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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago edited 6d ago
my job that gets me $36 an hour, you cannot get without a degree, and in most cases, an additional certification is needed too
EDIT: Im 26, a clinical lab tech, i understand people without degrees make more than 36 an hour, tell me what you do with or without a degree lets see what is out there
EDIT EDIT: thank you to all who commented and continue to comment their job, wage, and/or degree/non degree holder status. Both degree holders and non degree holders can make excellent money as we all knew, but it is nice to see some examples from across the country!
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u/herowin54 7d ago
I’m a union pipefitter, the apprenticeship is 5 years long, I make $32 an hour right now but will make $56 at the end of it. I’m making about $2500 a week after taxes with overtime and the $150 per diem at the job site I’m at now
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u/Ginger_Rogers 7d ago
4th year electrician apprentice. There is trade school for 4 years. Buy you do it while you work and make money. You get a pay raise for every semester you pass. Usually 2 or 4 pay raises a year. Then when you pass your journemans, the pay jumps. I think I'm $35 an hour right now. Not including over time. After I finish my apprenticeship it goes to $55. There are thousands of different jobs I can do within my career. It's also in high demand, when I quit my last job for being late on pay, I got 4 job offers within a couple days of looking. Plus I love my job!
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u/herowin54 7d ago
Union trades are where the money is at right now. I’m a multiple felon fuckup and I’m making over $100k a year. I started at $17hr and have almost doubled my wages in 2 years.
We get one big raise after every year we finish school. I see people on Reddit complaining about not being able to find a job and just can’t relate. There is so much construction work happening right now it’s actually fucking insane. We don’t even have enough guys to keep up with the demand.
So every job is paying $150 per day on top of your hourly wage with overtime everyday. I love my job too and am thankful everyday I found this union. It’s given me a second chance at having a very comfortable and rewarding life
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u/Interesting-Put2828 6d ago
union pipefitter just oozes youll be in the money, at least thats what it always seems like
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u/quocvu1825 7d ago
I get $35.5 an hour with no degrees, it's my second year in this job. It's doable, but you gotta work for it.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
i guess for reference im 26, seems to be making a difference here, i have no quarrals with you i know electricians and such that make around what i do hourly, im a clinical lab tech what do you do
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u/quocvu1825 7d ago
I'm 33. I couldn't afford schooling so went straight to work. I'm a cnc technician now. Kinda like a millwright but specialized in industrial CNC machines.
I'm on the low end of pay since I just started.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
my brother has been doing that kinda stuff for a while, he learned all the machines he could, forward to now he told his boss he has an offer for another job, his boss beat the offer to keep him, so i guess i dont know your experience fully but if you are newer, i guess just wanted to share what helped make him more successful, im a clinical lab tech, 26
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u/vae_grim 7d ago edited 7d ago
I’m 23, LCOL area making $35.
I was homeless in high school, dropped out of college, and hustled my ass off. I went from fast food, to restaurants, to entry level medical. Now I’m an auditor for medical corporate.
My partner is a 22 year old high school drop out. He makes $30 but has great prospects thanks to his networking skills. He’s in culinary and has worked with/for all kinds of crazy people.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
thats great, funny enough im a clinical lab tech so both medical world, 26 btw
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u/NoMansSkyWasAlright 7d ago
Yeah my cross-the-street neighbor works at one of the metalworks plants in the area and he was making $32. He was making more than me as a software dev until my pay-raise about a month ago.
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u/insanelane99 7d ago
You need a raise, factories that dont require a degree pay that much in my area
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
what area though, where i live north of detroit they dont pay that much
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u/insanelane99 7d ago
Rural wisconsin. Tbf its not all factories, but alot of them for sure, especially dairy production jobs they pay crazy good.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
more power to them for getting that much out there, interesting to hear for sure, im a clinical lab tech
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u/insanelane99 7d ago
Im surprised to find that lab technicians are only making $25-$32 in my area... damn. Well if i ruled the world your job would be much higher paying!!!!
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
the range is wild, travel techs make upwards of 45+ an hour, usually around here it is 25-35 maybe slightly more, i get more for working third shift but i work in a hospital too which pushes it up, what do you do?
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u/insanelane99 7d ago
I used to work as a printing press operator making $35/hr and before that I was a forklift operator and made between $35-$45/hr based on production bonuses.
