The Top Paying Jobs For High School Graduates

I recently caught up with a former coworker over coffee. She was driving a rental car while her SUV was in the shop. She told me about the rental company driver who picked her up to get her car. They chatted as he drove, and she asked him how he liked his job. He told her that he loved it--being outside every day, going different places, and no stress. His former occupation--engineer at a major Silicon Valley tech company. He told her the stress was insane and he considered himself lucky to leave that job in the rear view mirror.

Whether you find yourself in the wrong occupation or simply didn’t have the opportunity to attend college, there are career options available that provide a comfortable wage.

An analysis released by Career Builder and Economic Modeling Specialists came up with a list of the highest paying jobs for high school graduates, all paying more than $20 an hour on average.

The best paying job is transportation, which includes over-the-road (OTR) trucker, parcel service drivers and, yes, rental company drivers. In 2014 more than 100,000 Americans worked in transportation, with an average wage of just under $40 an hour.

Second on the list is supervisor of non-retail sales representatives. The average wage is just under $35 an hour. There are more opportunities in this career--with more than 250,000 jobs in 2014.

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Third on the list is gaming managers, at about $32 an hour. This is a small group--just over 5,000 Americans named this as their occupation in 2014. But with the number of casinos in California growing, so are opportunities in this field.

Below you’ll find the complete Top 10 List of High Paying Jobs for High School Graduates:

1. transportation

2. Supervisor of non-retail sales reps

3. Gaming Managers

4. real estate broker

5. supervisor construction trade

6. supervisor of mechanics 

7. legal support workers

8. postal service mail carriers

9. transit and railroad police

10. property manager

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