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Great Paying Jobs… No 4-Year College Degree Required!

Sep 25, 2025 Share
great paying jobs

Quick question: What do Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Richard Branson all have in common?

If you answered, “they’re all billionaires,” you’d be right. But that’s not all they have in common.

See, none of them have a four year college degree. In fact, there are a lot of millionaires and billionaires who never went to college… and many of them actually dropped out of college.

In fact, according to Forbes, of the 400 richest people in America, 12% of them dropped out of college.[1] That’s 44 billionaires who never finished school.

Now, we’re not saying you should skip out on college because that’s how to become rich… not at all. It takes a very special type of person, with a very special type of business idea to reach those heights…

And degree holders generally make more money than non-degree holders.

All we’re saying is that four-year college isn’t for everyone. But, if you know where to look (we’ll show you where to look in just a minute), you can find a good paying job without a four-year degree… which could lead to a great lifestyle.

So, what are these jobs?

And how can you find one near you?

Well, let’s start with the jobs.

According to our friends over at US News & World Report[2], the following jobs only require an associate degree… meaning that even if you begin earning that degree today, you could begin seeing a great paycheck relatively quickly…

And even if you already have a degree, you may want to earn an additional associate degree, because these jobs pay!

The jobs are…

Industrial engineering technologists and technicians: median annual salary - $64,790

Radiation Therapists: median annual salary $101,990

Respiratory Therapists: median annual salary - $80,450

Physical Therapist Assistant: median annual salary - $65,610

Diagnostic Medical Sonographers: median annual salary $89,340

Occupational Therapy Assistants: median annual salary - $68,340

Nuclear Technicians: median annual salary - $104,240

Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists/Technicians: median annual salary - $79,830

Legal Support Workers: median annual salary - $68,760

Nuclear Medicine Technologist: median annual salary - $97,020

MRI Technologists: median annual salary - $88,180

Funeral Home Managers: median annual salary - $76,830

Radiologic Technologist and Technicians: median annual salary - $77,660

Dental Hygienist: median annual salary - $94,260

Air Traffic Controllers: median annual salary - $144,580

Now, like we said earlier, you’re probably not going to become as rich as Bill Gates if you get one of these jobs. But they do pay very good, and some offer you the opportunity to open your own business in those fields…

Meaning you could potentially make even more money. And all, again, without a four-year college degree, and all, again, without having to spend 4+ years in a college classroom.

So…

If you don’t have an associate degree in any of the above fields, you may want to consider earning one, because like we said, these jobs pay!

But if you do have an associate degree in any of the fields above, and are looking for a job, here’s what to do:

Simply visit our homepage (or click the home button above), and type in the job you’re looking for, and where you live… then click “view jobs.”

That’s it!

[1] 10 Billionaires Who Didn't Go to College: List + Insights | AdmissionSight

[2] 25 Highest-Paying Associate Degree Jobs