8 Lucrative Jobs You Don’t Need a Degree for

Society has conditioned us to believe that professional success is directly proportionate to the number of degrees, certificates, and diplomas we receive. Graduating high school is a reasonable starting point for most people, but a high school diploma alone isn’t usually enough to make you a millionaire. If your goal is to make something of yourself and land that six-figure salary, society tells you that you need some sort of tertiary education. However, is society right?

Even in the wake of society’s high-educational standards, bachelor degrees are a dime a dozen. Most undergraduate degrees aren’t much more than a piece of paper sufficient enough to (maybe) win you an interview. If you have your sights set on success and six-figures, look beyond the undergraduate studies and go to graduate school. However, even then, you run the risk of not being able to get a job right away and you end up being stuck with a ton of student loan debt. Have the rules of success changed that much?

The truth is that the basic rules of success haven’t changed at all. In fact, there are eight degree-not-required jobs that come with enormous earning potential and prove that you can be a success with a little hard work and without a four-year education, assuming that you can be the best in your field, of course. Don’t get me wrong, I highly appreciate people who have an opportunity to go to a university. But if you can’t afford to study, it’s doesn’t mean that you are an uneducated person who doesn’t deserve a well-paid job. Here are 8 wonderful yet lucrative jobs you don’t need a degree for.

8. Casino Manager

If you live in a place where gambling is legal, you might be in luck. Big time casino managers are in charge of overseeing that everything in their organization is running smoothly, and are rewarded a cool $116,000 annual salary (on average) for that. But you can earn even more, if the casino is extremely popular. But if you have family and kids, this job might not be for you.

You don’t have to have a degree to be successful and pull down the big bucks, but you do have to knuckle down and work hard. If you can do it, it does pay off, and you won’t have a dime in student loan debt. However, if you can afford to study, don’t neglect this opportunity. Education can be a good investment and money spent on it will definitely pay off. What’s your favorite job?

7. Call Center Director

Bilingual call center directors receive upwards of $120,000 a year in most markets. Your job is easy. All you have to do is make sure callers aren’t too ticked off, and calm them down when they get that way. Rinse and repeat for your workers and you are on financial easy street, with benefits.

As a call center director, you will have to use a number of measurements to monitor and analyze the call-center performance and plan some improvements to it. You will have to be a motivator, expert service provider, trainer, coach, manager and mentor at the same time. If you decide to become a call center director, you should be ready to have many responsibilities and you should also learn how to deal with hot-tempered people.

6. Personal Trainer

If you don’t mind sweating and being yelled at, physical training can net $100,000 a year, plus. Although, you might want to check the thickness of your skin before you jump into this position because temper tantrums and name-calling abound. Still, if you can teach people how to fight the battle of the bulge and not get your feelings hurt, personal training is an excellent career choice.

If you’re keen on health and fitness and you want to work out in the gym but can’t afford it, becoming a personal trainer is a great way out. This job has many amazing benefits as well as some drawbacks. You will have a flexible schedule, meet many interesting people, improve your communication skills. But I think one of the best benefits of this job is that you will help people reach their fitness goals. It’s much better that sitting behind a desk surrounded by computers and copy machines and damaging your health. The drawback is that you might need to earn a personal training certification.

5. Concierge

If you can pull strings, then this degree-optional job might just be the perfect fit. If you have a knack for sucking up and making people happy by scoring hard-to-get concert tickets or getting that wealthy couple a beautiful table at a reservation only restaurant last minute, $80,000 a year isn’t out of reach.

The best thing about this job is that it’s never the same. Each day you have many people with absolutely different requests and interests. Working as a concierge isn’t boring and it’s a job that you don’t need a degree for. This job is for those who love to meet and talk to new people and who don’t have a bossy nature. My friend has been a concierge for 5 years and solved many challenging tasks. She says it’s the best job ever! She always knows about the latest exhibits, best restaurants and best places to visit. She spends a lot of her personal time learning new things and improving her communicating skills.

4. Real Estate Agent

Working in real estate is far from a piece of cake. Helping people find their “dream home” is anything but dreamy, but a little patience goes a long way in commissions. If you can help that overly dramatic couple close on their brand-new million-dollar mansion, you take home 3 to 6 percent of the sales price. If you’re dealing with homes priced over $400,000 regularly, you can easily take home over $95,000 a year. Specialize and build a team of your own, and the sky is the limit.

Last year I tried to work as a real estate agent, and from personal experience I can say that it’s incredibly interesting job. You have a flexible schedule, you communicate with different people, you see different houses, you learn new things, you make new friends and acquaintances. There are actually many more wonderful benefits of working as a real estate agent. But this job might not be perfect for introverts. This was the reason I quit my job.

3. Bartender

Not everything about tending bar comes up roses for your garden-variety steward. However, the earning potential is tremendous. Working in a hotel bar, for example, gets you regular income, plus generous tips from wealthy patrons, plus benefits. Bartenders can make $100,000 a year quite easily, especially in larger cities, and they can make most of it in cash. However, bartending isn’t for everyone. Although it’s a fun and social job, it’s also a hard work.

One of the best things about bartending is that you can hang out at the bar all day and you don’t have to pay for expensive drinks. But my cousin, who’s been working as a bartender for 6 years, tells that if you are going to pick bartending as a career path, you should be ready to be on your feet all day long, be nice to people and deal with a great number of rude people as well. I don’t know about you, but it’s really hard for me to be nice to drunk people, especially when they behave outrageously. So think twice before you start bartending. If it’s not your cup of tea, maybe you will want to become a real estate agent? Keep reading…

2. Dog Walker

Pet services sell to a wide variety of people in all kinds of price points. Everything from dog grooming to dog walking has the potential to score you a whopping payday without a four-year degree. If you have ever walked the family pet, then you are already qualified to walk dogs for a living. It might not seem lucrative or glamorous at first, but walking a couple dozen dogs regularly can make you up to $100,000 a year. Make that into your own local franchise, hiring other folks just like you and you could be a millionaire before your pals even graduate.

One of my best friends proved that a seemingly second-rate job such as a dog walker can be an excellent and well-paid job. Jensen has been working as a dog walker for a few years. Although he enjoys studying, he just can’t afford to go to a college. Since he is a huge dog lover, he decided to become a professional dog walker. He walks his client’s dogs 5 days a week and he earns much more than me. But the main thing is that he loves his job and is really proud of it. Once he told me that he didn’t understand how I could sit the whole day in the office.

1. Nanny

Being responsible for other people’s children can be a difficult task and is not for the faint of heart, but for a potential $180,000 a year the problem can be easily overlooked for some people. And while $180,000 a year isn’t an average nanny’s salary, an average nanny can make a fabulous living at her craft, plus perks. However, this job takes endurance, dedication, patience and the desire to care for other people’s kids. So if you love kids, why not choose it as your career path? You can even work on a live-in basis, if needed.

Jennifer Houston