Top 33 Jobs That Require Little or No Experience

Not all jobs require in depth expertise or years of postsecondary training (and its attendant pupil mortgage debt). Some entry-level jobs pay fairly properly, and lots of supply paid on-the-job coaching or apprenticeships too.

Using information compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), we surveyed tons of of high-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year faculty diploma to build this listing of the best-paid entry-level jobs for U.S. employees.

For essentially the most half, this listing favors positions with manageable on-the-job coaching necessities and faster-than-average growth potential. In different phrases, employers are creating these positions quicker than the general job growth rate.

No Formal Credentials Required

These jobs require no formal certificates, levels, or licenses. However, most require at the very least some on-the-job coaching or apprenticeship work.

1. Delivery Driver

Until I started freelance writing full-time, I’d by no means had extra enjoyable on the clock than I did driving supply for a neighborhood restaurant. With suggestions and base pay, I earned good money — upward of $20 per hour throughout peak periods — for a job that required no abilities or expertise other than the flexibility to drive.

I discovered later that bundle supply drivers — folks working for FedEx, UPS, and small courier corporations — typically do even higher. And current explosive growth in app-based restaurant and grocery supply, fueled by outfits like DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates, means incomes a superb residing as a full-time food supply driver is extra possible than ever.

Delivery driving is likely one of the hottest part-time jobs with advantages. Barriers to entry are low on this line of work: a highschool diploma or equal and some days of on-the-job coaching. And it’s an awesome gig to make ends meet in the course of the holidays when courier demand skyrockets.

2. Flight Attendant

Demand for flight attendants is anticipated to stay sturdy by means of the late 2020s, because of growing air visitors volumes — notably in quickly rising Asian markets — and ever-larger planes requiring larger crews.

Airlines typically prefer to see candidates with at the very least a year or two of customer support expertise, however they’re not choosy about the place you get this expertise. If you left your highschool restaurant server job on good phrases, you’ll most likely discover a domestic airline keen to coach you on the finer factors of cabin service.

Training for this job isn’t notably troublesome. Expect three to 6 weeks of on-the-job coaching, towards the top of which you’ll take an FAA-mandated examination on which continued employment is contingent. This is a good job for these seeking to quell their wanderlust, however the irregular hours, the bodily toll of lengthy periods of standing, and excessive customer support expectations problem some candidates.

3. Restaurant Server (Waiters and Waitresses)

Restaurant service is essentially the most plentiful gig on this listing. According to the BLS, greater than 2.6 million folks work as servers within the United States, with almost 100,000 set to hitch them by 2029. Although servers are more and more underneath risk from automation — witness the desk iPads proliferating throughout the restaurant business — full-service eating places will nonetheless want human wait workers for the foreseeable future.

Server compensation — of which suggestions comprise a considerable share — will increase as you ascend the menu-price ladder, together with employer expectations round service high quality and menu data. Fancy eating places typically require servers to finish menu programs and exams earlier than turning them unfastened on prospects.

Servers whose job duties embrace allotting alcoholic drinks could also be required to finish “responsible serving” programs, relying on native law and employer coverage.

Pro tip: Give your self a bonus over the competitors by finishing your Food Safety Manager coaching by means of 360Training.com. This course will provide you with the instruments wanted to take your career to the following degree.

4. Bartender

According to the BLS, the U.S. has a military of bartenders hiding in plain sight. In 2019, their ranks numbered above 650,000, and one other 40,000 positions are projected for the next decade. That’s slower than general projected job growth for that period, however excessive turnover favors new arrivals.

Other than legally mandated “responsible serving” programs, which differ by jurisdiction, bartender coaching may be fairly casual. Usually, skilled barkeepers or drink managers take new hires underneath their wing for a couple of weeks till they’re able to work on their very own. In fancier institutions, less-experienced bartenders might work as bar backs, fetching bottles and washing glasses till they’re presentable sufficient for prime-time service.

