My executive recruiters have uncovered several employment opportunities in fields across the nation that don’t require a four-year degree. However, you will need to thoroughly research employment prospects and what skills are required. Furthermore, you may need to move to where the jobs are.
As I had shared previously “Do 4-Year Degrees Yield Higher Salaries?“ four-year degrees are not the career solution that they once were. In fact, many technical options, including associate’s degrees, occupational certificates, industry certifications and apprenticeships can yield respectable incomes. For example, some welders can make more than $100,000 per year!
One major caveat is any good paying job must be consistent with what the economy requires. Many high schools and community colleges teach job skills, but a lot of them use outdated techniques and equipment. Additionally, many steer their young graduates into fields that are dying.
The best way to stay current is to partner up with employers who are on the cutting edge of growing fields. Offer to work for them as an intern for low or no wages just to learn useful skills. However, even if you do offer to work for free, this is not a guarantee that those employers will hire and train you because: a) training is expensive to the firm and b) many companies fear that technical recruiters like myself will steal you away to one of their competitors once they train you.
One field that appears to be especially ripe for interns is welding. Demand outstrips supply especially since the average age in the field is 54. The American Welding Institute predicts that there will be more than 400,000 welding employment openings by 2024. Additionally, other fields, such as pipe fitters, plumbers and boilermakers need welding skills.
Construction and nursing are two other industries that are both: a) growing and b) do not require a four-year degree. As new housing construction grows there will be the need for a wide array of professionals including carpenters and electricians. With the aging of America, nursing will also continue to grow. From 2000 to 2010 the number of registered nurses grew by 24%. Though many nurses have four-year degrees, there are a lot of two-year programs for nurses and CNA’s (Certified Nursing Assistants).
One other major caveat is you will need to be mobile. As I shared in my YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSTyFXlyheU there are 372 cities across the nation that have very low employment rates. This means that you will need to move where the jobs are! This is not always easy to do especially if you have a large family.
Therefore, if you have the right skills and are willing to move, my executive recruitment team is confident that you can find employment even without a four-year degree.
What are your thoughts?
