Men reveal 10 jobs where they are making money despite not having a college degree

Making money doesn't require a degree.

Having a degree might land you a job interview but there is no guarantee that you will definitely get the job. There is a misconception among people that dictates that one needs to hold a high-value degree from a reputed university in order to have a career where they'll earn six figures annually. But with changing times and the rise of new professions, a degree doesn't hold that much of a value anymore. One doesn't have to work in corporate for years to become a millionaire when they can simply earn a decent living working from home as a blogger. u/AffectionateStreet10 questioned the men of the Reddit community with no degrees to share what they do in order to make money and sustain themselves and their families in the modern economy. Here are some of the interesting answers shared by working professionals from different industries who do not have college degrees.

1. Being a carpenter

The most important thing I learned at college to become an engineer is that I hate that job. I'm a carpenter now. I build nice stuff and I enjoy it. People ask: if you consider doing something similar: In Germany you do an apprenticeship for most practical jobs. We even have schools for the theoretical stuff. So, I recommend that. Also maybe internships to get a feeling of which company has a nice environment. We differentiate between Zimmermänner, who does residential framing, and Schreiner/Tischler who mostly builds furniture. I became the latter. Now I work in an amusement park and build decorations. My bonus knowledge of metal, plastic and chemistry is quite handy now. u/yellow-snowslide

2. Being field engineers

No degree. High school dropout. Communication and electronic equipment training and experience in the Navy. Got out of the Navy and started as an almost entry-level medical device service technician. Worked my way up, changed jobs 7 or 8 times, and made it to "non-degreed field engineer" working on a fascinating $1M brain imaging machine. Traveled the world in North America, Europe, and Asia with a nice expense account installing and fixing machines that helped people. Field engineers are paid pretty well. u/ricko_strat

3. Being a welder

I’m a pressure welder. Never was a good student and dropped out of university and college after giving them both a try. Got into welding, and haven’t made less than 6 figures a year since I started back in 2014-ish. I’m not against getting a degree, but it’s definitely not the be-all and end-all to having a good career. I started out as an apprentice/helper in Alberta working on the road, so I worked a ton but I welded structural for my welder and did my apprenticeship and then got a truck going, so I was making good money, I’m back home in NS now making about $120k, non-union, working 10 minutes from my house in Dartmouth. I move jobs a lot so I’m not anti or pro-union really, just where I’m at now. u/ArcAddict.

4. Marrying the rich

Blue-collar work all my life and married a woman who makes 6 figures. u/YGuyLevi. That's my plan. I got a degree, and an engineering job with a pay (under 70), but my girlfriend just hit 6 figures. Planning to put a ring on it. u/peeaches. Her earning potential has always been higher because of my record. I'm a high-end waiter, and she's always been in company management, about to finish her real estate stuff and finish college. u/BlackSchuck

5. Working in IT

I work in IT, you don't need a degree for most IT jobs. Just get some certifications. u/TraditionalTackle1. Security is the biggest want and need. Unless you want to go the programming route, there are a ton of code boot camps out there. Security start off with a Security+ cert, get a job in a SOC somewhere and maybe look into Fortinet's NSE program. Once you have some time under your belt, study for the CISSP. That cert alone is basically guaranteed around $80k/yr. No degree, some college and have been making 6 figures for the past 10 years. u/KurtAZ_7576 

6. Power line workers

Work on power lines. Never met so many dummies making 200k+ but here we are. You go to California and they're making 300-400 with ease, 500+ if you want to be a workaholic. All overtime is double time for pretty much everywhere on the West Coast. Union trades are the way to go, been making 6 figures since I was 20. It's pretty hard on your body, it doesn't require a lot of physical strength compared to some of the other trades (carpentry, ironworkers, riggers, etc) but you work in awkward positions a lot. You also work in rubber gloves and sleeves if you're working on energized conductors (sleeves aren't required at every company but most require them), that's hard on your fingers and wrists. u/Jugg383. 

7. UPS delivery driver

I'm ground delivery for UPS. I just got the top rate in May. I'll make $101k this year and around $120k next year. I'm lucky in that my route nets me a minimum of 5 hours of overtime each week, and as much as 15 hours. Just wish I would've found this job ten years sooner! u/Ember2Inferno. My 15-year-old has decided this is what he wants to do in life. It’s funny because it’s what he wanted to do when he was little too because his soccer coach was a driver. He’s like dead set on it now. I told him to go for it and make sure to build his mom and me a house out back for him to take care of us because he’s going to be the highest-paid of our three children. u/SFAFROG

8. Working as a line cook

I have zero formal post-high school education and I'm currently a prep/line cook for the country club where I live. Before you knock it: I work great hours (5 am to 1 pm). I have a 401k. I make great money, around $2.7k a month, which fits my life perfectly. I am well-loved by almost every member, as my make-your-own omelet bar on Saturdays brings me about $200 in tips if not more. I get free golf. u/ForeverIdiosyncratic

9. As a writer

I'm in Switzerland and we have a very different system of education: You usually start work with 15-16 years, you do a job education for 3-4 years that ends with a serious certification, but it's usually not called a degree. So, I made an education as a business clerk, later I switched to IT and today, I'm a writer. I thought about making a degree as a screenwriter, but after a while, I had to see that I wanted to remain with novels instead of scripts for movies. Don't underestimate the job education, it's some serious work, and the final exams of LAP are hardcore. It depends on the job, some jobs come with school stuff that isn't easier than college in the US. You can imagine, that if you go for becoming a pilot, you'll have to learn a ton of things, including aero-dynamics in physics, etc. Most jobs also require you to be fluent in different languages, like I had to learn German, French and English to an expert level. u/Diacetyl-Morphin

10. Owning business ventures

As a guy who owns multiple businesses I can guarantee you a degree does not guarantee a job. It will provide you with more opportunities to get in the door for an interview but not the job. I was interviewing an electrical engineer and I hired an electrician in his place. The electrician had no formal training just years of experience and when I asked a generalized question to test their knowledge, the electrician answered everything and the engineer was only about 50% accurate. I have no issues against engineers, being one of them myself. I have 86 employees and I hire the best person for the job even if it means they don't have the degree. u/somguy-_-