15 Jobs that Pay $30 an Hour Without Needing a Degree
With the minimum wage surpassing $15 an hour in most states, more and more people are looking to increase their hourly wage. Inflation isn’t helping matters, with rent and mortgage payments, food, gas, and utilities costing so much that most families are left living paycheck to paycheck.
Along with inflation, the cost of higher education in America has skyrocketed in the last two decades. In-State, Out-of-State, and Private institutions have all increased, with private colleges and universities rising from $20,000 annually to $47,000. Out-of-State schools rose from around $12,000 to $28,000 in the same 20-year timeframe. Even In-State schools rose from around $5,000 per year to around $11,000.
Affording a college education is so out of reach for some families that graduating teens don’t apply. Others don’t see the point of getting a piece of paper with a listed degree that does nothing to further their career or income aspirations. For many, a college education equates to a colossal waste of money.
No matter the reason, many job seekers are looking for non-degree employment that pays significantly more than the minimum wage. We’ve got a few to help anyone looking for a new role.
1. Surgical Technician
While you don’t need a degree to work as a surgical technician, you will need certification in surgical technology. This certification requires an applicant to complete an associate’s training program to demonstrate they’ve gained the appropriate knowledge and competency to perform their job duties adequately.
After completing the training and certification, you can start working. The median salary for this job varies by location, but to make $30 an hour, you’ll need an annual salary of at least $62,400.
2. Technical Writer
With an annual wage of $35.72 an hour, honing your niche as a technical writer is worth your time and effort. Technical writing is more involved, research-heavy writing that usually requires a bachelor’s degree in English and some experience in journalism or the topic at hand.
Technical writers earn a mint. But writing, in general, is a great side hustle that can easily become a full-time gig if you’re willing to put in the time and effort to niche down as a subject matter expert in a given area.
3. Growth Marketer
As a growth marketer, you’ll earn an average salary of $49.16 an hour. You’ll help create, implement, and organize tests and results to evaluate marketing strategies. You’ll adapt those strategies to meet your clients’ needs and continue analyzing.
If you like evaluating information, adjusting tactics based on those results, and using the rinse-and-repeat method to help your clients maximize their growth, this job is perfect.
4. User Experience Designer
With an annual median income of $47.98 an hour, being a user experience designer can be a lucrative career. As a UX designer, you’ll oversee the creation of products to meet the needs of consumers. You’ll research products, develop a customer persona to fit the product and help design an enjoyable and usable product for the ideal customer. You may also create product blueprints, prototypes, and test products.
It’s a challenging and fun career for anyone who likes to change things up now and then.
5. Real Estate Agent
The median salary for a real estate agent is $46.62. You’ll be the interface between a home buyer and a seller. You’ll show homes to potential buyers, help buyers and sellers create an agreement for the property transition, and be responsible for knowing which real estate laws apply to each situation.
You may specialize in residential or commercial property, and while the processes are slightly different, the results of a happy seller and buyer are the same.
6. Dental Hygienist
As a dental professional, you’ll make an average of $35.73 an hour to assist a dentist in cleaning a client’s teeth. You may take X-rays and evaluate or examine a client’s teeth before a dentist sees them. You may also do a preliminary cleaning or an annual checkup on a client before they see a dentist.
I personally believe dentists are angels masquerading as people. Becoming a dental hygienist is not for everyone, but you can rest assured that you make a massive difference in people’s lives. It’s a gratifying career.
7. Massage Therapist
Even though this profession dates back to the 1700s when massage therapists were called rubbers, massage therapy is great for anyone wanting to boost their 9-5 income or create a nice transition from the day-to-day grind.
To be a professional massage therapist, you must complete a certification program through an accredited training program. Once complete, you can start working for local day spas or even create your client list to average a yearly salary of $110,048. This averages out to $52.91 per hour worked.
8. Railroad Worker
My husband worked for a railroad company for a time. He repaired the train cars, couplers, and other mechanisms that helped move coal from places like West Virginia south to fuel the power plant in central Florida.
It’s dirty but rewarding and certainly not the only type of railroad work. You may be required to operate the trains in the train yard, repair all parts of the train car, and document reports on the work you have completed. If you like mechanical operations and rewarding work, it’s a great job with an average salary of $33.15 an hour.
9. Building Inspector
As a building inspector, your median salary is $31.00 an hour. You’ll review construction plans and projects, evaluate whether the construction is up to code and local ordinances, monitor construction sites, inspect plumbing and electrical systems, and document everything.
As you’d expect, previous construction experience is a bonus. As a building inspector, you’ll receive on-the-job training.
10. Police Officer
You can never pay a police officer enough for the job they do. However, the median income is $33.25, and it includeseverything from parking tickets and jaywalkers to dangerous criminals and cold cases.
This is an excellent job for someone who likes the uncertainty of a different job every day and doesn’t mind high-octane situations that can be dangerous on a large scale.
11. Insurance Claims Adjuster
This job is exactly what it sounds like. As an adjuster, you’ll often evaluate insurance claims and examine damaged property (like a home or car) to see if the claim is valid. You’ll file reports, review settlements to ensure the right people get paid and approve payments on claims.
This profession involves a lot of paperwork and fieldwork, and you earn a good salary of $34.63 an hour for your work.
12. Web Developer
As a web developer, you create and maintain websites to support traffic flows and meet the client’s needs and desired design structure. You interact with your clients to ensure you know exactly what they need and execute it on their websites.
You’ll also work with other support staff, like a graphic designer or content creator, to flesh out each website page to meet the client’s demands. If website work is in your wheelhouse, it’s a great and lucrative job with a median salary of $38.81 an hour.
13. Sales Representative
Starting at $32.57 an hour, sales representatives sell goods and services to people and organizations like businesses and government agencies. Maybe your niche down and sell pharmaceuticals to doctors’ offices and walk-in clinics. Perhaps you keep a broad base and sell PepsiCo products to grocery stores and advanced hauling solutions to small-scale delivery companies.
Whatever your work style, being a sales representative is a great way to earn a living if you like to travel and enjoy meeting and interacting with new people.
14. Fire Inspector
As a fire inspector, you’ll ensure that organizations adhere to state and local fire standards. You’ll investigate fires, collecting evidence to present to a legal advisor or judge.
To become a fire inspector, you will need prior experience as a firefighter or education in a related field of study. Your median income will be $31.63.
15. Video Editor
Think YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and even LinkedIn. Being a video editor has blown up in the last twenty years because social media platforms have consistently turned toward more interactive sources of information. Gone are the days of text-based searches. If you can’t put it in a video, you’re missing out on a huge chunk of your audience.
If you’ve always liked tinkering with video formats, changing everything but the name on the tape, video editing might be for you. You can help top brands say what they need to without all the fluff audiences don’t want. You can expect a salary of $30.01 an hour to start for your services.
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