Do you have a job which

[luvmyfam444]

didn't require a college degree? what is it?

Is it a job where you can support your family?

 

[Christine]

I "came of professional age" during a time where probably only half my high school went to college, and even less completed their degree. You could start out in a company without a degree, in adminstrative work let's say, and if you showed a lot of intelligence and drive, you could be promoted without a degree. It took longer, for sure, but after a point, people come to value the person who can get the job done and experience takes over everything. I never finished my degree and was lucky to be able to gain the experience before the requirements set in. Today, in my area which is financial, we still have hired people without degrees if they have the skills we are looking for.

There are many jobs in the federal government that do not require a degree and this is clearly spelled out (which ones do and don't) in the job announcements. Some types of fields require "X" type of agree to even apply, and some have no degree requirements. Yes, you can make a living and support your family in the federal government. That said, you have to have some type of skill to get in at a grade level that is financially sustainable.

My husband never got his degree either. He was active duty military for 8 years and then when he got out, he went into the trades, doing a 5 year apprenticeship. Coming out of that he made around $100K for most of his career, along with the free healthcare that came with being a union member.

 

[StageTek]

didn't require a college degree? what is it?

Yes. I dropped out of high school. Stagehand, pyrotechnician, camera operator

Is it a job where you can support your family?

Yes.

 

[snowwite]

didn't require a college degree? what is it?

Is it a job where you can support your family?

I am a nurse and do have a degree but my husband makes about the same and does not have a degree. He is a CNC lathe turner machinist and did an apprenticeship 38 years ago. There is a high demand for machinists now because so many kids went to college instead of trades. You don’t need a degree. My son is a maintenance man for an apartment complex and is kind of a jack of all trades. He makes good money and doesn’t use his degree. My daughter has her Masters degree and makes less than all of us and is struggling to find something else.

 

[ronandannette]

I have a degree, but my current job, which pays 6-figures, doesn't require it. Practically nobody else my age, in my company has one, including the executives. I manage the Warranty department for a residential homebuilder and I've been with my current company for 17 years; doing this same sort of work for about 35. I oversee 9 employees, all of whom were hired for their background experience in the building trades. Our ages are all between 45 and 60; our jobs are not "training roles" nor would there be any specific academic background that would even really be of direct benefit, so I simply never even consider hiring anyone straight out of college.

It's the same for our 40-person construction department, although they do hire young people to start as site laborers and work their way up. For those jobs, natural aptitude, attitude, work ethic and strong references are what get them the jobs. On their way up, many people do take a variety of industry-specific education to gain certifications, but at no point would a general undergraduate degree be of any value.

I don't know your age or stage in life, but I would tell you what I tell all the young people I know - please consider the building trades!! There is such a shortage of qualified workers in these areas and an aging population that is not being replaced. There are amazing opportunities that mostly all start with ground-level experience leading to apprenticeships and certification. These fields are open to both men and women and truly are essential, and to some degree, recession-proof.

 

[mousefan73]

Here in Germany most don’t have degrees and make good money and or can support families. But here there is much respect ( and living pay) for jobs that only require apprenticeships or vocational training.

Back at home in the US I had family that made living salary as truck driver, insurance rep, flight attendent, welder etc. and electrician oh and “factory” workers. - but they were unionized and had great pay/ benefits

 

[loves to dive]

Technically most in my field need a college degree but I don't have one. I'm a bookkeeper and have been with the same company for over 32 years. I just fell into bookkeeping, first I was a secretary, then a property manager. The company I worked for at the time was small and when the bookkeeper/office manager quit I said how hard can it be, watched her for a week and the rest is history. At that time it was without computers, good old fashioned paper ledgers and journals. At one time the company I currently work for had two locations and over a 100 employees. I had 4 employees I supervised, we worked on government contracts so I had to teach myself cost accounting. Yes, I did support my family off my salary.

 

[john7994]

Especially in tech jobs (depending on the level), degrees are a common requirement, however I have seen strength of resume and work experience will often overcome hard degree requirements. And with tech in particular, things evolve so quickly that degree requirements often become secondary to certificate programs and other continuing education / upskilling that is more recent than what may have been accomplished a decade or longer ago.

