It's easier than ever to earn $100K without a four-year degree. Just ask an elevator repairman.

By Charles Passy

A new study spotlights a number of jobs where workers can make $100,000-plus without having college credentials. Here are a few to consider.

According to a LendingTree study, elevator installers and repairers are among those making six figures without a college degree.

So much for going to college and getting that high-paying job after you graduate. If you want to guarantee yourself a six-figure salary, you might be better off considering a career as an elevator repair technician.

That's one of the findings from a new LendingTree (TREE) study that looks at which occupations are most likely to provide a $100,000 salary without requiring a bachelor's degree.

A wide mix of jobs in both the white-and blue-collar worlds fit the bill. Topping the list are chief executives and legislators (grouped together in the LendingTree study): Nearly 64% of people in those occupations lack college credentials but still hit the six-figure earnings mark.

Other jobs that are high on the list: architectural and engineering managers (60.9% of those in that field earn $100,000 or more without a bachelor's degree), software developers (56.5%), power-plant operators (52.4%) and, yes, elevator installers and repairers (51.9%).

'A college degree is often a vital step toward significantly higher future earnings, but ... it isn't always necessary.' LendingTree chief consumer financial analyst Matt Schulz

Such a study has particular relevance given the rising cost of a college education, experts say. At private institutions, the average price for tuition and fees is $35,248 per year, according to one report, which works out to more than $140,000 over a four-year span. That's about double the cost 20 years ago.

And at some elite colleges, the price can be significantly higher: For the upcoming academic year, Harvard is charging nearly $60,000 for tuition alone.

As LendingTree chief consumer financial analyst Matt Schulz suggests, it's worth doing some math before committing to a campus life.

"A college degree is often a vital step toward significantly higher future earnings, but as this report clearly shows, it isn't always necessary," Schulz said.

It might seem surprising that the report cites a number of white-collar fields where a degree isn't required to earn six figures. But Derek Miller, LendingTree's industry research manager, said it's often about getting your foot in the door - bachelor's or no bachelor's - and then working your way up "that lucrative career path."

When it comes to chief executives in the $100,000-plus category without a college degree, they might be people who started their own companies, Miller noted.

At the same time, there are many blue-collar occupations with significant earnings potential where a college degree isn't required. That doesn't come as a surprise to Jerome Grant, chief executive of Universal Technical Institute Inc. (UTI), a company that provides training across a number of fields, from automotive mechanics to dental hygiene (the latter is offered through a separate division).

Grant says graduates of his programs can start out earning $45,000 or more and can reach the six-figure mark within a relatively short time. Moreover, he says the jobs are out there, noting that his programs have an 85% placement rate.

It's 'easier than ever to secure a six-figure salary without a degree.'Career coach Kyle Elliott

So why don't more young people choose these paths? Like others, Grant says technical training and careers often take a back seat in people's minds. Instead, going to college has become the accepted norm, even if college grads may not always find high-paying work readily available.

The problem, Grant said, boils down to this: "Parents don't want to tell someone at a cocktail party that their kid fixes trucks."

Of course, technical training comes with its own price tag: Universal Technical's programs can run up to $35,000 a year, Grant said, though he noted that government grants are available to many students to help pay for their education.

Another option is to become an apprentice in a technical field - in effect, you're earning while you're learning.

Paul Iaccarino, director of the Building Trades Educational Benefit Fund, which oversees the apprentice program for a local electricians union in the New York metropolitan area, said apprentices typically earn $20 an hour at the outset. But in a few years when they become fully qualified, they can make almost three times that much, thus crossing the six-figure threshold.

Iaccarino said many young people are pushed to go to college without fully understanding the costs of that education or knowing what noncollege options are available to them. "They don't even know what the trades are," he said.

But some suggest the situation is changing - or, at the very least, there's greater awareness that a college degree may not be necessary to get ahead. It also helps that some companies are relaxing requirements for college credentials, even in select white-collar fields.

Kyle Elliott, a career coach, says the key for job seekers without a bachelor's degree is to target those companies. But either way, he said, it's "easier than ever to secure a six-figure salary without a degree."

-Charles Passy

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09-02-25 0823ET