Here are the top 5 good jobs that don’t require a degree. Since you probably already know most blue-collar jobs can be started without a degree I wanted to focus on business jobs you probably didn’t know don’t actually require a degree.
The good news is there are tons of good business jobs that don’t require a degree. I’d even go as far as to say that the majority of good jobs don’t require a degree. Here are the top 5 jobs I think are the best for people who want to start their careers without relying on college.
1. Technology Sales
I’m biased here but I believe technology sales is the absolute best career for people who choose not to go to college and enjoy working with people. The main reason is that your judged purely based on the results you generate and not having a degree won’t hold you back from promotions.
I personally started my career in technology sales at 18 years old without a degree or experience. This allowed me to comfortably support myself on my own living in downtown Atlanta and I was able to get promoted to a more senior position by age 19 closing large six-figure deals. Here at CourseCareers we train students online in technology sales and help them get connected with great internships. Check out our program here.
Description: A technology sales rep is the link between a technology solution and a business problem. Your job is to help businesses solve their complex problems by using your technology. Your job consists mainly of calling, emailing, and talking with potential customers to see if they will benefit from your technology solution.
Pay: $55,000-80,000 avg first year.
Job Openings: 300,000+ open positions.
Career Path: Promotion to an account executive within 1-2 years making $100,000+ on average.
How to start your career in tech sales without a degree: The best way to go about starting your career in technology sales without a degree is by going through an online course like CourseCareers where we teach you everything you need to know and help you land an internship to get initial work experience.
2. Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing is also another great option for someone who wants to start a great business career without a degree. Simply put, it’s a really good job that doesn’t require a degree. Digital Marketing is more technical than sales, but less technical than some of the other jobs on this list so it’s a good middle ground for many people.
Description: A digital marketing associate is in charge of creating and managing ads that drive traffic and sales. As an associate, you will primarily be in charge of creating and optimizing advertisements on platforms such as Google, YouTube, Facebook, etc.
Pay: $40000-60,000 avg first year.
Job Openings: 200,000+ open positions.
Career Path: As a digital marketing associate you can expect to get promoted to a more senior position as an expert or a manager after a few years of work experience. You can make $60,000-80,000 at this point.
How to start your career in digital marketing without a degree: There are multiple ways to go about starting your career in digital marketing without a degree. The main ways including teaching yourself through a variety of material such as short courses, youtube videos, articles, trial & error, etc. However, the quickest way would be to go through a course or boot camp meant for starting your career in digital marketing. Preferably one that helps connects you with your first position too. You can look at a directory to help find the correct program
3. Data Analyst
Data Analyst is a great career for someone who doesn’t have a degree but likes numbers. If you’re all about using data to make better decisions, then you’ll love a career as a data analyst. It’s a bit more complex and difficult to learn than some other careers, but it’s a good job that doesn’t require a degree and pays great.
Description: A data analyst is in charge of analyzing all of the data a company generates to help them make better decisions that affect business outcomes. Some of this analysis could include marketing, customer retention, finance, sales, etc. Your job will be to gather and organizing data to make it understandable.
Pay: $40,000-60,000 avg first year.
Job Openings: 150,000+ open positions.
Career Path: You can progress from a junior data analyst into a senior or specialized data analyst. You can expect to get promoted after a few years of work experience and additional learning. This can bring you to make between $60,000-$100,000 a year.
How to start your career in tech sales without a degree: You’re going to start seeing a pattern here. You can either self educate and piece together your career and try to land an internship or you can go through a more structured course/boot camp that does it for you. Either way works.
4. Software Developer
Software Development is another great career option for someone who loves creating new things with software. This is the most technical of the careers but is also one of the highest paying with the most career options. It’s a really good job that doesn’t require a degree.
Description: A software developer is a very broad term. Normally as a software developer, you would specialize in a type of development. This includes front end, backend, mobile apps, etc. Your job is to write code to create products that customers love.
Pay: $60,000-80,000 avg first year.
Job Openings: 150,000+ open positions.
Career Path: You can expect to start as a junior developer as you learn the basics and improve your development skills. You then progress onto a more senior developer after a few years of work experience where you can make $100,000+
How to start your career in tech sales without a degree: Just like all of the other methods you can either self educate and piece together your career and try to land an internship or you can go through a more structured course/boot camp that does it for you. Either way works.
5. Systems Admin
If you want to work in IT then a very commonplace to start is as a junior Systems Admin. This is another good job that doesn’t require a degree and allows you to make great money. It’s a technical role but is usually easier to learn than software development.
Description: A junior systems admin/help desk is a much-needed role at nearly every medium to large size company. Your job is to keep the company running with all of its different technologies and/or help customers solve their technical issues.
Pay: $40,000-60,000 avg first year.
Job Openings: 50,000+ open positions.
Career Path: You will likely start off as a junior systems admin or help desk. From there you can learn more and improve your skills to get promoted to a senior systems admin after a few years of work experience making $80,000-$100,000.
How to start your career in tech sales without a degree: Again, you can either self educate and piece together your career and try to land an internship or you can go through a more structured course/boot camp that does it for you.
