The smartest young people go to universities, only to get the best jobs: this is the general opinion that prevails in North America. However, the 24/7 Wall St. website informs us that this hypothesis no longer always holds. There are many graduates - laden with debt - who are unable to find work. Of course, this has always been the case in certain fields of study - very useful, your degree in Eastern Philosophy, right?
Courage, comrades. According to 24/7 researchers, there are "hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs that you can get without a university degree." If that claim seems to me to be exaggerated to say the least, the article does list the ten highest paying jobs that only require a high school diploma - a claim that, admittedly, is a bit misleading. Post-secondary certification or training is often very helpful in obtaining these kinds of jobs, if they are not required. Interesting all the same, right?
Here they are:
10. Captain, mate, or pilot of a ship
Median annual income: $ 64,180
Upper end of the salary range: $ 117,310
Some of the reasons that jobs on commercial vessels are well paid include: long hours, insulation, and potential hazards. To become a seaman on a merchant ship, one can enroll in a maritime school or run as a deckhand, which requires no previous training and brings in an average annual salary of $ 35,000 - an experience worthy of a comedy. musical or an old pirate movie. It is then a question of rising in rank. Moussaillon, clean the deck.
9. Casino manager
Median annual income: $ 66,960
Upper end of salary range: $ 116,070
This type of job is not easily obtained, since there are not many casinos: there are only 6,900 casino manager jobs in the United States, and even fewer in Canada. In addition, the 24/7 Wall St. site says that you must first be a dealer, "one of the lowest paid jobs", before you get to the job of manager. My research led me to discover that the average annual salary of a croupier is $ 14,000. Ouch. The potential salary of a casino manager is $ 110,000 per year, according to 24/7. Instead, I unearthed the following information: in Canada, the average salary for a casino manager is $ 60,000.
8. Detective and criminal investigator
Median annual income: $ 68,820
Upper end of salary range: $ 119,320
“Usually a city, state, and federal government only require a high school diploma from its detectives. Detectives, as well as police officers, are subjected to “rigorous personal and physical examinations”; it's very rare that an undergraduate degree is required, ”according to 24/7. How do you translate this data into Canadian? The RCMP does not use the rank of "detective". Post-secondary training, while useful, is not required to join the RCMP. The salary of a police officer is initially between $ 48,000 and $ 78,000, and then increases, according to information obtained from the RCMP press service.
7. Elevator installer
Median annual income: $ 70,910
Upper end of salary range: $ 101,390
Really? Hmm. The elevator installer is also called upon to install “escalators, chair lifts, dumbwaiters, moving walks and other similar equipment. The good pay offsets the hours of climbing in building pipes and the high risk of injury on the job. Participation in an apprenticeship program consisting of practical and theoretical training is required.
6. Web Developer
Median annual income: $ 75,650
Upper end of salary range: $ 119,940
24/7 says, "While most web developers are now required to have an undergraduate degree or associate's degree, certification may be sufficient to secure a position in a large corporation." Become an expert, and your services will be in high demand. The tasks of web developers include network management, business site design and construction, and web security.
5. Operator of nuclear power plants
Median annual income: $ 75,650
Upper end of salary range: $ 119,940
It seems that post-secondary training is useful, but not mandatory, in this case. The 24/7 postulates that employees are trained on site, at work and in the classrooms of the plant. Operators are subject to drug and alcohol testing as well as a medical examination. They must also hold a license and take refresher training.
4. Chief of Police
Median annual income: $ 78,260
Upper end of salary range: $ 123,630
You don't need post-secondary training to join a police force - you can then work your way up the ranks. At the Toronto Police Service, a post-secondary education is "beneficial" but not required. However, you need to get a certificate from the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and not have a criminal record (sorry).
3. Director of construction
Median annual income: $ 83,860
Upper end of salary range: $ 150,250
Some employers require a bachelor's degree, but most construction companies do not. Le 24/7 says, “Any construction worker with experience and talent has the potential to become a manager after receiving classroom training. "
2. Software developer
Median annual income: $ 87,970
Upper end of salary range: $ 133,110
Software developers research, design, create and test software. A certificate usually (but not always) allows people to get jobs. Good experience is also very useful. Certification courses are available everywhere, and many candidates train themselves: self-taught geeks, alone in their rooms with their computers. In 2007, Katherine Spencer, Managing Director of Robert Half Technology, a "major supplier of IT professionals" told Forbes: "It would be absolutely amazing if a high school graduate gets a job as a developer with a salary in the hundreds. thousands of dollars. However, a candidate with good experience, in good markets like the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Boston, Seattle or Washington, DC, where technical skills are in high demand, a talented person could earn a salary of $ 100,000 without a college education. "
1. Commercial aviation pilot
Median annual income: $ 103,210
Upper end of salary range: $ 139,330
“Commercial licenses are traditionally issued to retired air force and navy pilots, since they are experienced and have accumulated several hours of flight time. This is still the case today. Most major airlines also require post-secondary training. There are, however, smaller airlines that will hire anyone who has logged enough flight hours and has a good knowledge of airplanes, ”reports 24/7.
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