Business Insider Ranks 25 No-Degree Jobs, Led by Air Traffic Controllers at $148,080
Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Jun 1
Business Insider Ranks 25 No-Degree Jobs, Led by Air Traffic Controllers at $148,080
1 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Jun 1
Summary
$148,080 put air traffic controllers at the top of Business Insider’s ranking of 25 highest-paying jobs that typically do not require a bachelor’s degree, based on BLS wage data.
May 2025 pay figures showed about a dozen of those jobs carried six-figure median annual wages, with commercial pilots at $123,220 and nuclear power reactor operators at $122,890 near the top.
Associate-degree roles also ranked highly, including nuclear technicians at $110,240, Radiation therapists at $105,310 and diagnostic medical sonographers at $96,590.
High-school-entry jobs remained prominent on the list, from transportation, storage and distribution managers at $107,230 to elevator and escalator installers and repairers at $109,910.
The ranking used 2025 employment and pay estimates, while typical entry-level education requirements reflected 2024 BLS data.