MSN Business recently ran an article with the headline “Highest Paying Jobs You can get Without a College Degree.”

I have to admit, I went to college with the intention of getting a degree. I had to declare a major and selected to be an English education major. I could see myself teaching high school English. At that time, the path to a job was to earn a degree. After sophomore year, teaching jobs were not plentiful, so I changed my major to economics and would see what the business world would bring.

When I was in the corporate world, I was successful in getting jobs because I had a degree. There was a bit of irony to that thought though. My predecessor at one of my jobs in human resources had an agriculture degree. The thinking about having a business degree there held little water.

In 2020, we find unemployment rates have dramatically risen. I am sure the estimating of employment (and unemployment) is an inexact science. For argument sake, let’s say the unemployment rate is somewhere between 10 and 20% of the available workforce. That’s a lot of people. That just adds to the competition for open positions.

If you find yourself looking for work. or looking to make a change, the MSN article has great value to help in making a quick change without seeking a degree. I am not saying that one should not pursue a formal degree. When I was in human resources, I would strongly encourage visiting our local community college and exploring the many options there.

Suggestions from the article include a variety of jobs:

• Property or real estate managers.
• Electrical or power line installers/repairers (These are the wonderful folks to get power to customers after major storms).
• Petroleum pump system operators (would not be local).
• Transportation personnel (airlines, though they may be laying off too).
• Postal workers.
• Power plant operators.
• Ship engineers (and I would add barge employees; it seems that barges would be local).
• Farm or ranch employees.
• Real estate brokers (Probably would need a certification).
• Firefighters (both local and where there are fire issues – i.e. California. There would be testing and physical requirements).
• Elevator and escalator repairers.
• Casinos employees (dealers).
• Retail workers (clerical to owning).
• Distribution personnel (I see Amazon starting a facility in Iowa City).

I would add the following, as these jobs were not in the MSN article and are always in demand:

• Welders.
• HVAC installers.
• Plumbers.
• Roofers
• Electricians

Are any of these positions perfect for you? Only you can answer that. The skilled trades may need a community college certificate/degree, yet can be earned quickly. Now is the time to pursue your next position as school starts soon.

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