If you don't have a bachelor's degree but want to earn a lot, you could consider becoming an air traffic controller, a nuclear power reactor operator, or a diagnostic medical sonographer.
To get a sense of good options for those who don't have or want a four-year degree, Business Insider ranked median annual wages of jobs that usually just need an associate degree, a high school diploma or the equivalent, a postsecondary nondegree award, or no formal education using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Based on May 2025 pay data, about a dozen jobs that typically don't need a bachelor's degree had a median annual wage in the six figures.
Air traffic controllers had a median annual wage of $148,080. BLS said prospective controllers can qualify with an associate degree through an air traffic collegiate training initiative program. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers were another high-paying job, and interested job seekers may need no more than a high school diploma.
Below are the 25 highest-paying jobs that typically don't require a bachelor's or more advanced degree. Employment and pay estimates are for 2025, and the education needed for entry reflects 2024.
24 (tie). Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
Median annual pay: $92,460
Typical education needed: Postsecondary nondegree award
Employment estimate: 36,850
24 (tie). Signal and track switch repairers
Median annual pay: $92,460
Typical education needed: High school diploma or equivalent
Employment estimate: 8,720
23. Gambling managers
Median annual pay: $93,220
Typical education needed: High school diploma or equivalent
Employment estimate: 5,030
22. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers
Median annual pay: $93,530
Typical education needed: Postsecondary nondegree award
Employment estimate: 99,140
21. Detectives and criminal investigators
Median annual pay: $93,790
Typical education needed: High school diploma or equivalent
Employment estimate: 114,430
20. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
Median annual pay: $95,320
Typical education needed: High school diploma or equivalent
Employment estimate: 131,070
19. Magnetic resonance imaging technologists
Median annual pay: $95,480
Typical education needed: Associate degree
Employment estimate: 43,390
18. Diagnostic medical sonographers
Median annual pay: $96,590
Typical education needed: Associate degree
Employment estimate: 90,160
17. Postmasters and mail superintendents
Median annual pay: $96,660
Typical education needed: High school diploma or equivalent
Employment estimate: 13,810
16. Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers
Median annual pay: $96,710
Typical education needed: High school diploma or equivalent
Employment estimate: 33,160
15. Makeup artists, theatrical and performance
Median annual pay: $97,150
Typical education needed: Postsecondary nondegree award
Employment estimate: 2,340
14. Dental hygienists
Median annual pay: $98,100
Typical education needed: Associate degree
Employment estimate: 222,740
13. Nuclear medicine technologists
Median annual pay: $101,370
Typical education needed: Associate degree
Employment estimate: 17,080
12. Power plant operators
Median annual pay: $102,040
Typical education needed: High school diploma or equivalent
Employment estimate: 29,320
11. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay
Median annual pay: $103,020
Typical education needed: Postsecondary nondegree award
Employment estimate: 20,720
10. Radiation therapists
Median annual pay: $105,310
Typical education needed: Associate degree
Employment estimate: 17,070
9. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
Median annual pay: $106,040
Typical education needed: High school diploma or equivalent
Employment estimate: 154,610
8. Power distributors and dispatchers
Median annual pay: $106,730
Typical education needed: High school diploma or equivalent
Employment estimate: 8,520
7. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
Median annual pay: $107,230
Typical education needed: High school diploma or equivalent
Employment estimate: 221,180
6. Ship engineers
Median annual pay: $109,530
Typical education needed: Postsecondary nondegree award
Employment estimate: 8,400
5. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers
Median annual pay: $109,910
Typical education needed: High school diploma or equivalent
Employment estimate: 23,790
4. Nuclear technicians
Median annual pay: $110,240
Typical education needed: Associate degree
Employment estimate: 6,470
3. Nuclear power reactor operators
Median annual pay: $122,890
Typical education needed: High school diploma or equivalent
Employment estimate: 5,150
2. Commercial pilots
Median annual pay: $123,220
Typical education needed: Postsecondary nondegree award
Employment estimate: 47,630
1. Air traffic controllers
Median annual pay: $148,080
Typical education: Associate degree
Employment estimate: 22,510
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Madison Hoff is a reporter on Business Insider’s economy team. She covers the labor market, inflation, spending, and other data. In addition to covering new estimates and trends, her workforce reporting includes career pivots, job searching, and side hustles.She also covers downsizing, particularly people selling their houses to pursue RV living. She has also reported on how much teachers spend out of pocket and what it’s like being a caregiver.Her stories often cover the state of the economy, what experts are saying, and how people are navigating the workplace or their careers.Previously, she was a junior reporter and data editorial fellow on the Strategy team.A few of her stories:
- Job-market trend: Welcome to the 'Great Freeze': Why companies aren't firing, workers can't grow, and the unemployed can't get jobs
- Job-market trend: Everyone's focused on AI — but it's aging Americans who are quietly rewiring the job market
- Career pivot: I retired early from my federal job and took a part-time job at TJ Maxx. I'm happier and less stressed.
- Downsizing/RV living: An empty-nester couple who traded in a $400K house for an $80K RV explain their favorite parts of retirement on the road
- Job searching: People who haven't had steady work for at least a year are networking, doing temporary jobs, and soul-searching
- Side hustles: A millennial who used side hustles to pay off debt explains the lucrative and easy ones she recommends
- Teacher spending: A teacher who spent more than $5,000 of her own money to make a cozy classroom explains why it helps kids learn