With suggestions, bartenders working full-time can usher in $60,000 or extra per year, with high-end and high-volume institutions providing the best alternative.

Pro tipJobGet makes it straightforward to use to a number of service business jobs — and loads of different entry-level jobs too — with out filling out lengthy, complicated purposes for every. No extra resumes or cover letters, both. Take a minute (actually) to create your profile and begin trying to find good-paying jobs in your space.

5. Flooring Installers

The BLS divides the surprisingly broad universe of flooring employees into a number of subcategories, together with “Flooring Installers and Tile and Marble Setters” (to which the above stats pertain) and “Carpet Installers.” No matter your specialty, this discipline presents first rate pay with little to no prior expertise required.

Entry-level flooring installers typically practice on the job underneath the tutelage of an skilled foreperson or crew chief. Depending on the specialty, it could possibly take months or years to be taught the ropes. Formal, paid apprenticeships are common, though their two- to four-year period isn’t supreme for employees uncertain about staying within the business long-term.

6. Oil and Gas Field Roustabout

Don’t let the humorous title idiot you. Roustabouts carry out a boring however important oil-and-gas-field operate: assembling and repairing mechanical and hydraulic gear. It’s not glamorous, and job growth is perennially on the mercy of risky energy markets, but it surely’s an awesome business to be in when extraction corporations are hiring.

If sustaining oil discipline gear doesn’t strike your fancy, don’t fear. Although the U.S. oil and gasoline business is price-sensitive, the fracking revolution has dramatically elevated the nation’s accessible reserves, creating loads of alternatives for gear operators, drivers, and different hydrocarbon-adjacent employees.

Many of those positions require not more than a highschool diploma and a willingness to work lengthy hours in distant places.

7. Hazmat Removal Worker

Hazmat elimination is an enormous area. The most common hazardous supplies are asbestos and lead, however just about any environmental contaminant deemed hazardous to biology counts. Some hazmat elimination jobs require not more than a highschool diploma and a willingness to put on heavy protecting gear, whereas others necessitate pre-hire coaching (notably, nuclear waste elimination) or OSHA-mandated security coursework (asbestos, lead, and different contaminants).

If your job entails transporting hazardous supplies, you’ll want extra coaching and certain a particular state-issued license along with a business driver’s license. Because working with these supplies improperly is hazardous to your health, this job favors detail-oriented employees able to following security protocols to the letter.

8. Plumber

Plumbers are almost as plentiful as bartenders. According to the BLS, there have been about 500,000 of them in 2019, with one other 20,000 anticipated to hitch the ranks by 2029. They’re higher compensated too, with annual pay for the highest 10% of plumbers nearing $100,000.

More demanding subspecialties typically pay greater than run-of-the-mill residential plumbing work, though many an entrepreneurial journeyman has constructed a thriving small business off home calls alone. This step-by-step guide from Jobber Academy is a good useful resource for formidable plumbers.

For aspiring plumbers and pipefitters, the largest barrier to entry is the apprenticeship, which usually runs 4 to 5 years. Apprentices earn roughly 50% of a full-fledged journeyman’s pay. If you search excessive pay proper out of highschool or technical college, that may not lower it for you.

9. Sales Representative

Sales is a various discipline with numerous coaching necessities. One fixed, nevertheless, is an absence of training and employment stipulations; when you’ve got a highschool diploma or GED, a personable method, and a willingness to study what your employer sells, you shouldn’t have hassle touchdown an entry-level gross sales position.

That mentioned, gross sales isn’t for everybody. Note the huge wage vary, a operate of the career’s still-standard commission-based compensation structure. If you’re a convincing salesperson, a constant six-figure annual haul isn’t exterior the realm of chance. If you lack that killer intuition, you then’re prone to wrestle.

10. Elevator Installer

Elevator installers and restore personnel carry out very important, if largely invisible, work and are compensated appropriately. The greatest hurdle for keen job-seekers is the four-year apprenticeship.

