The starting salary for a job that requires a bachelor’s degree starts at around $45,000 and goes up to $55,000 in just ten years. However, specific blue-collar jobs that require two years of trade school or less have wages that start at $50,000-$60,000.
Construction
Anyone fit enough can get a job as a laborer in a construction site. However, if you want a real career in construction, you need to learn a specific set of skills. Whether it’s masonry, plumbing, or some other construction-related field, skilled work can get you a starting salary of $30 per hour or more. The construction industry was reinvigorated by Trump’s tax plan, creating 100,000 new jobs every month for the past two years. Construction firms and staffing companies are constantly vying for new workers, pushing wages higher and higher. Learning a trade can take up to two years, but you can earn $60,000 or more in one year of work.
Manufacturing
America’s booming economy and unfettered access to online shopping have made the demand for goods skyrocket. The lower corporate tax rates have enabled manufacturing companies to meet this demand as well as expand their operations. Skilled manufacturing jobs will typically provide wages of more than $35 per hour — more if the task is particularly tricky or requires special skills. Working in manufacturing can also get you some of the best health benefits available as companies strive to keep their workers healthy. Manufacturing is the backbone of the American economy and with a President that has promised — and delivered — to bring back jobs to the USA, expect more and more manufacturing jobs to open up.
Trucking
A bigger demand in manufacturing leads to a bigger need in the transportation sector. There has never been a bigger demand in the trucking industry, and there has never been a more significant shortage of workers. Truckers are getting old, with the whole workforce averaging at 55 years of age. Industry experts fear a bigger deficit might be coming as older drivers reach retirement age, predicting a need for 200,000 new drivers by 2022. Trucking companies are desperate for new drivers. Most companies will gladly pay for your commercial driver’s license (CDL) training. Some might even provide an allowance during your months of training. Starting salaries can go up to $50,000 on your first year and rise to $60,000 in just five years.
Skilled Work Pays
The myth that administrative work is the only way to get ahead in life is false. While most white-collar jobs that require actual degrees might pay more at the onset ($47,000 average for the first five years compared to skilled work at $40,000 for the first five years). The pay gap significantly drops after 10 years ($55,000 for white-collar workers compared to $54,000 for skilled blue-collar workers).
You don’t need to have a degree or work in an office to earn $30 per hour. The right skills in the right industries can have you making big bucks with as little as two years of training.
