In November my blog post was about pathways that led to a well-paying job that didn’t run through an expensive college or university. I’m going to expand on that.

Contrary to what a whole bunch of parents and students have been led to believe, a college degree is not necessary in order to get a good job. Let’s see if we can come to some kind of agreement on what constitutes a “good job.” Here’s the BLS data on how the pay breaks down for jobs in the US.

• $20 per hour or less=62%
• $20–30 per hour=21%
• $30–40 per hour=10%
• $40+ per hour=7%.

There isn’t an agreed on definition (as far as I know) of what constitutes a “breadwinner” job. From my perspective in the Midwest, I’m going to call it $30/hour or better—that’s a job in the top 17% of salaries.

Here’s a way you can get there without an expensive degree (or mega-student loans).

In 2016 Dr. Kevin Fleming wrote a book, “(RE)Defining the Goal: The True Path to Career Readiness in the 21st Century,” explaining where well-paying jobs could be found:

“The true ratio of jobs in our economy is 1:2:7. For every occupation that requires a master’s degree or more, two professional jobs require a university degree, and there are over a half a dozen jobs requiring a 1-year certificate or a 2-year degree, and each of these technicians is in very high-skilled areas in high demand.”

Where Dr. Fleming came up short was in failing to come up with a “snappy” label for these jobs. The term “New Collar” jobs has emerged.

New collar jobs are based on digital technology. There are four categories: health care, engineering, technology, and software.

To see a list of more than two hundred boot camps and apprenticeships that lead to “new collar” jobs, go to your public library and get Ryan Craig’s book, A New U. You don’t need a bachelor’s degree to be considered for acceptance in most of these programs.

IBM, my first employer out of college many years ago, has taken the lead in promoting the training and hiring of people with these skills. Between fifteen and twenty percent of their recent new hires have been new collar positions such as:

• Application Developer
• System Administrator
• Data Center Technician
• Software Engineer
• Project Manager
• Technical Support Representative
• Security Analyst

These jobs with IBM don’t require a bachelor’s degree. They may require a specific associate’s degree.

Here are the fifteen best paying “new collar” jobs available.

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/blog/the-best-paying-new-collar-jobs/

Going to college is risky today. It takes a lot of time and a ton of money.

If you need student loans, that adds to the risk.

The risk-reward ratio of the “new collar” jobs compared to college is much lower. Many of these jobs come with a tuition benefit, i.e. as an employee, you will be encouraged to continue your education.

Notes:

There is a Government Accounting Office study that shows twenty-two percent of recent college graduates are only making $12-$16 per hour. That’s because the market is saturated with graduates, many of whom are not all that sharp.

The BLS data for 2015 shows the median pay for a college grad is $21.50 per hour. (That study pegs the median student loan balance at $32,000.)