Although no formal postsecondary training is required to snag an apprenticeship, this system does require greater than 100 hours of unpaid classroom instruction along with at the very least 2,000 hours of on-the-job coaching. Still, the $80,000 median beginning wage is a candy reward.

Elevator installers and restore personnel work in robust, probably harmful environments. If you fail to spot the attraction of spending your working hours in crawl areas and cramped elevator shafts, take into account an earthbound commerce as a substitute.

11. Administrative Assistant (Office and Administrative Support Worker)

Even amid relentless automation of rote clerical duties, the executive assistant function retains its tenacious maintain on the white-collar workplace. That’s prone to change within the coming decade, with vital employment declines anticipated by means of 2029.

But that doesn’t essentially imply employers aren’t hiring administrative assistants. Rather, assistant roles are altering. In addition to conventional office-bound roles, the appearance of absolutely distant, all-digital roles creates extra alternatives for organized, self-motivated professionals with versatile schedules and innate hustle.

Virtual assistants carry out an array of administrative features from the consolation of their very own properties, some juggling dozens of shoppers on a number of continents.

Online proofreaders digest reams of content material higher than any automated program can, making certain their employers’ written communications are clear, legible, and compelling. Since you most likely haven’t any expertise with proofreading, you possibly can spend money on a course like Proofread Anywhere. This will permit you to be taught extra concerning the commerce and ensure it’s a superb match for you.

For most nonspecialized roles, a couple of weeks of casual on-the-job coaching is all that’s required to deliver new hires on top of things. Capable employees have ample alternatives for growth as properly, resembling rising to office supervisor after a couple of years or acquiring a paralegal certificates to tackle extra specialised duties.

12. Insurance Claims Adjuster

Claims adjusting is one in all a number of entry factors into the insurance coverage business. Even in the event you don’t dream of proudly owning your personal insurance coverage company someday, this can be a nice first career-track job to build monetary fluency and hone your customer support abilities.

Note that the BLS lumps a slew of associated insurance coverage business positions into one broad class: “Claims Adjusters, Appraisers, Examiners, and Investigators.” Collectively, this class is anticipated to see modest employment declines by means of the top of the 2020s, a side impact of relentless automation within the insurance coverage space. However, particular insurance coverage roles, together with claims adjusting, might fare higher.

13. Security Guard

This is likely one of the few jobs that just about anybody with a clear prison document and first rate bodily health can get. And there’s loads of alternative to go round. According to the BLS, greater than 1.1 million safety guards at present work within the U.S, and a few 33,000 new positions are anticipated to come back on-line by 2029.

Relatively low pay is a limiting issue for formidable candidates, however a couple of years’ expertise whereas pursuing a bachelor’s diploma units you up properly for extra glamorous law enforcement work.

14. Commercial Truck Driver

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost 2.1 million “heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers” traverse America’s highways and byways at the moment. More than 30,000 are set to hitch them by 2029, offered no main breakthroughs in car automation occur earlier than then.

Over the long term, it’s possible that the rise of autonomous automobiles will render business truck drivers out of date, however there’s nonetheless loads of time to snag this entry-level job.

Unless you’re blessed with a forgiving household, long-haul trucking might be a greater match whilst you’re unattached as a result of interstate routes sometimes preserve drivers on the highway for days at a time. All business truck drivers want business driver’s licenses. Those cleared to move hazardous supplies sometimes want extra state licenses as properly.

15. Landscaper (Grounds Maintenance Worker)

It’s not glamorous, however it’s in demand; in line with the BLS, greater than 1.3 million folks work as grounds upkeep employees within the U.S., with greater than 130,000 new positions projected by 2029.

In heat climates, work is plentiful year-round; in colder locales, things decelerate when the rising season ends. Many seasonal landscapers make ends meet within the winter with odd jobs, resembling shoveling sidewalks, plowing driveways, or working at ice rinks.