I was in an accident tho and am now disabled and just got out of homelessness this week actually.
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u/NoMansSkyWasAlright 7d ago edited 7d ago
I'm guessing it's one mega-producer where the pay is good because the conditions kind of suck? I had a buddy doing something similar with the Toyota plant down in Indiana. Dude said the pay was amazing but he didn't have time to actually enjoy his disposable income.
We have a similar outfit in this area where basically everyone who stays in town after high school works there at least for a bit but hardly anyone stays.
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u/insanelane99 7d ago
This is true to, although given its wisconsin theres actually a wide variety of producers but still theres the big ones and conditions are rough, some require 12hr days 6 days a week for your first year. Moneys good but it takes its toll
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u/Tasty_Leading_3221 7d ago
And if I can ask, what is your industry ?
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
Im a clinical lab tech, work in a hospital
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u/Tasty_Leading_3221 7d ago
Europe?
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
no, michigan, just north of detroit area
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u/Tasty_Leading_3221 7d ago
I think that is a lower payment.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
like the pay is low? definitly not especially for the area, why do you say it is low?
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u/Tasty_Leading_3221 7d ago
I'm working in construction area of services and I get between 37 to 42 €/ h, in Europe
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u/Interesting-Put2828 6d ago
the trade off for me is im paid well and i love what i do, most of my time is spent using a microscope which i have two at home and i wouldnt trade that for contruction at $60 an hour, most probably would but ill take feeling no stress over disliking my job anyday, especially if the pay is already good, i get some people probably like working construction and hey more power to them i say
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u/btlee007 7d ago
I make around $70 an hour on an average week. A good week $90-$100+. I have no degree and work in a high end restaurant
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
what is your role in the restaurant? i can see that though high end restaurants charge by the boatloads
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u/btlee007 7d ago
Server
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
yeah, the tips are glorious i imagine, nice on finding the high end of that market
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u/dj92wa 7d ago edited 7d ago
That tracks. Factoring in tips, I was making $35-50/hr a decade ago while working at Red Robin, which is very much not a high end restaurant. HCOL area with a decent minimum wage underneath it all, but the tips really pushed it up. It makes sense that a fancier place in modern times with more expensive products/wealthier clientele would see higher income for their servers.
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u/0celot7 7d ago
51.28. Aviation Maintenance.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 6d ago
oof yeah sounds high paying, what were the qualifications?
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u/0celot7 6d ago
Minimum of 30 months experience working on aircraft under the supervision of qualified personnel, or equivalent military experience, or graduation from a certified AMT training program. After getting one of those you test for you A&P license, essentially like getting a Journeyman's certification in the construction trades. On top of that I'm a lead.
Once you're licensed pay tends to heavily depend on where you work and what you work on. General Aviation as a whole pays less than things like commercial, aeromed, or the oil gas industry guys, though there are some GA dudes who make very good money. It has been my experience that the best paid AMTs either work for major airlines/cargo outfits, or aeromed/firefighting on the rotary wing side.
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u/Real-Construction458 7d ago
Auto body at 25.50 but turn 60-80 hrs a week. So roughly 40-50 a hr
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u/Hand_of_the_Light 7d ago
That math aint mathing for me
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u/Real-Construction458 7d ago
I’m flat rate so I can make 80 hrs within a 40 hr work week
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u/Interesting-Put2828 6d ago
those hours are rough, gotta be tough indeed workin that much every week
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u/Real-Construction458 6d ago
lol no guy I’m only at work for 40 hrs a week. Say the job pays 10 hrs of labor but I get it done in 5 I just made 52$ a hr. If it takes me 20 hrs to complete I just made 13$ a hr.
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u/Taychon2319 7d ago
I wanted to get into being a lab tech but seems like it takes 2 years of full time school. Was that true in your case?
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u/YouTasteStrange 7d ago
If you want an intro job, phlebotomy only takes a few weeks, then you'll be drawing blood and working with lab techs and can go to school at the same time. My phlebotomy program was 200 hours 15 years ago, last I saw they shortened it to 80 hours.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 6d ago
there are many different pathways, there are programs as well, a lot of people in my current lab went through like a 2 year program, so basically an associates, but they were all training in the lab before they got hired, my pathway for a microbiology lab was degree (biology with specialization in microbiology) and i had lab experience in college, but there are also so many types of lab techs, did you know more specifically what type you wanted to go for?
