SerpApi.Org
Tuition continues to skyrocket and securing a job interview in this current market feels more like The Hunger Games. So yeah, college is starting to feel like more a scam than a plan. That's why when u/Sasha_Lietova asked, "People who didn't get a university degree, what is your profession now?" I was all ears.
It turns out, many people are doing more than just fine without a degree (and debt). Here's how they got into their lucrative careers and how they pulled it off:
1."Truck driver here. I was making $130,000 a year and was home every night. I'm part of the Teamster union, so had pension and free health insurance for my whole family. I just retired at 50 years old. We have the 80 rule — when years of service for the job plus our age equals 80, we can retire and collect full pension. I moved to Southeast Asia, and I'm loving life on my pension."
2."I worked sales for 15 years, and hated the corporate culture aspect of it. I quit everything and moved to Latin America. Now, I work 20 hours a week tutoring English and hosting karaoke. I live two minutes walking from the ocean and life truly has never been better. I'm also debt-free and have been for about a decade now. I buy everything I want in cash and if I can't afford it without payment, I can't afford it."
3."I work as an oil field crane operator. I earn $200,000 a year and have four months off each year. Both of my daughters' college was paid for in cash. I have two house payments left and I'm 46 years old."
4."I'm in northern Canada doing reforestation. I work three months out of the year and make $45,000. The rest of year, I'm out of the country. I've been doing it seven years, and have personally planted 1.4 million trees."
5."I own and operate a house cleaning business. I started it 35 years ago, making $12/hour. Now, my show fee is $75, plus $50/hour after the first. I work 48 hours a week. And I'm debt free! I have no high school degree or GED. I dropped out in the 10th grade. I now clear $130,000 a year, have invested well, and will retire in five years at age 55 years old."
6."EMS helicopter dispatch here. It pays decent and I have a lot of down time. I'm actually at work right now."
7."I'm a Chemical Operator and make $107,000 a year. I mostly just sit back and relax. I only have to occasionally get up and actually go do something."
8."I've been an Instructional Designer for about 25 years. I had no degree until eight years ago. I was already at the top of my job band. I just finished my degree as a personal goal."
9."I am able to do photography full-time now. I learned everything by trial and error. College wasn’t for me, but art was."
10."I work in IT for public schools. My potential earnings are between $70,000–$100,000 per year. I'm currently making on the lower end since I'm not a director or admin. I only have an associate degree from a community college, which I consider less of a 'traditional degree' because it's more like going to technical school. If I did decide to get other certifications for a better-paying job, I'd probably have to relocate nearer to a large city. I don't love living in large cities, so it's a give-to-get choice."
11."I'm the general manager of a hotel. I worked my way up."
12."I'm in industrial maintenance. I make $100,000 a year, have four weeks of vacation, and get medical, vision, dental, and life insurance. My work also matches our 401k contributions and offers some other random benefits like employee discounts on gym memberships and phone plans. A large portion of my job amounts to 'monitoring the system' — if everything is running right, I catch up on my messages and read."
13."I'm a penetration tester and security consultant — yes, it's a real job. A penetration tester is just an industry name for a white hat hacker hacking a client's systems and reporting on what they find. I was a systems administrator before that for nearly a decade. Formal education probably would have helped back then, but I've always been an autodidact when it comes to learning, so maybe not."
14."$190,000 a year as a Site Reliability Engineer and I work remote. For IT specifically, professional experience matters most. A degree helps you get a foot in the door, but actual experience is what gets you more senior roles. I started out as a Systems Administrator making $60,000 with an A+ and Network+ certification, and worked my way up from there. Within a year and a few months, I got a promotion to $77,000. A year after that, I joined a software engineering team, and my pay increased to $92,000; then a salary adjustment brought us up to $105,000. Over the next three years, I had some small step increases that brought me up to $120,000. I just accepted that offer for my SRE role about a month ago."
15."My career is in public works. Two years in, I was making $60,000, though it was more like $70,000 after all the overtime. I'm living well within my means and comfortably. Even with no promotion, in 10 years I’ll be making over $110,000. I messed up a lot in life, but I turned myself around before 30. Now, I can retire in 28 years with full pension and benefits. I did not take a smart path, but I’m a living example of second chances."
16."I work in property and casualty insurance as an account executive, and I make $95,000 a year with full remote-work options. I started at $17/hour in 2013 as a basic customer service rep. I got licensed, made connections, and used them. 50% of jobs are never advertised. My advice: Be bold enough to ask people for help or a referral."
17."I am a public assistance eligibility worker for my state. I make about $56,000 yearly right now. It has excellent benefits and a pension, plus still pay into FICA. There is a clear track to move up to about $78,000, and then it tops out, unless I get a degree. I’m thankful."
18."I run a landscaping crew. It's the most fun job I've ever had. I love my people, the work, being outside, and being my own boss."
19."I'm a container barge captain. It's a good salary, and I get half the year off, as well as vacation days. There is also free food and utilities on the boat."
20."I dropped out of Drexel after about 18 months and far too much money. Now, I fix cars. Currently BMWs. I average between $100,000–$120,000 a year, so I really can't complain. Plus, I've driven some extremely nice cars throughout my career."
21.And lastly: "I'm a budtender — I legally sell weed at dispensaries. And I make about $1000 a week."
If you also didn't get a traditional bachelor's degree or beyond, what's your job situation now? Let us know in the comments.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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