I think as one job seeks, higher levels (Director/VP/SVP), these tend to have more stringent requirements related to degrees, but this is often to ensure candidates have the basic communication / business acumen skill-sets. Again, this is not always the rule, but fairly common.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

I have 2 yr but not 4 - hard to obtain job as just about anything in office setting wants 4 yr degree - even answer phones - insane - I’ve seen people who did job for 30 yrs lose it because they did not have 4 yrs degree and company had decided that level now required it
I’m doing bookkeeping for small company - I support myself decently but I’ve been doing this for 40 yrs - I only got the job thru cpa friends who recommended me to my current employer as like I stated almost everyone requires 4 yr degree and won’t even look at you without it - experience means nothing to these people as they don’t care to pay for it
I currently handle the books / ins / payroll / HR - office Mgr / freelance staff / etc - so more like girl Friday - I am salary so I have to be available 24/7 and I often work nights and weekends when hot items pop up which seems to be frequently ! At my age if it keeps me employed I’m ok with it as my boss is very generous !

 

[ronandannette]

...and, if all else fails, there's always commissioned sales. I've never had the stomach for it myself, but I do know a TON of realtors and car salespeople; in their "good" years, many of them make small fortunes.

 

[john7994]

...and, if all else fails, there's always commissioned sales. I've never had the stomach for it myself, but I do know a TON of realtors and car salespeople; in their "good" years, many of them make small fortunes.

Would agree ... requirements for real estate sales are pretty achievable ... and very lucrative if you are inclined for that type of people interaction. Personally, its something that I have considered as a second career option.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I do have a degree but after raising kids I went back to work for a while to a position that does not require college.

School system has lots of jobs that do not require lots of diplomas. Can be a secretary, custodian, drive a school bus, teacher aid, lunch staff, grounds crew. Law enforcement and civil service are similar. Come to think of it there are many positions in hospitals too.

https://www.schoolspring.com/

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Much of it can depend where you live too especially when you're talking about adding in children.

For instance I mentioned this on another thread. For my metro for 2022 figures HUD says for a family of 4 low income is $77,450 per year. Even with a college degree you may not be making that amount OR two adults making that combined about with or without college degrees could be difficult.

1 person low income would have been $54,250 for 2022 and my job I had at the insurance company I would have been considered low income if looking at it with today's figures. That job did not require a college degree at that time but previously did.

 

[monsterkitty]

I am a retired teacher and had a BME and two Masters.

I actually got in trouble for telling my students that not everyone needs to go to college. There are trade schools, the military, and professions that you can enter and work your way up. Of course the principal was standing at the door when I said it and that did not go over well with him.

 

[Southernmiss]

The trades are seeing a resurgence in people going that route. We always suggested to our kids that trades would be a good option. But, they all got great scholarships and went to college.

I do think it was easier in other generations to get family supporting jobs without any formal education like college, trade school, or military.

Most anything people do to decently support themselves needs some education of some sort.

I've got my associates degree plus one more year of college and am the office manager at our church. I am not sure my salary could adequately sustain me. I do enjoy perks that other jobs would give me and that's why i stay.

Dh and I made decisions years ago for me to leave my 12 year banking career to raise our family. It's worked out well, yet, I insist that all my kid have a skill set to support themselves without a partner. We have mechanisms in place that if dh dies first, I'll be fine without a lifestyle change. But it does nag on me that my salary alone would not sustain me.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I actually got in trouble for telling my students that not everyone needs to go to college. There are trade schools, the military, and professions that you can enter and work your way up. Of course the principal was standing at the door when I said it and that did not go over well with him.

NJROTC is big enough in my area in fact my old high school brought back enough awards for that 17 years of winning regional (against 54 other high schools in the region) tournaments (as of December 2022). According to NJROTC's webpage 40% do not go into higher education. ETA: a benefit of successful completion of high school program is higher salary if you enlist (you've already done some of the work/education already).

My old high school had a really nice mechanic class but I agree they could do even more. Looking at it it would be nice if the district my house is in had a 21st Century program for mechanics, closest they have is green tech where you do build an electric vehicle for STEM competitions but it's not the bones of mechanic work. But then they have another 21st Century Program for e-Communication that includes

• Animation (2D & 3D modeling, Special Effects)
• Convergent Journalism (Broadcasting, Written News, Daily and Weekly News Shows)
• Entertainment Video (Short Film, Commercial, Music Video, Episodic TV, PSA, Documentary, Corporate/Instructional, Feature Films)
• Graphic Design (Color Theory, Branding, Illustration, Layout, Surface, Typography)
• Sports Information (Team & Player Stat Analysis, Web Updates, Weekly Sports Show)
• Web Design (Planning, Design, Development, Responsive & Interactive)

Having this type of program in high school probably adds to someone's skill set such that experience with it may trump that or at least allow them to get their foot in the door at a place and work up.