Entry-level landscaping jobs require no credentials and little or no onboarding; per week underneath the tutelage of a supervisor is adequate for many gigs. Grounds upkeep employees in additional specialised settings, resembling formal gardens and golf programs, might require extra coaching or credentials, which might normally be obtained — typically with the employer’s help — whereas working full-time. Positions with better accountability might demand in depth botanical data, notably when working with native landscapes.

16. Construction Laborer

This is one other unglamorous, in-demand job that’s supreme for individuals who get pleasure from working outside. Construction laborers will not be expert tradespeople, and entry-level employees are compensated accordingly. The work is commonly project-based as properly, that means frequent job website switches are the norm.

But there’s loads of alternative for development. Many laborers go on to work as apprentices in expert trades like carpentry and plumbing, whereas others rise to foreperson or website supervisor roles after years of laborious work.

17. Cement and Concrete Mason (Masonry Workers)

This semi-skilled line of building and restoration work requires little greater than a highschool diploma and one eye on element. However, most employers choose (and will pay for) masons to finish coursework in related specialties, resembling historic masonry, sustainable masonry, tile, and grout. Specialization is vital for incomes potential and career development. For instance, in older cities like Philadelphia and Chicago, historic mason work is in excessive demand.

Even as union membership declines in different traces of work, masonry stays closely unionized, notably in historic union strongholds throughout the northern U.S. Union membership isn’t a panacea, in fact, however union jobs are usually higher-paying and safer than non-union positions.

Bear in thoughts that masonry work is extra bodily taxing than another building specialties and that general employment within the discipline is closely depending on the fortunes of the broader building business.

18. Roofer

Even on a listing of jobs with low obstacles to entry, roofing stands out as notably straightforward to get into. Roofing contractors aren’t choosy about new hires’ instructional backgrounds. Many don’t even require highschool levels. A willingness to be taught on the job, a tolerance for heights, and the flexibility to endure excessive warmth and chilly are all that’s crucial for a profitable roofing career.

Just keep in mind that roofing work is extremely seasonal in colder climes.

19. Ridesharing Driver (Taxi Driver and Chauffeur)

If your automobile is in good situation, your driving document is clear, and also you don’t thoughts making small discuss with strangers, you can begin driving for a ridesharing app like Uber or Lyft very quickly. You’ll be in good company. According to the BLS, greater than 300,000 ridesharing drivers, taxi drivers, and chauffeurs ply America’s streets, and growth is anticipated to stay in step with general workforce enlargement regardless of the looming risk of autonomous automobiles.

The key attraction of driving for a ridesharing app is flexibility. You can drive as a lot or as little as you want, making this maybe the excellent side gig for people with out specialised abilities.

Downsides embrace inconvenient peak hours, resembling early weekday mornings and the wee hours on weekends, and driving-related complications like visitors and inclement climate.

20. Pest Control Worker

Are you claustrophobic? If so, then pest management most likely isn’t for you. Pest management technicians work in shoppers’ basements, crawl areas, closets, outbuildings, and even HVAC ducts.

If you don’t thoughts confined areas, pest management is a probably rewarding line of work that’s straightforward to be taught on the job. Depending in your employer’s specialty — termites, rodents, garden pests, and so forth — you’ll obtain applicable on-the-job coaching inside a couple of months. You can acquire any required state or native pest management licenses whilst you work.

Besides the entire claustrophobia factor, the largest draw back of pest management work is working with hazardous chemical substances. If the considered allotting poison in folks’s properties and companies makes you uncomfortable, this may not be the gig for you.

Also, it’s common for pest management corporations to maintain employees or groups on name 24/7 to deal with emergencies, so this isn’t one of the best line of work for individuals who choose to not work evenings and weekends.

21. Tree Trimmer

The BLS lumps tree trimming underneath the “grounds maintenance worker” class. However, tree trimming deserves its personal class on account of the hazard pay afforded employees who spend their days dozens of ft above the bottom. Pursue a horticulture or panorama structure diploma after work, and also you’ll discover loads of alternative to maneuver up on this discipline.

