Good paying jobs that dont need a degree

• Not all jobs require a four-year college degree or higher to earn a large salary.
• We looked at jobs where the typical education requirement is less than a bachelor's degree. 
• The following are the 39 highest-paying jobs where you don't need a four-year degree.

39. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers

Median annual wage in 2021: $71,260

Number of people employed in 2021: 526,240

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

38. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

Median annual wage in 2021: $72,010

Number of people employed in 2021: 665,870

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

37. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

Median annual wage in 2021: $73,060

Number of people employed in 2021: 5,220

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

36. Aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians

Median annual wage in 2021: $73,580

Number of people employed in 2021: 10,900

Typical education required: Associate's degree

35. Funeral home managers

Median annual wage in 2021: $74,000

Number of people employed in 2021: 12,710

Typical education required: Associate's degree

34. Pile driver operators

Median annual wage in 2021: $76,260

Number of people employed in 2021: 3,760

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

33. Gambling managers

Median annual wage in 2021: $76,910

Number of people employed in 2021: 3,660

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

32. Transportation equipment electrical and electronics installers and repairers

Median annual wage in 2021: $77,250

Number of people employed in 2021: 10,710

Typical education required: Postsecondary nondegree award

31. Athletes and sports competitors

Median annual wage in 2021: $77,300

Number of people employed in 2021: 12,320

Typical education required: No formal educational credential

30. Magnetic resonance imaging technologists

Median annual wage in 2021: $77,360

Number of people employed in 2021: 38,070

Typical education required: Associate's degree

29. Diagnostic medical sonographers

Median annual wage in 2021: $77,740

Number of people employed in 2021: 78,640

Typical education required: Associate's degree

28. Dental hygienists

Median annual wage in 2021: $77,810

Number of people employed in 2021: 207,190

Typical education required: Associate's degree

27. Gas plant operators

Median annual wage in 2021: $77,850

Number of people employed in 2021: 15,110

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

26. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers

Median annual wage in 2021: $78,230

Number of people employed in 2021: 80,890

Typical education required: Postsecondary nondegree award

25. Electrical power-line installers and repairers

Median annual wage in 2021: $78,310

Number of people employed in 2021: 123,940

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

24. Nuclear medicine technologists

Median annual wage in 2021: $78,760

Number of people employed in 2021: 17,140

Typical education required: Associate's degree

23. Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers

Median annual wage in 2021: $79,540

Number of people employed in 2021: 34,230

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

22. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers

Median annual wage in 2021: $79,680

Number of people employed in 2021: 243,920

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

21. Locomotive engineers

Median annual wage in 2021: $79,740

Number of people employed in 2021: 38,980

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

20. Transportation inspectors

Median annual wage in 2021: $79,770

Number of people employed in 2021: 25,070

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

19. Postmasters and mail superintendents

Median annual wage in 2021: $80,250

Number of people employed in 2021: 12,750

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

18. Signal and track switch repairers

Median annual wage in 2021: $80,570

Number of people employed in 2021: 8,090

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

17. Power plant operators

Median annual wage in 2021: $80,850

Number of people employed in 2021: 28,960

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

16. Subway and streetcar operators

Median annual wage in 2021: $81,180

Number of people employed in 2021: 10,310

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

15. Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels

Median annual wage in 2021: $81,640

Number of people employed in 2021: 33,490

Typical education required: Postsecondary nondegree award

14. Ship engineers

Median annual wage in 2021: $82,410

Number of people employed in 2021: 7,650

Typical education required: Postsecondary nondegree award

13. Radiation therapists

Median annual wage in 2021: $82,790

Number of people employed in 2021: 16,050

Typical education required: Associate's degree

12. Detectives and criminal investigators

Median annual wage in 2021: $83,640

Number of people employed in 2021: 107,890

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

11. Powerhouse, substation, and relay electrical and electronics repairers

Median annual wage in 2021: $93,420

Number of people employed in 2021: 22,490

Typical education required: Postsecondary nondegree award

10. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers

Median annual wage in 2021: $97,860

Number of people employed in 2021: 22,510

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

9. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers

Median annual wage in 2021: $98,230

Number of people employed in 2021: 144,640

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

8. Power distributors and dispatchers

Median annual wage in 2021: $98,530

Number of people employed in 2021: 9,660

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

7. First-line supervisors of police and detectives

Median annual wage in 2021: $99,330

Number of people employed in 2021: 128,230

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

6. Nuclear technicians

Median annual wage in 2021: $99,340

Number of people employed in 2021: 5,360

Typical education required: Associate's degree

5. Commercial pilots

Median annual wage in 2021: $99,640

Number of people employed in 2021: 42,770

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

4. Nuclear power reactor operators

Median annual wage in 2021: $104,260

Number of people employed in 2021: 4,820

Typical education required: High school diploma or equivalent

3. Medical dosimetrists

Median annual wage in 2021: $127,270

Number of people employed in 2021: 2,400

Typical education required: Postsecondary nondegree award*

*This education requirement comes from the employment title "medical dosimetrists, medical records specialists, and health technologists and technicians, all other."

2. Air traffic controllers

Median annual wage in 2021: $129,750

Number of people employed in 2021: 21,230

Typical education required: Associate's degree

1. Theatrical and performance makeup artists

Median annual wage in 2021: $​​134,750

Number of people employed in 2021: 1,960

Typical education required: Postsecondary nondegree award

Method and data source

There are plenty of high-paying jobs that require only a two-year associate degree, postsecondary nondegree certificate, or even just a high-school diploma. They may not even require a formal educational credential at all.

Insider decided to look at which jobs do not require a bachelor's degree or higher and are also high-paying. To do this, we used the latest educational data and salary figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Of the top 39 jobs on our list, each occupation had a median annual salary of over $70,000 in May 2021, the latest year of available data in the BLS' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.

Some occupations from the 39 highest-paying are part of the transportation sector. This includes subway and streetcar operators as well as locomotive engineers. Other jobs also include technicians and repairers, such as electrical power-line installers and repairers.

In our ranking, we included each occupation's median annual salary and employment figures from May 2021. We also included each occupation's minimum educational requirement.

More...