High Salary Careers For High School Graduates
High school students who are approaching graduation day may be struggling with a choice of a career or college. While college is a good path for some graduates, there are plenty of high salary careers available to workers with only high school education.
Real Estate Brokers
Real estate professionals are cited in most discussions of high salary careers for high school graduates. The job of a real estate broker is to facilitate the smooth purchase or sale of a client’s home. Real estate brokers are responsible for working with mortgage lenders, buyers, sellers, and other parties to keep various balls in the air at one time. The reason why so many high school graduates choose careers as real estate brokers is the nearly unlimited income potential.
The median salary for a real estate broker in the United States is $71,000 per year according to UBSalary.com©. While many brokers hover around this mark each year, brokers in high-value markets like southern California and Nevada have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. After a real estate broker gets his or her license and passes through a brokerage firm’s training, the sky is the limit in terms of sales commissions. Prospective real estate brokers need to find the right home market, put a smile on their faces, and understand the complexities of real estate to get the job done.
High Salary Careers In Construction And Production
The majority of high salary careers for high school graduates resides in traditional blue-collar professions. The construction industry offers a great opportunity for high school graduates to make money and participate in the building of new communities. The lead carpenter on any housing project is tasked with getting enough supplies to the job site, overseeing workers, and ensuring that frames and carpeting are installed properly. Lead carpenters make about $63,000 per year, which is a salary based on the hard work that these professionals perform each day.
Once a home or office building is built, the lead painter for a painting and remodeling company steps in to maintain its appearance. Lead painters oversee teams of part-time and seasonal workers who use sprayers to keep building exteriors looking good as new. While the job of lead painter requires time spent outdoors in the elements, this high salary career can help the right candidate earn $51,000 per year.
The factory may be a thing of the past in many American cities, but production workers and supervisors still make high salaries for their work. The typical assembly supervisor makes $50,000 per year with the potential for generous health, dental, and retirement benefits depending on the industry. Chemical process supervisors earn $57,000 per year to meet state and federal standards for handling chemicals during the production, post-production, and disposal processes. The natural gas pipelines running from California across the Midwest into New England are supervised by gas plant supervisors who earn $51,000 for observing pressure levels and maintaining pipe sections. While manufacturing may be dying out in North America, these jobs remain important to the vitality of business and the American economy.
One of the more stable and high salary careers for high school graduates is in service station management. Every town has a full-service station that sells gasoline, automotive parts, convenience items, and repair services for passing motorists. The reliance of professionals throughout America on their cars means that demand for gasoline, maintenance, and repairs will continue into the foreseeable future. The typical service station manager earns $72,000 per year by working long hours, hiring employees who can work early mornings and late nights, and ensuring high quality services from repair staff.
Customer Service
The qualifications for a customer service position have always relied more on personal interactions than academic credentials. While a college graduate may understand the theories of marketing or good customer service, a high-school graduate with retail experience knows firsthand the priorities of the average customer. The field of customer service offers several high salary careers for high school graduates including data entry supervisors, payroll managers, and collections supervisors.
Data entry managers are responsible for overseeing hundreds of data entry operators at call centers and retail headquarters worldwide. These managers have to monitor various metrics including keywords per minute, accuracy, and files completed each shift to determine a department’s strengths and weaknesses. The high turnover in data entry positions means that a data entry manager must balance data entry analysis with recruiting, interviewing, and training personnel. Data entry managers earn an average of $50,000 per year with flexible schedules, health benefits, and advancement opportunities part of the compensation package.
High school graduates with good financial sense can earn high salaries as payroll managers and collections supervisors. A payroll manager familiar with accounting software and basic bookkeeping is the heart of any small business, keeping the books in order year round. The level of detail required in payroll management makes this position difficult to fill with most employers offering $50,000 per year for qualified candidates. Collections supervisors at clothing retailers, banks, and other businesses oversee contacts with account holders who are past due on monthly payments. This position requires a mixture of skills including good communications, impeccable organization, and an ability to ascertain state collections laws while fulfilling an employer’s mandates. The stresses of collections supervisor positions are balanced by salaries in excess of $50,000 per year.
Resources For High Salary Careers
High school graduates should start searching for high salary careers by looking at their favorite job websites. These websites allow users to determine the value of their work on a month-to-month basis unlike any other publication. In addition to popular websites like Monster© (http://www.monster.com) and CareerBuilder© (http://www.careerbuilder.com), job searchers should look at their local newspaper for more information on high salary careers.
Once these resources are exhausted, a high school graduate can head to CBSalary.com© (http://www.cbsalary.com) and the Occupational Outlook Handbook (http://www.bls.gov/OCO) for more information. CBSalary.com© allows users to compare high salary careers based on variables like geography, worker experience, and job titles. The Occupational Outlook Handbook is maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and offers information on salaries and education needs in more than 800 career fields. High school graduates can use these resources in tandem to find their ideal careers and begin applying for work.
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