22. Veterinary Assistant

If you’re keen on working with animals, it’s laborious to think about a greater job. Sure, the pay isn’t nice, and the work atmosphere may be gross at occasions, however the clientele is cute.

Putting in your dues as a vet’s assistant could possibly be simply what that you must distinguish your veterinary college application too. And with healthy growth anticipated within the years forward, you’re prone to discover loads of open positions.

23. Dental and Ophthalmic Lab Technician

The BLS lumps “dental and ophthalmic lab technicians” in with “medical appliance technicians” to kind a various medical area of interest anticipated to help almost 100,000 jobs by 2029. Lengthy on-the-job coaching modules compensate for lax training and expertise stipulations, however the data that the home equipment and gadgets you’re creating will measurably enhance sufferers’ high quality of life might properly compensate for the dreary lab atmosphere.

Some Certification Expected

These jobs might anticipate or require formal certification or postsecondary coursework, however typically don’t require postsecondary levels. Some require state or native licensure as properly. Most require at the very least some on-the-job or pre-job coaching.

24. Real Estate Agent and Broker

Real property gross sales is likely one of the few remaining industries that provides true six-figure incomes potential for an entry-level employee with nothing greater than a highschool diploma and a state dealer’s license. It’s under no circumstances stunning, then, that actual property is an extremely standard career selection. A career survey from Aceable Agent discovered that 18% of all employees would take into account working in actual property and 85% of actual property brokers had been glad of their careers.

But there’s a catch. Successful actual property brokers and brokers should be extraordinarily good at promoting. If the considered “always being on” offers you chills, this isn’t the career for you.

Real property career paths differ, however the basic development goes one thing like this:

You’ll have to renew your dealer’s license each two to 4 years, relying on state coverage.

Real property gross sales can also be a probably profitable side gig. I knew a couple of landlords whose dealer licenses permit them to signify themselves with confidence when shopping for new income properties. They dealer a handful of third-party transactions every year to maintain their abilities sharp and pad their incomes.

Pro tip: If you’re interested by getting your actual property license, get your self prepared to your states licensing examination with an examination prep course from 360Training.

25. Solar Photovoltaic Installer

If you’re a fan of the energy business however choose that your labor doesn’t contribute to local weather change, that is the job for you. And the outlook is nothing wanting implausible. Between 2019 and 2029, whole photo voltaic photovoltaic installer employment is projected to extend by greater than 50%. Contrary to standard perception, solar energy is viable in just about the entire continental United States, even damp, cloudy locations like Seattle and Boston.

All photo voltaic employers are keen to coach new hires on the job. However, some choose even first-time candidates to current some formal credentials, resembling a photo voltaic installer or electrical security certificates from a group faculty. These are typically fast (six months at most) and low-cost to acquire.

26. Survey Technician (Surveying and Mapping Technicians)

If you get pleasure from working outside, this could possibly be the job for you. Surveyors measure and map land for shoppers resembling municipalities, private builders, extraction corporations, and environmental teams.

Beyond a strong grasp of arithmetic — notably, geometry and trigonometry — and robust spatial reasoning abilities, entry-level positions require little greater than a willingness to discover ways to use surveying gear and mapping techniques.

That mentioned, the surveying and mapping commerce grows extra formalized by the year, so chances are you’ll be anticipated to acquire state-specific licenses or certificates and meet persevering with training necessities.

Some Postsecondary Education Expected

In addition to, or rather than, formal certification or licensure, these jobs might anticipate or require one postsecondary credential, resembling an associate’s (two-year) diploma.

27. Wind Turbine Technician

America’s booming wind energy business wants technicians to service the wind farms sprouting throughout the heartland — a number of them. The BLS initiatives wind turbine technician employment will improve by greater than 50% by means of the top of the 2020s, though from an admittedly low base.

