15 Best Wealth-Building Jobs that Blue Collar Workers Can Obtain
Would you believe that the average person makes well over $2.5 million in their lifetime? A report from 2022 states nearly 11.5 percent of Americans live in poverty. That’s 37.9 million people just in the US.
However, how do those two numbers jive? How can the average person make millions over a lifetime and still live in perpetual lack? One quote from Steve Adcock, author of Millionaire Habits, is so true. He says, “Those who look rich rarely are.”
In the debt-based monetary system of the US, it isn’t easy to become financially independent, let alone reach millionaire status. However, it’s not impossible either. Financial independence starts with your yearly salary. Being wealthy can seem like a pipe dream for blue-collar workers, those who do manual labor and service industry jobs. However, blue-collar workers can maximize their money opportunities. So, let’s look at some blue-collar jobs that can build wealth, even in a debt-based system.
1. Mechanic
Mechanics can work on everything from mopeds and scooters to diesel engines and amusement park rides. Evaluating, repairing, and maintaining engine systems can be challenging, physical, and dirty work. However, with an annual salary of $53,721, working toward wealth and financial independence is possible.
Learn how to wisely invest your money, create an emergency fund to cover your bills in case of a severe illness or job loss, and live well below your means. You’ll watch your wealth grow exponentially over the years.
2. Plumber
Oh, where would the world be without plumbers? These blue-collar beauties ensure that our homes and communities stay free of human waste by using their knowledge of pipe laying to funnel toiletry facilities exactly where they should be.
Whether you’re building a community building, grocery store, school, or home, at some point, you’ll need a professional plumber, and they make bank for the job they do. On average, an experienced plumber will earn $63,215. However, some states pay as high as $110,634 annually on median income.
3. Crab Fisherman
The average crab fisherman can expect to make $28,952. The top ten percent can make as much as $115,186 a year. San Jose, California, has the highest average salary, at $57,162, based on 2023 data.
Depending on the type of crab you’re fishing for, you’ll handle pots that can weigh up to 800 pounds, brave dangerous seafaring conditions, face inclement weather and life-threatening conditions to earn the sort of money that makes crab fishers on The Deadliest Catch haul in. If you don’t want to go that extravagant, you can certainly fish for blue and stone claw crabs in places like Florida and the Gulf Coast.
4. Baker
While the median salary for a professional baker is around $29,640, the top ten percent can earn up to and over $41,000. Experience goes a long way in this trade, as does the type of baker you are. Specializing in a specific type of baking (i.e., wedding or birthday cakes) may help you maximize your clientele to earn even more than the national average.
Then you cut your costs, living below your means, save like a squirrel hoarding his winter stash, and invest your way to that first wealth milestone.
5. Electrician
In the early years of my marriage, my husband worked as an electrician’s apprentice and earned decent money. Unfortunately, he suffered a layoff and went on to other employment. However, as a professional electrician with supporting credentials, you can make serious money working for a business or as a side hustle.
As a credentialed professional, you’ll earn an average salary of $59,190. However, like most skilled trade jobs, many states pay considerably higher than that. New York, for instance, pays an average of $77,810 and is just one state that pays well into the $60-$70K range. That’s serious money if you know how to spend it wisely.
6. Carpenter
My husband says he’s a “Jack of all trades and a master of none.” However you slice it, carpentry is in my husband’s wheelhouse of job skills, and as such, he often side hustles to earn what we call “fun money.”
If you make it your full-time job, you can expect to earn an average of $59,884. Alaska pays the highest wage for carpenters, with a yearly base pay of $72,776.
7. Steel Worker
The average pay for a steelworker is $37,949. The top ten percent make closer to $50,000. If you choose to work in New York, you’ll average the highest yearly wage of $54,959. That’s good money to pack away if you can find a way to live on the cheap in a not-so-cheap state.
Converting a van or old school bus into a tiny home, for instance, is a great way to cut costs and truly live within your means, maximizing your savings.
8. Home Remodeler
Working as a professional home remodeler can bring in an average of $70,000 yearly, with the top ten percent making closer to $93,000. If you want to remodel homes for a living, you’ll need many skill sets or some serious on-the-job training. Load-bearing walls, window framing, executing new floor plans, cabinet installation, flooring, and the like should all be in your wheelhouse to be a successful remodeler.
You can learn many of these skills as you build your knowledge of home remodeling and renovation.
9. Roofer
Professional roofers earn an average of $41,246, with the most experienced earning just over $50K. Alaska pays the highest average salary for roofers, at $50,778.
One nice aspect of this job is that you can specialize in commercial or residential roofing, and the skills you’ll learn are unique to that type of roofing career.
10. Construction Worker
Construction workers are in demand to help shore up many trade industries. The average pay is $31,842 a year, with the highest rates exceeding $43,000.
If you want the highest possible median income, head to New York, where they pay $47,620 for the same 2,080 hours.
11. Welder
Welders are another trade skill that’s in demand for several industries. Put your skills to the test, helping manufacture cars, steel structure buildings, or even running your own business. On average, you’ll earn $45,689.
However, many states pay much higher than that median salary, with Alaska topping the list. In the Last Frontier, the average is closer to $64,577 a year.
12. Dishwasher
My first job at 15 was working as a dishwasher for a small town restaurant after school. Fridays and Saturdays were busy then, and we’d often earn tips for handling the massive load of people efficiently.
Nowadays, dishwashers average $31,650 a year, with Washington State taking the top prize for paying out $39,350 for a median dishwasher salary.
13. Farmer
Farmer salaries can vary greatly based on the size of the farm, the crops or animals tended on the farm, and the products the farmer sells. The typical median income for a farmer can range from $13,000 (the lowest ten percent) to more than $71,000 (the highest ten percent).
The average pay across all farming sectors is $30,845. However, the farming industry is expected to take a 25.5% hit to their overall income this year.
14. Janitor
My best friend’s “Uncle Chuck” was a janitor in high school. Mild-mannered and always there when you needed him, he was the unsung hero of our small, mid-Michigan school. Like parenting, being a janitor (whether at a school, office building, or hospital) is a thankless job. Your work occurs while everyone else is busy living their lives, making it much more vital.
If Chuck is still working, hopefully, he’s making much more than the average salary of $27,954 a year. Massachusetts is at least trying to pay a liveable wage at a median income of $34,833.
15. Painter
Professional painters make an average of $42,339 annually, with the highest ten percent averaging more than $59,000. However, like farmers, painters vary greatly in their work.
Artistic painters (like Banksy) may make less per month than professional house painters.
However, they may make considerably more year over year if they sell a painting that goes for a large sum of money. For this instance, we’ll cap that annual salary at $57,328, the rate in the District of Columbia and the highest salary listed in the United States.
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