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u/Taychon2319 6d ago
Hematology. It’s seemed the pathway most likely is the 2 year program but I have seen jobs posted for lab assistant that just requires a high school diploma. I have an Associate degree (not in science) and college lab experience.
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u/DarkSage90 7d ago
I run a Powerplant without a degree and make $43 an hour. No schooling. Got hired as an oiler (entry level) worked up through Operator over the next ten years and took over as Super a few years ago.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 6d ago
very nice, inspiring to see someone stick with it and make it up the ranks
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u/chains_enjoyer 7d ago
I was a lab tech in the NHS for years without a degree. What you mean to say is that you can’t get a lab tech job where you live without a degree.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 6d ago
there are indeed lab tech positions available without a degree, i did say my job in my og post but yeah, they arent usually higher paying than ones with more demanding quals though, what did those techs at NHS do? im in a micro lab and our work is pretty technical reading agar plates and such
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u/GenTenStation 7d ago
I make $36 an hour without a degree. Not in your field obviously but it happens
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u/Smilesrck 7d ago
L&D manager. I make 100k now but I started as a team member making $32.50/hr with experience no degree.
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u/Future_Telephone281 7d ago
I worked in cyber security without a degree and made 110k in Minnesota (MCOL)
I know have my masters and am making a good chunk more.
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u/lifeintraining 7d ago
I was a financial advisor for 11 years, I’d make anywhere between $110K-$154K per year ($52.88 to $74.04 per hour), no degree, I worked my way into it with prior sales experience selling satellite TV subscriptions.
Now, I work a much less stressful job as a financial crimes investigator and make about $100K/yr ($48.08/hr).
Btw, math shortcut. If you’re converting for per year to per hour or vice versa, just divide or multiply by 2,080. Assuming full time.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 6d ago
thats my deal, my job gives me no stress, i use a microscope most of the night, which i have 2 at home, so my job related stress is pretty much zero and i get a good wage to do it, idk if id trade it for another job inless i made a unreasonable amount more than i do now
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u/Turak64 6d ago
Work in IT, no degree and most of the tech I work with wasn't even commercially available at the time of when I would have gone to uni.
Some roles absolutely require a degree, doctors, scientists etc. Then you get people who went to uni just to drink and piss around for a couple of years. It's not one size fits all.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 6d ago
definitly not i agree, like one person in the thread mentioned they are a server in a high end restaurant, making 70-100 an hour, and i believe it they probably get madly large tips, but no degree, ill never make that much but i also love what i do, like i do some of the things i do at work in my spare time, and i could never pretend to be nice enough to be a server in one of those places lol
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u/thephallouSking 6d ago
50.08 an hour as a head diesel technician supervisor , never went to any schooling just learned and kept pushing, I also have a fleet of trucks I can use at anytime for personal stuff and a company gas card for all my fuel in my personal cars.
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u/ZedSpy 7d ago
Oh but yes you can.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
i work in a clinical lab in a hospital, definitly needed
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7d ago
[deleted]
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
i said my job requires a degree, not that you cant make $36/hour without a degree, do you even read posts before you comment
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u/ZedSpy 7d ago
Guess I got it wrong, my bad
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
thank you, also im willing to admit we both have jobs that really matter and deserve the wage we get
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u/nyuckajay 7d ago
I mean I make way more than that and I don’t have a degree.
It’s all kinda luck, selling yourself, and learning skills.
I certainly wouldn’t pay for college if I’m pulling less than 6 figures.
I’d wager most people with degrees make more than people without but some degrees also look like traps to me. Like my wife’s has her stuck at 26 and we’re in our 30s, that’s no kinda income to live on at all.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
i am 26 for reference as well, my degree was free because of high school scholarships, and im in the lowest rung of the ladder where i work, no where to go but up
idk if you do sales or advanced internally somewhere to higher level management but i imagine if you do very well without a degree it is one of the two, not saying they are bad it is just my guess1
u/nyuckajay 7d ago edited 7d ago
Military->engineering->supervisor, so kinda more management than anything. But it’s because I racked certs before and during the military.
I’m like 1/2-2/3 to being realistically capped for salary, but other people could do double or triple what I make if they didn’t fuck around as much as I did when I was younger.
