George S. May Business Blog

Well paying jobs for the non-college graduate

I recently found out that a childhood friend of mine was laid off from his job. A drummer as a child, my buddy had gotten a job out of high school working at the corporate office of one of the biggest musical instrument retailers. Because he was making fairly decent money right out of high-school, with an opportunity to move up in the company, he never went to college. Now, he is having a hard time finding a job that will get him a decent paycheck without a college degree. So, in dedication of my good friend Robbie, here is a list of a bunch of jobs that, with a little bit of training and even less experience, can make you a solid living with out having to go to a four year college.

Margin department supervisor
Salary: $83,579/year
Primary duties: Overseeing a company’s credit department, which manages customer credit accounts and approves or denies credit to customers.

Air traffic controller
Salary: $74,922/year
Primary duties: Controlling air traffic around airports according to established procedures and policies to ensure flight safety.

Automobile service station manager
Salary: $72,246/year
Primary duties: Supervising gas stations and planning and implementing policy and procedure like hours of operation, workers’ duties and prices for products and services.

Real estate broker
Salary: $71,994/year
Primary duties: Securing real-estate transactions, selling real estate, renting properties and arranging loans.

Web surfer
Salary: $70,604/year
Primary duties: Scouring through multiple Web sites to analyze and compare information and user experiences to collect information to help companies understand online users’ behaviors.

Lead carpenter
Salary: $63,345/year
Primary duties: Leading the on-site completion of construction projects and performing all types of carpentry work and finishing.

Cable supervisor
Salary: $60,887/year
Primary duties: Supervising the activities of workers engaged in installation, maintenance and cable repair.

Chemical supervisor
Salary: $57,472/year
Primary duties: Overseeing workers who make chemical products, verifying that chemical processes are followed.

Home-care aide supervisor
Salary: $56,157/year
Primary duties: Directing aides who mind for elderly or disabled people in a home environment, and monitoring the quality and quantity of services provided.

Medical facility housekeeping manager
Salary: $55,368/year
Primary duties: Managing the workers and housekeeping program in medical facilities to uphold sanitary and orderly conditions.

Flight service manager
Salary: $54,350/year
Primary duties: Ensuring that flight attendants conform to personal appearance and preflight requirements; compiling flight reports.

Locomotive engineer
Salary: $54,084/year
Primary duties: Driving electric, diesel-electric or gas-turbine-electric trains to transport passengers or freight.

Interior aircraft assembly supervisor
Salary: $53,606/year
Primary duties: Supervising the process of assembling everything for the inside of an aircraft from mechanics to furniture.

Painting supervisor
Salary: $51,977/year
Primary duties: Overseeing all painting activities such as mixing paint, preparing surfaces before painting and applying decorative or protective finishes to various structures.

Gas plant operator
Salary: $51,676/year
Primary duties: Maintaining certain pressures in pipelines to produce and/or transport natural gas.

Payroll supervisor
Salary: $51,410/year
Primary duties: Managing employees working on company payroll, ensuring that pay calculation is in accordance with company policy, government regulations and tax codes.

Assembly supervisor
Salary: $50,462/year
Primary duties: Overseeing workers who use power tools and other equipment to assemble products.

Credit and collection supervisor
Salary: $50,330/year
Primary duties: Supervising employees engaged in the review of credit risks and collections; may also review client credit history to grant or deny extensions of credit.

Data control supervisor
Salary: $50,310/year
Primary duties: Managing data entry workers and assuming responsibility for those workers’ tasks to be complete and accurate; may sometimes assist with assignments.

Reimbursement recovery specialist
Salary: $49,246/year
Primary duties: Negotiating cases where third-party liability reimbursement exists by investigating and identifying responsible third parties, then paying out those parties.

(Information in this list was taken in parts from Source 1, Source 2)

Note: figures for the salaries are based on the average pay for a person in that field/position.

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