The best-paid jobs without a degree

Discover top-paying careers without a university degree. Explore lucrative roles like IT specialist, tax advisor, pilot, air traffic controller, and more, proving high salaries are achievable without a traditional academic path.

The highest-paid professions without a university degree

As the end of school approaches and graduation is just around the corner, students are slowly faced with the decision of whether to go to university or pursue vocational training. Many believe that only a university degree can open the door to the highest-paid professions. This is probably why there have been more and more university students and fewer and fewer apprentices in recent years. But this is a clear misconception. Of course, there are also vocational training professions that are particularly well paid – this depends on the industry and the position. In some cases, there isn't even a relevant difference between academic and non-academic professions. So, in this article, we will look at what these professions are.

IT specialists are in demand everywhere – in large software companies as well as in smaller IT departments of various companies. The activities, of course, differ from industry to industry and company to company. Typically, these include, for example, system administration and database development.

The starting salary for IT specialists is usually already 2,500 euros and can quickly increase, especially if one moves into a management position.

It is well known that tax consultants earn particularly well and receive up to 70,000 euros per year. To become a tax consultant, you don't necessarily have to go to university. If you have completed commercial training and gained several years of professional experience, you can take the tax consultant exam even without a university degree.

With further training, for example as a tax specialist, access to this profession is even easier. In principle, completed further training almost always represents an advantage, as does the further training as a business administrator.

3) Executive Assistant

Among other things, secretaries who aspire to a higher position in the company often complete further training as a business administrator. An executive assistant, for example, often receives a starting salary of 3,000 euros gross per month, which many people would not expect. However, depending on the industry and company, this is quite possible. Secretaries are by no means underpaid employees who only perform simple and small tasks.