I think you did well, I just think people need to be careful about what degree cause just having one isn’t cutting it right now. I should’ve clarified I meant pulling 6 figures by my age, I think pulling it in your twenties is a much higher bar, 30s is muuuuuuch lower. If I was a degreed engineer, or something similar to my current work but with a degree, I’d probably make 30-50% more I bet.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
yeah my degree is biology with specialization in microbiology, definitly isnt the liberal arts degree people imagine lol but thats sounds like an interesting job indeed
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u/nyuckajay 7d ago
It can be interesting but too much travel, I’m about to hang up my hat and am currently working on a degree to start a new career for my forties that’s hopefully less travel and less labor.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
yeah especially if you have a partner or kids thats hell, im just a clinical lab tech
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u/Technical_Credit2801 7d ago
You may make more but it is very often the case that the limit to your progress is lower without a degree.
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u/nyuckajay 7d ago
I agree I said I think they make more on average in my post, I just think some degrees are traps with no real benefit.
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u/Technical_Credit2801 2d ago
The same can be said of the trades, my father has been in the same bottom of the ladder trade job for 30 years and has made absolutely fuck all professional progress in that time while barely scraping by.
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u/nyuckajay 2d ago
Yeah but that’s not a surprise to anyone though, lots of construction is dead end without going to management it’s almost hard to call a lot of them trades nowadays.
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u/Technical_Credit2801 17h ago
If you're going to go into management and above you might as well get a degree. It is pretty clear that you are limited without one.
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u/Superb-Astronaut-371 7d ago
Selling yourself as the second step seems like a bit of a hefty maneuver for most
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u/yonari_H 7d ago
I don't understand why us at the bottom of the todam pole engag in this degree is a scam proganda. The government is making it harder to get jobs vital for society to function like teaching or people have passion and interest in things that once paid, but now don't because society is being dismantled and sold for parts
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u/Future_Telephone281 7d ago
Some degrees are scams and some are not. Expensive schools are a scam though.
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u/MyMuseIsNSFW 7d ago
Wait... are you bragging about $36 an hour? Where do you live that that's good money.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
i am 26, have a mortgage, car payment, put 15% away to retirement, invest outside my 401k, and still have disposable income afterwards, monthly, to the tune of about $700, after my car payment is gone (3 year financing) thatll be $1200, so yeah i make good money where i live (north of detroit)
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u/nyuckajay 7d ago
Honestly it is really good money there, extremely good, we just sold a house up north of Marysville and it was a super affordable area. Now in New York where the same can’t be said.
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u/MyMuseIsNSFW 7d ago
Okay, that makes sense. I live in Florida, where you wouldn't be able to rent a house, much less buy one on that. And i'm not saying $36 an hour is poverty income or anything, it's just not worth bragging about and it certainly doesn't require a college education or the debt it comes with to achieve. I mean, gas station attendants make that down here. Seriously, check out the starting salaries at Buc-ees. I achieved everything else you're bragging about, bought a house at 25, two new cars, 401k and Roth IRA, plus I'm on track to retire at 50, and i did it all with a high school education. It's not the flex you think it is. I'm glad you're doing well and i'm sure your college experience was rewarding. It's too bad they didn't teach you a little bit of humility. But that's okay. The real world will eventually teach you that you're not superior to the people who chose a different path than you.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
there are plenty of people who make infinitely more than ill ever make without degrees, but at 26, makin $36 an hour is quite good, and you know you were starting the tone with your original message, you mentioned bragging so i went on, i only said in my original post my job makes $36 an hour and you cant get it without a degree, not sure how that is bragging just stating it as a fact not sure how else you wanted me to say it so people can compare jobs with degrees and without degrees
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u/JeebusChristBalls 7d ago
$36/hour isn't terrible. It's definitely way higher than the average. Assuming 40 hours a week and no overtime, that's about $75k/year. That is decent for a large part of the country except for higher COL areas.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7d ago
indeed it is 40 hours/week, and if i get overtime it gets a shift differential of 10-15%, so they pay me bank to be there on overtime or on holidays, also im 26 for reference
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u/Sweet-Bench-2340 7d ago
me when failing at studying
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u/iambertan 7d ago
Skills: Social media (scrolls reels 6 hours a day)
AI (Prompts GPT to make stupid images)
Communication (Dropbombs on friends' Discord server)
Trading (Sold rusty garden tools on FB market)
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u/Anonymousboneyard 7d ago
Tbf i beat out 5 people with degrees for a retirement post cuz of the skills i got at work. Some companies truly value skills earned over fresh degree grads.
