16 Jobs for College Dropouts (With Salaries)

Picking a career after dropping out of college can seem like an impossible task. You’ll likely feel like every job on the market requires one. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. These days, there are multiple ways to get a job. Dropping out of college doesn’t necessarily mean giving up on education. After all, jobs will require training and learning as new tools come on the market. If you’re interested in getting training but not dragging it out for four years, you can do a boot camp or an apprenticeship. If you’re looking for a job for a college dropout without any training at all, you can find those on this list, too. In this post, we’ll share 16 jobs for college dropouts.

Jobs for College Dropouts (Bootcamps)

1. Web Developer

There are various web developer roles you can work in as a college dropout. You can be a front-end developer, a back-end developer, or a full-stack developer. A front-end developer builds the user-facing parts of a product, web app, or website. The back-end developer works on server-side logic, APIs, and databases. A full-stack developer is a person who can do both. For maximum career opportunities, being a full-stack developer is in your best interest. In your job, you’ll write code, do code reviews, fix bugs, improve site speed, troubleshoot errors, and more. Most web developer bootcamps can be completed in three months of full-time training at a web developer bootcamp for a fraction of the cost of a degree. If you’re currently employed full-time, you can also do a six-month part-time bootcamp at many institutions.

Average salary: $98,000

2. Data Analyst

Another popular job for college dropouts is a data analyst. As a data analyst, you’ll pull data from various databases, conduct surveys, and more. After the collection of data, you’ll clean the data to remove duplicates and correct any errors. You’ll use tools like SQL, Excel, Python, or R to run queries and calculations. You’ll look for trends in the data to present to the team making the request. You might build dashboards in tools like Tableau, Power BI, Looker, and Google Data Studio. You’ll take the numbers from your data and create simple charts and graphs. You might be involved in creating reports or presentations for senior leaders. You can bootcamps that offer data analyst certificates after only eight weeks of once a week classes.

Average salary: $85,000

3. UX/UI Designer

College dropouts can also get a job in UX/UI design. As a UX (User Experience) designer, you’ll be involved in researching customers, creating personas of your ideal customers, organizing the website so it’s intuitive, creating user flows, building prototypes to test website and product usability, user testing, and making tweaks with more feedback. If you work as a UI (User Interface) designer, you’ll design interfaces like layouts, buttons, menus, and so on. You’ll be responsible for creating the style guide and following it to align with the company’s branding. You’ll be creating mockups of designs that you’ll give to developers who will code the design in your image. You’ll add animations, personalization, or effects to create delight. You’ll also be working to ensure your website is accessible in terms of font sizes, color contrast, and other elements so that people with disabilities can still navigate your website. You can find bootcamps that have classes three times a week for four months, allowing you to complete the program on a part-time basis.

Average salary: $120,000

4. Cybersecurity Analyst

An interesting job for college dropouts is cybersecurity analyst. In this job, you’ll be doing investigations of threats, such as breaches or malware infections. You’ll educate employees on the best cybersecurity practices. You’ll track network traffic, security tools, and suspicious activity. You’ll run scans to identify vulnerabilities. You’ll be the leading expert at the company in the latest cyber threats, security tech, and attack methods. Cybersecurity analysts are also involved in documenting incidents and ensuring companies following laws and industry standards regarding security and data. You can complete a bootcamp in six months of part-time training to work in this role.

Average salary: $90,000

5. Digital Marketing Specialist

If you’re a college dropout on the hunt for a good job that’s pretty fun to do consider a role in digital marketing. You can do various types of marketing work from search engine optimization to social media management. You can choose to specialize in a field of marketing or stay more general. In SEO, you’ll optimize websites so sites can rank high in search engines. In paid advertising, you’ll run ads on Google, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and more to help companies earn more revenue. In content marketing, you’ll create and distribute blog posts, videos, and other forms of content to help attract new customers organically. In social media, you’ll build a brand presence on social media aiming to gain new followers, customers, and build a sense of community within your space. In email marketing, you’ll write and segment email newsletters with content meant to provide value to customers, retain them, re-engage them, or help them upgrade to a higher plan. It takes six months of part-time training to finish a digital marketing bootcamp.

Average salary: $73,000

Jobs for College Dropouts (Apprenticeship)

1. Electrician

A college dropout can get a job as an electrician. You’ll be involved in the installation of electrical in buildings and homes, such as setting up wiring, outlets, or lights. Electricians also inspect electrical systems to ensure safety and compliance with codes. They’re also involved in repairs like when power outages occur or there’s malfunctioning equipment. Safety is a huge part of the job, and you’ll need to follow electrical codes and building regulations. You’ll also need to use specialized protective equipment to prevent shocks, burns, or work-related accidents.

