November 20, 2019 Courses Education

Top high paying-jobs without a degree in 2019

Failed to finish your college degree and feeling uncertain about your professional path? Don’t worry! The truth is you don’t necessarily earn an excellent 4-year college degree to have a sound career choice. The Australian market is now full of high-paying jobs without a degree required. Instead, you only need a certificate and suitable training to hit the ground running. In this article, we have enlisted top 5 promising, degree-free professions to consider in 2019.

Real Estate Agents

It has been predicted that Australia needs 97,800 real estate and property service workers by 2022. Needless to say, the job prospect is significant and future agents can expect a lucrative income. All you need are a Certificate of Registration (what you need legally to join the industry and could be obtained through short online courses) plus practical skills and insights to establish your client base.
As a professional real estate agent, your daily tasks generally include advertising property for sales, accompanying prospects in site visit, consulting relevant information and preparing contracts. Currently, the heavens for real estate agents in Australia are New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.
Average annual salary: $86,013 (Source: SEEK)

Medical Record & Health Information Technician

The next high-paying job without the degree is in the health industry. With an ageing population, health care in Australia is still booming year on year, leading to an increasing market demand for various positions. As a Medical Records Technician, you are responsible for updating, coding patients’ information for insurance billing as well as responding to queries. A certificate plus strong organisational skills and attention to details are required for these vacancies.

Thinking of climbing the career ladder in the future? Medical records technicians have various pathways to aim for in Australia. Upon obtaining a diploma or certificate III via online courses, you can definitely start working as health service managers or specialist roles in care facilities, managed care organisations.

Average annual salary: $56,785 (Source: SEEK)

Pet Care / Vet Assistant

If you are into helping animals and pets, this career choice is absolutely for you. By acquiring certain certificates through short courses (whether online or in-class), you can start working as a qualified vet assistant in animal hospitals, veterinary clinics, impound centres, animal protection agencies (RSPCA) and even pet shops across Australia. The degree-free profession is not only well-rewarded but also fun to work and fulfilling for animal lovers.
As a pet care or vet assistant, your tasks include supporting vet nurse and technicians, maintaining medical equipment, handling pets during treatment, grooming pets afterwards and other clerical, administrative tasks. With such on-the-job experience, you can also study on to become a qualified vet technician (which lifts your annual salary up to $95,551, according to Indeed Australia).
Average annual salary: $57,000 (Source: Open Colleges)

Mining Professional

The mining industry has been a shining star for the Australian economy in the past several years. As a result, mining professionals are well rewarded with attractive salary and career opportunities. While managerial and technical positions do require tertiary qualifications (in exchange for the median salary of $300,000 or more), other vacancies are based on experience more than on degree and certification.
As a novice, you can enrol in short online courses to get certified, then seek entry-level positions for an incremental pay bump. On the downside, being a miner requires tremendous strength, tolerance in harsh working environment and interest in mechanical operation.
Average annual salary: $118,298 (Source: Lifehacker Australia)

Environmental Health & Safety Officer

As an environmental health and safety (EHS) officer, you are responsible for creating, implementing and reviewing policies and programs to ensure the environmental and occupational well-being of staff. You also consult companies so that they comply with Australia’s safety laws and standards. An EHS officer may specialise in the area of air and food quality, waste management, health education or environmental protection.
In order to win this high-paying job without a degree, candidates have to complete short courses for VET qualifications – a threshold to prove that you are knowledgeable about the government’s legal and ethical guidelines. The pathways for a talented EHS officer are diverse, ranging from work health and safety (WHS) managers, professional assessors to even HR managers and freelance consultants.
Average annual salary: $100,352 (Source: SEEK)