Ten Best Paid Jobs Without a Degree

In today’s competitive job market, finding a high-paying job is sometimes difficult, especially without a degree, but that doesn’t have to be the case. There are plenty of high-paying career choices that don’t require a degree. Many of those jobs, however, require experience.

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   Air Traffic Controller

   • An air traffic controller does not have to have a degree and can still earn a six figure salary at a little over $100,000. Air traffic controllers are in charge of the safety of all vehicles (planes and otherwise) coming and going from an airport to ensure there are no collisions on the ground or in the air. While this job doesn’t require a degree, the difficult nature does require extensive experience.

   Funeral Director

   • Although it’s not the most glamorous job, and might seem a little grim, a funeral director earns nearly $100,000 annually and the job doesn’t require a degree. Funeral directors are in charge of helping the family of the recently deceased arrange funeral services. A funeral director is also the overseer of embalming, burial and even cremation services.

   Operations Manager

   • An operations manager makes, on average, $70,000 annually. An operations manager position is found in many types of businesses. Basically, the person in this position is responsible for ensuring that business is running smoothing, i.e. workforce and resources are working as they should and there are no backups or issues in the schedule. Examples include efficient production at a factory, cost control and a variety of other areas of business.

   Industrial Production Manager

   • The position of industrial production manager is similar to that of an operations manager, but this position is only in businesses where products are being made. The industrial production manager oversees production of goods and will try to determine new, less expensive and more efficient ways to get these goods manufactured. This person will also ensure that production is running smoothly and that any problems are quickly resolved. The average salary is around $70,000.

   Transportation Manager

   • A transportation manager is also similar to both the industrial production manager and the operations manager, but works at companies that provide public transportation, such as train companies or bus tour companies, as well as companies that transport goods from one manufacturer to stores for selling. A transportation manager may also work for local governments to manage city bus or metro transportation. The transportation manager ensures everything is running on time and may determine more efficient routes for transportation.

   Distribution Manager

   • A distribution manager works with the manufacturing companies to ensure the goods that are produced are getting where they need to go smoothly, on time and the most cost-efficient way as possible. The person in this position is also the top manager when it comes to customer complaints regarding delivery failures. A distribution manager makes around $68,000 annually.

   Computer Technical Support Specialist

   • A computer technical support specialist can work independently as a freelance consultant or for a company providing technical support to employees. Either way, the person in this position is in charge of setting up computer programs and solving any computer-related issues that may arise in an office or home environment. This person can make anywhere from $60,000 to $70,000 and may earn even more freelancing. Usually, people in this position don’t need a degree because they are self-taught in computers and have gained much experience.

   Police Manager/Detective

   • The position of police manager or detective doesn’t require a degree, although it does usually require you to graduate the police academy, which is rigorous in its own right. These positions are filled with police officers as they move up in rank. A police officer serves and protects individuals and to maintain the safety of citizens within their jurisdiction. The police academy will train you for various situations you may encounter as a police officer.

   Gaming Manager

   • A gaming manager doesn’t need a degree, but may need to acquire a license to work in a casino. A gaming manager’s duties range from cleaning slot machines to training dealers. The basic duty, though, is to watch over a certain area of the casino to ensure that customers are enjoying themselves, which will keep them at a table and gambling, and that the dealers are acting appropriately. Most casino managers start out as dealers themselves.

   Nuclear Power Reactor Manager

   • A nuclear power reactor manager ensures that the nuclear power reactors, which are the main power generators in a nuclear power plant, are working properly and helps senior managers fix any issues that arise. After more experience on the job, the manager will be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which would allow them to work on the machines hands-on themselves. At least one senior manager will be on duty with the nuclear power reactor manager at all times.

 

World #Nuclear Electricity Generation Down 5 Percent Since 2006

World nuclear electricity-generating capacity has been essentially flat since 2007 and is likely to fall as plants retire faster than new ones are built. In fact, the actual electricity generated at nuclear power plants fell 5 percent between 2006 and 2011.

In 2011, following Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, 13 nuclear reactors in Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom were permanently taken offline. Seven new reactors, three of them in China, were connected to the grid. The net result was a two percent reduction in world nuclear capacity to 369,000 megawatts by the end of 2011. In 2012, the world has added a net 3,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity, with new additions in South Korea and Canada partly offset by more U.K. shutdowns.

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The United States, with 104 nuclear reactors generating some 19 percent of the country’s electricity, leads the world in nuclear generating capacity. France is a distant second in installed capacity, but its 58 reactors meet more than three quarters of the country’s electricity demand. (President François Hollande has pledged to reduce this dependence to 50 percent by 2025.)

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China, Russia, South Korea, and India account for 48 of the 64 nuclear reactors the International Atomic Energy Agency lists as under construction worldwide. Although these 64 reactors add up to some 62,000 megawatts of potential new capacity, fewer than one in four has a projected date for connecting to the electrical grid. Some reactors have been listed as “under construction” for over two decades.

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Plagued by cost overruns, construction delays, and a dearth of private investment interest, the world’s nuclear reactor fleet is aging quickly as new reactor connections struggle to keep up with retirements. The average age of nuclear reactors operating today is 27 years; the 142 reactors that have already retired were just 23 years old on average when they closed. Many nuclear reactors have been granted operating extensions, usually for 20 years, beyond their typical design lifetime of 40 years. But since Fukushima, where the four retired reactors averaged 37 years in operation, this option has become less attractive.

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In contrast to the decline in nuclear power, electricity generation from the wind and the sun has grown 27 percent and 62 percent, respectively, per year since 2006. Four German states now get close to half of their electricity from wind. By 2015, China plans to increase its current estimated 60,000 megawatts of grid-connected wind power capacity to 100,000 megawatts. More solar photovoltaic capacity was added in the European Union in 2011 than any other source of electricity generation. The list of exciting developments in renewable energy goes on. As this story unfolds, it is becoming increasingly clear that we can design an energy economy that is at once low-carbon and low-risk.

By J. Matthew Roney