Average salary: $62,000

2. Plumber

A plumber is a popular choice for a job for college dropouts. In this job, you’ll install pipes, fixtures, and appliances like toilets, dishwashers, water heaters, and more. You might be the person installing gas lines for stoves, furnaces, and boilers. Plumbers are usually setting up plumbing systems in the construction of new condos and houses. You’ll also be involved in the maintenance and repair of pipes, valves, fixtures, and more. Many plumbers visit homes to fix leaks, clogs, pipes, and more.

Average salary: $65,000

3. HVAC Technician

One of the best jobs for college dropouts is HVAC technician. In this role, you’ll be involved in the installation of heating systems. You might install air conditioning units, new ducts, and ventilation systems. You’ll likely clean and replace filters, test refrigerant levels, and monitor and test airflow. You’ll repair faulty thermostats, leaks, mechanical issues, and more. When heat waves or cold waves happen you’ll likely handle emergency service calls.

Average salary: $60,000

4. Automotive Technician

You can also land a job as an automotive technician if you’re a college dropout. You’ll be involved in diagnosing issues in engines, transmissions, brakes, and electronics. You might need to test drive vehicles to determine issues. Automotive technicians also do tasks like oil changes, tire rotations, brake pad replacements. When a vehicle is in your shop, you’ll inspect it for safety and more. You might also do car repairs like fixing or replacing engines, and more.

Average salary: $65,000

5. Carpenter

College dropouts can also land jobs as carpenters. In this job, you’ll be involved in the construction of homes and buildings. You might install doors, windows, cabinets, and more. You might build frameworks like walls or roofs. You might lay flooring. Carpenters can also repair wood structures, restore flooring, and more. In this role, you’ll learn how to read blueprints, use hand tools, operate machinery, and more.

Average salary: $60,000

Jobs for College Dropouts (No Degree Needed)

1. Sales Representative

If you’re looking for a job where no degree is needed you can secure a role as a sales representative. In this line of work, you’ll be researching potential customers that you can reach out to via cold calls, emails, or social media direct messages. As you communicate with them, you’ll explain the features and benefits of your product. You might have to do a demo or a presentation depending on the product you’re selling to them. You’ll communicate with them regularly answering any questions, responding to their objections, and try to get them to stay on as customers after they’ve onboarded. You might be involved in discussing terms, providing discounts, and closing deals.

Average salary: $76,000

2. Entrepreneur/Small Business Owner

One of the best jobs you can get as a college dropout is entrepreneur. This is not the kind of role you can apply for, it’s the kind of job you create for yourself. There are so many ways to build a business or a brand. You can choose to build a business with a motivating mission or work on a passion project. Whatever you feel a pull towards, you can create a business with that idea. You’ll need to get proof of concept to prove you have a viable idea so finding someone to pay for your service or product before it’s fully fleshed out. You can own a restaurant, retail store, offer services to businesses, create a software product that you sell to customers, and so much more.

Average salary: $105,000

3. Truck Driver

An easy job for college students to get is truck driver. You’ll need a specialized driver’s license to operate a truck. You’ll spend a lot of time on the road driving either cross-country or doing local routes to transport goods. You’ll both load and unload cargo. Truck drivers have timelines that they need to deliver shipments on as some warehouses are only open and available for set hours. You’ll need to inspect your vehicle before your trip and after to ensure it’s safe to operate. You’ll also need to follow traffic laws and have a good driving record to keep your job. Documentation is also part of the job as you’ll be required to log your hours and more.

Average salary: $57,000

4. Graphic Designer

College dropouts can get jobs as graphic designers. The cool thing about this job is that you can either find a job at a company or create your own job as a freelance graphic designer. You’ll create graphics, illustrations, layouts for websites, ads, logos, product packaging, marketing, and more. You’ll work with clients or marketers to create a design that matches the brand’s style guide. You’ll create both print and web files, work with printers, and more. You’ll likely use tools like Adobe’s suite of products, Figma, or Canva.

Average salary: $61,000

5. Content Creator

A content creator is another job college students can work in either as a freelancer, self-employed individual, or as an employee. In your role, you’ll write articles, social media posts, video scripts. You might record and edit videos for social media. You might produce podcasts. You’ll grow an audience either on a website or on social media and engage with them. You’ll create a community around your brand. Content creators also measure their success by tracking analytics and making tweaks to future content to help them continue their growth.

Average salary: $60,000

6. Virtual Assistant

One of the easiest jobs for college dropouts is virtual assistant. You’ll help clients manage their emails and calendars. You’ll schedule meetings, book appointments, and set up travel arrangements. Virtual assistants also help with data entry work, document creation, processing orders, following up with invoices, managing social media, completing marketing tasks, updating websites, bookkeeping, and more.

Average salary: $53,000

Conclusion

There are countless jobs for college dropouts that don’t require a degree. You can still choose to educate yourself via a bootcamp or an apprenticeship which is shorter in length and cheaper in cost. Either way, your career isn’t at a standstill. There is a path forward that’ll allow you to land a dream job with a great salary. If you’re actively on the hunt for a job, you can build your resume and have it reviewed by Huntr, sign up for Huntr today.