________
I think it seems the phrase "not everyone needs to go to college" that probably rubs those in the education system the wrong way. While true their goal from an educational standpoint may be more about providing information about opportunities for continual education which trades are that, military is like that too, etc but are not just straight up only college track. I can see how just saying not everyone needs to go to college from your Principal's viewpoint may be incongruent with their goals as being part of the educational system. College is but one option of our continual education after high school.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I do think it was easier in other generations to get family supporting jobs without any formal education like college, trade school, or military.

Yeah it was and I think a lot of that was college degrees were not as prevalent. Women especially were very underrepresented for many years and many men just went into blue collar.

My mom doesn't have a college degree and did accounting for her company but she had worked for them for nearly 40 years when they laid her off. At that point without a college degree getting an accounting job was harder especially as she was very familiar with the accounting programs of her prior job not necessarily more all encompassing accounting information such that would help if she wanted to go into another job. However, 40 years ago a college degree wasn't as required nor prevalent and that made it a lot easier to get into the company, working in the mail room sifting through people's checks they send into for payments and move on up eventually getting to accounting and being a specialist in it. Try doing that without a college degree now and you may find it hard for a company to look at you seriously no matter your experience.

 

[DLgal]

Not me, but one of my friends husband does.

He started working out of high school for his family business. He did that for 10 years. After meeting and marrying my friend, he quit his job and began studying for IT certifications so he could start working in that industry. No college degree. He got an entry level job at a company doing IT support. Over the years, he just kept accumulating more certifications. Fast forward 13 years, he was promoted to VP of Technology. Fast forward 5 more years, last week, he was selected to be the company's next CIO (Chief Information Officer). This is a large, well known Non Profit organization. His new salary is around $750,000.

My friend supported the family for years while her husband climbed this ladder. She "retired" to be a SAHM about the same time her husband got the VP job. SHE is the one with a professional degree and an MBA. And her non degree holding husband just reached the C Suite. As she told me, "It's been a crazy ride."

 

[Dan Murphy]

My son, Vince, ended his e3xpected 4 year college experience after 3 years, 1 year short. He wanted to be a firefighter/paramedic. We told him it was a very tough career to get into, but fully encouraged him. He was able to get in part-time at a department within that first year. 23 years later now and 4 departments later, he is doing very well for himself, having gone from blueshirt, to lieutenant, to captain. Two years ago, he wanted to return to his 3rd department, which he had left about 10 years prior. Liked that one the most. He had to go back to being a blueshirt for the time being, but felt it worth it. He is happy, helping people. He has taken and gone through many certifications over these past years, including being one of the two fire investigators at his current and prior departments. I do think he will get that last college year behind himself in the near future.

His wife, Katlyn, got her associates degree as an RN from the local community college. After about 15 years as an ER nurse, she did online to secure her bachelors degree.

And today, the two of them are celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary. And they are both at work today.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My son, Vince, ended his e3xpected 4 year college experience after 3 years, 1 year short. He wanted to be a firefighter/paramedic. We told him it was a very tough career to get into, but fully encouraged him. He was able to get in part-time at a department within that first year. 23 years later now and 4 departments later, he is doing very well for himself, having gone from blueshirt, to lieutenant, to captain. Two years ago, he wanted to return to his 3rd department, which he had left about 10 years prior. Liked that one the most. He had to go back to being a blueshirt for the time being, but felt it worth it. He is happy, helping people. He has taken and gone through many certifications over these past years, including being one of the two fire investigators at his current and prior departments. I do think he will get that last college year behind himself in the near future.

His wife, Katlyn, got her associates degree as an RN from the local community college. After about 15 years as an ER nurse, she did online to secure her bachelors degree.

And today, the two of them are celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary. And they are both at work today.

Right by my house is my city's newly built Fire Department academy where they stage fires and such. The closest high school also houses the Public Safety program within the 21st Century program and its why the location for the academy was partially chosen. The high school was specifically built with a concrete pad large enough to fit a fire engine outside and inside a police car. They also teach conversational spanish.

However, just to give some information for my City's Fire department while you don't have to have a college degree to get a job you do have to completed multiple certifications including "Current Kansas and/or National Registry EMT or Paramedic certification, Firefighter I or II certificates (preferred), Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) certification, Fire Service Entrance Exam (FSEE) certification and that is a minimum. In addition they explicitly state "Preference will be given to candidates with current fire service or paramedic experience, fire science or related degree."

That said there are a lot of public service type occupations that may not require a college degree but whether or not the pay is what the OP is thinking about I'm not sure.