit’s new study, which examined occupations that don’t require a degree (per the BLS Occupational Handbook) and the average yearly salary for each role, reveals the highest-paying job options in the U.S. 

The top seven no-degree roles boast national average salaries ranging from $102,482 (gambling managers) to $122,824 (nuclear power reactor operators). 

Transportation, storage and distribution managers, with an average wage of $116,022, and police sergeants and captains, with an average wage of $110,989, rounded out the top three best-paying occupations that don’t require a college degree. 

Read on to see all of NetCredit’s no-degree, six-figure jobs, along with 18 others that offer national average wages starting at about $85,000: