In 2016, India had the most graduates worldwide with 78.0 million. China followed close behind with 77.7 million, and the U.S. was in third place with 67.4 million graduates. In a world that has so many graduates, one might wonder about the future of the section of youngsters who do not wish to (or cannot afford to) opt for a university degree.
But then, once upon a time, a university graduate was guaranteed a high paying job and a secure financial future. But that may not be the case anymore. It’s becoming increasingly clear to many that in this day and age, having a four-year University degree doesn’t always define success. In addition, a growing section of youngsters are not willing to take up a debilitating student loan that could take them a lifetime to pay off. So what happens if you are an ambitious youngster, keen on working smart and hard, but don’t really want to go for a higher education?
Well, thankfully, there is no reason to fret. While there will always be certain professions that still require a college education, a fast growing digital world offers up plenty of options to those gifted with practical skills, aptitude, and attitude, irrespective of whether they have that degree or not. Today we’re going to go over five of the several different options that we think you may want to consider if you’re so inclined.
5. Insurance Agent
A successful insurance agent should have strong sales, marketing, and customer service skills in order to locate and attract potential customers. They can opt to sell one of many different types of insurance - life, health, automobile, and liability insurance. This is a niche practice and calls for job-specific training. Most countries have their own licensing qualification program that you will have to take if you want to be an insurance agent.
Selling insurance is challenging, but it’s a rewarding profession that doesn’t need you to spend big bucks and many years in a classroom to land a job.
4. Cosmetology and Esthetics
According to BeautySchools.edu, the number of professional salon employees, 1.7 million, greatly outnumbers the number of lawyers in the United States itself. The job outlook for cosmetologists is favorable. This, in fact, could be one of the few recession-proof careers.
Similar to becoming an insurance agent, becoming a makeup artist, beautician, esthetician, or hair stylist doesn’t require a university or college degree, but there are beauty schools you can attend to learn and practice the arts involved. Here are a few other professions that fall into this category:
- Barber
- Spa therapist
- Nail artist
- Laser technician etc.
3. Executive Assistant
Executive assistants are responsible for providing administrative support in corporate settings. Instead of needing a university or college degree to land a job in this field, you need excellent organizational skills. As an EA, you could be responsible for anything from clerical work to data entry to training staff to market research, so your skills will always be tested.
Other soft skills that you have to have are verbal and written communication abilities, and interpersonal and people management ability. They should also be versatile enough to handle tasks ranging from the mundane to the more complex on a daily basis.
2. Air Traffic Controller
Air traffic controllers are personnel responsible for the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system. The position of air traffic controller is one that requires highly specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities but when you want to know about top paying careers that don’t require a college degree, then air traffic controller is definitely right up at the top.
The job isn't easy to get, and it does require an aptitude test and extensive training, but the
high salaries and a very large, unique, and privileged degree of autonomy are some of the major advantages of these jobs. The length of this phase of training that you’ll have to undergo varies from a few months to a couple of years, depending on the complexity of the sector and the country you work in. Many countries have Air Traffic Control schools, academies or colleges that provide necessary training, but the On the Job Training (OJT) aspect is equally crucial.
1. Digital Marketer
Look around you. What do you see? The world going increasingly global? Exactly. More and more people are making purchase decisions based on their online searches. Brands are being raised up (or affected badly) by their online reputation on social media. And if someone cannot access a brand’s website on their mobile, that brand may as well not exist. The point I am trying to make here is that digital marketing is big now, and so is the demand for marketers who can leverage the potential of an internet to grow businesses.
A career in digital marketing does not require a college or university degree, especially if you choose to become an independent Digital Marketing Consultant. At WSI, the world’s largest network of Digital Marketing Consultants in the world, we assess your aptitude and your skills.
The added advantage to being a WSI Digital Marketing Consultant is that you work for yourself, and have the flexibility and advantage of being your own boss.
These are five of the top careers that don’t require a post-secondary education, but the list is by no means extensive. But if any of these options sound interesting to you, it’s worth taking a look at what other requirements you might have to meet to pursue a career in the field. And if the idea of running your own digital marketing franchise sounds interesting, then why not pop over and take WSI’s career skills assessment to see if you'd be a good fit as a franchise owner.
We provide all the training and experience necessary to get you on your feet, and the low-investment nature of the franchise makes WSI an ideal opportunity for people who are looking for low-risk business ventures, especially ones that don’t require a university degree.
