Do You Need A Good Job Without Formal Education Requirements?
Hey, here at Over 50 Web, we are big believers in the school of Hard Knocks! We also applaud the stories of people like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg who went off to pursue their visions before they finished their previous prior education goals. Even though I believe most people have the power to create something great, I also realize that these stories tend to illustrate exceptions rather than norms.
Most of us older folks really do not have the time to go back to school. With the high unemployment rates these days, we may need to leave our comfort zones to pursue another occupation.
If you never had the time or resources to get a college degree, or even a high school diploma, or if your old degree is outdated, can you still find a good job?
This website also published this popular article: Top Jobs For Over 50 Career Changes. However, most of the jobs emphasized college graduates, or people with some college or post-high school training. I wanted to pursue a more challenging subject, and that is the ability to get a job with no high school diploma, or only a high school diploma.
Examples Of Good Jobs That Do Not Require High School
There are two categories of these types of jobs. Some may not require a college degree, but do usually expect a person to have a high school diploma or GED, and some type of job training or certification. Another rarer category may actually be open to people with no formal education, but who can demonstrate the right combination of aptitude and personality.
Also, I want to be clear that this is a discussion of employment, and not self-employment. You can start your own business to do anything you have the qualification and skills to do. The topic of businesses you can start with little formal education should be addressed in another article. I have found that most people would rather have a job though.
Sales With No Formal Diploma
According to Yahoo Finance, 20% of employed sales people have no high school diploma. And yet, as a profession, sales ranks up there are one of the opportunities with the highest levels of income at the top levels. Realistically, I would imagine that some formal education helps people get their first jobs. But demonstrated success at sales can open the doors to really good sales jobs without needing the certificate to hand on your wall.
Professional Waiter or Waitress
OK, stop groaning. I worked as a waiter before I completed high school and college. That was my profession until I graduated college and took the degree required, professional job I thought I was supposed to take. As a professional wait person, I did change jobs three times to move up the ladder to nicer and more expensive restaurants with better income potential.
In other words, my first high school gig may have earned me $20 day in tips, but that job helped me get hired at a nicer place where I could commonly pocket ten times that much during a busy shift! This was a few decades ago, when food prices were cheaper too. I would assume that you could double or triple these figures today.
By the time I approached college graduation, I was making more by waiting tables then I made for the first 5 years of my so-called “professional” career. I actually had more fun working in restaurants too. Sometimes, I look back at those days with wonder.
Retail
Many retail jobs have no requirements for high school diplomas. Starting pay may be low, but good workers can improve their positions by moving into supervisory or management positions. When you look for a retail job, let the employer know you want to advance.
Good Jobs Without College Degrees
If you do have a high school diploma, or at least a GED, you will find more doors open when you start.
Customer Service And Billing
You may actually be able to find some customer service or billing jobs without a high school degree. However, a lot of employers favor people who have completed their diploma requirements. If you can answer questions, look up bills, and handle complaints, you should average over $30,000 a year.If you can work your way up to a supervisory or management job, your salary could climb much higher.
Truck Drivers
Can you handle a truck? You will need a commercial license and some on the job training. You may be able to find some positions that do not even require you to complete high school, though I have actually known some very content college graduates who made a good living driving a truck!
Other Jobs With No Diplomas Required
Etc. I am sure that my savvy readers can pull more examples of people working themselves into good professionals without the benefit of the usual degrees and diplomas. We’d love to read about them in the comments!
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I worked with a health insurance sales force, and one of the top sellers had no high school diploma. It took him 3 times to pass the state licensing test – some learning disability maybe? But once he did, he rocked production!
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I hate to disagree, but Paul Osterman says most of these jobs are traps – and pay below poverty level. I say this from the standpoint of somebody who has known people with little education “make it”, but it’s getting tougher.
Here’s the article and video from Paul Osterman
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daniel-gross/economist-osterman-quality-jobs-matters-well-quantity-120533091.html
[...] We put a lot of emphasis on graduating from high school and college these days. While formal education, diplomas, and certificates open up a lot of doors, millions of people have made a success of themselves without a fancy, framed piece of paper to hang on their wall! Can you still get a decent job without a high school diploma? [...]
[...] Good Jobs With No Degree Or Diploma? – Blog Description : Are there any decent paying jobs you can get with no high school or college degree today? Read about jobs that do not require a diploma! http://www.over50web.net/jobs- .. [...]
Depends on what field you’re in. You definetely don’t need a degree for most jobs.
[...] may also be interested in a newer article about good jobs that do not require degrees. Your [...]