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u/Pretzel911 7d ago
Ill be honest, someone with 2 or 3 years doing the actual job is going to be much better then someone who just got their degree.
A college degree is an amazing way to get your foot in the door.
Some jobs will require it
If you are highering 2 people with no experience the person with the degree will most likely perform much better. It gives you at the very least a minimum standard, where the other guy could have 0 knowledge, and in a group of 1000 randoms with no degree 999 of them would have no knowledge.
But for a lot of jobs I think its silly to just write someone off because they have no degree. Take some other things into account and you will expand your pool of qualified candidates.
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u/FickleMess1371 7d ago
Whether redditors like it or not, it's the truth. I make more without IT degree than my colleagues with IT degrees, skills are more appreciated. But just like the image, interviewers would usually prefer the other one.
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u/Longjumping_Bonus405 7d ago
You missed the punchline. People who these images also don’t have skills.
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u/Flaky-Maximum-7875 7d ago
If you are smart you would relize getting a degree gives you a major leg up.
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u/Bees4everr 7d ago
I mean I’m gonna be coming out of community college for construction management next spring with an associates and considering my internship has kept me on after the summer, by next summer I’ll have a year of office experience and a degree and will probably be doing quite decent for a 20yo
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u/andyman30 7d ago
My blue collar skills have earned my 10x more than my microbiology degree did. And that shit was hard.
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u/VanDenBroeck 7d ago
So having a degree earns more green? And having skills means more stuck in the ground?
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u/Max_Stierlitz 7d ago
No, but it's actually a complicated and fun topic. So, degree means you have some Niche Knowledge and know all the details that someone from the streat doesn't. Degree also means that you know how to write a research, how to find information and how to sort it. Essentially, you good with information and handling big amounts of it, systematising it in your mind and on paper, etc
However, a person without a degree can (sometimes, lol, most of the time these people are just your standard Joe) compensate the lack of the degree: these people know better how to adapt to quick changes, can be more opportunistic (with trying to find job and actually finding it), and also a lot of times they have even more Highly Specific Knowledge about their jobs (the redneck who you always go to so he fixes your car, because he's just so good at it). ALSOO people without degree are a lot of times women in a traditional household, so that means they know all the ball regarding specifically house maintenance
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u/GravesSightGames 6d ago
Pretty sure the cucks using AI for EVERYTHING are "college educated". America college are nothing but diploma mills that brutally buttfuck children so hard Trump feels jealous
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u/justhereformyfetish 6d ago
Hyper skilled workers make kickass money.
If you are the best known, top tier upholsterer in an upscale area, you are going to pull more money, for less work and bullshit, than most people with degrees.
I have had people travel across states for the work that I do (not upholstery), and I make more than most people with degrees....and I only work 30ish hours a week.
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u/Exotic_Exercise6910 7d ago
I have a master degree and fought for literal years with imposter syndrome because of shit like this.
This needs to fucking stop. I now know that I'm not a terribly foolish person.
And bullshit like "I know that I don't know, question is are you too smart enough to feel stupid? Hope so" doesn't help either.
I don't need a world in which a professor comes on stage and brags like an orange "I am the most big beautiful bestest person when it comes to smarts." But I think this humbleness caused the world we live in. Because smart people are very afraid to say: "no, there are no fucking chemtrails you god damn lobotomated wormbrain. And yes, I am smarter than you" and as a result people think the CDC and JFK are on the same level of intelligence. Or maybe not, but they certainly give him a listen whereas it would be needed to throw him in a tar pit
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u/ZombiePSP 7d ago
You don't sound very smart
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u/Exotic_Exercise6910 7d ago
That's because it's not my native language.
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u/carinabee08 7d ago
You have a master’s degree and you’re fluent in multiple languages? You have earned the right to consider yourself smart
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u/Exotic_Exercise6910 7d ago
Thank you. Truly. It feels nice to sometimes receive something positive.
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u/jessewest84 7d ago
Most of the people work with have masters degrees. And they dont know how a key works.
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u/shrewpygmy 7d ago
Although I do love and tend to agree with that quote
“Never confuse education with intelligence, you can have a PhD and still be an idiot.”