You’ll have to price range two to 3 years for pre-hire certification — out there at many group faculties and on-line universities — and on-the-job coaching, however the payoff is worth it; median pay begins north of $50,000 per year.

Servicing wind generators isn’t all enjoyable and video games. Once put in, generators reside atop 20- to 40-story towers. Much of your on-the-job coaching will cover all of the precautions essential to work safely at that top, in addition to all the pieces that may go fallacious up there.

28. Police Officer

It’s more and more uncommon for law enforcement companies to hire rookies straight out of highschool, however prolonged employment data aren’t required both. Police work is a youngster’s sport. It’s bodily and emotionally demanding, to not point out harmful, however the upshot is early retirement. Many officers flip of their badges, with a full pension, at age 50. That leaves loads of time for a second career.

If you’re critical about changing into a police officer or detective, slender down your listing of potential employers and get the small print on their employment necessities. Some might require two- or four-year prison justice levels, as an illustration.

29. Public Relations Associate

Many public relations associates are refugee journalists searching for a extra profitable, secure line of work, however a lot go into the sector straight out of school. Unlike many of the roles on this listing, a bachelor’s diploma is all however required for entry-level public relations work.

Strong written and verbal communication abilities are important as properly. For these working in client-facing capacities, thick skin and impeccable customer support abilities turn out to be useful.

30. Health Information Technicians (Medical Records Technicians)

Health data technicians handle and arrange paper and digital health data for hospital programs, private clinics, and health insurance coverage corporations. Most employers require at the very least one year of postsecondary training, and a few require an associate’s diploma. State licensing is mostly required as properly.

Ambitious health data technicians can enhance their incomes energy by pursuing subspecialties. For occasion, most cancers registrars gather and handle the huge reams of information crucial to trace and deal with most cancers sufferers’ illness.

31. Tax Preparer

You don’t want an accounting diploma to turn into an income tax preparer. All you want is an eye fixed for element, current or acquired familiarity with tax prep software, and a willingness to work laborious for 2 to 3 months out of the year.

National tax prep behemoths like H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt hire 1000’s of seasonal tax preparers every winter and retain one of the best of one of the best all through the year for assist with complicated business returns and audit responses.

The apparent disadvantage of working as a tax preparer is the job’s sporadic nature. You’ll wish to have one other dependable supply of income to tide you over in the course of the second, third, and fourth quarters.

32. Medical Assistant

For formidable entry-level employees, the quickly rising discipline of medical helping is a implausible toehold within the medical business. Starting pay is first rate, on-the-job coaching necessities are manageable, and projected demand is off the charts. The BLS expects almost 20% growth by means of the top of the 2020s.

Many medical assistants go on to acquire nursing levels — which might simply double or triple their incomes energy — or even turn into physicians.

33. Fitness Instructor

Fitness instructors work in quite a lot of energetic settings, resembling yoga studios, spin studios, and college gymnasiums. The surest path to increased earnings is personal coaching, or delivering one-on-one health instruction to private shoppers keen to pay $50 or extra per hour for the privilege.

Employers choose trainers licensed by means of private business organizations just like the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. If you’re specializing in a specific kind of observe, resembling yoga or Pilates, you’ll want to finish extra coaching or certification earlier than or in the course of the onboarding course of.

Final Word

Past work expertise necessities have little bearing on the requirements to which employers maintain new hires. If you’re lucky sufficient to land one of many positions on this listing, don’t assume you possibly can slouch your solution to a promotion or method your duties with something lower than the utmost seriousness.

Some of those jobs, resembling oil-and-gas employee and wind energy technician, are downright harmful. Those that aren’t fairly as dangerous, resembling bartender and public relations associate, are sometimes tense or unpredictable.

No matter which job you select, know what’s anticipated from you in your first day on the job. That’s the surest solution to set the tone for the rest of your employment, whether or not it lasts six months or 60 years.

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