The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a field on every occupation profile that almost nobody reads. It is called Work Experience in a Related Occupation, and for hundreds of jobs the entry says exactly one word: None.
Here is why that matters to you. In May 2024, the median annual wage for all American workers was $49,500. In that same dataset, power plant operators had a median wage of $103,600. Their typical entry-level education is a high school diploma. Their required prior experience is none. Employers train them after they are hired.
That is not a loophole or a technicality. It is the federal government’s own accounting of how a large slice of the American labor market actually hires.
So when you type jobs that pay well with no experience into a search bar and get back a list of call center roles and warehouse shifts, understand what happened. You were shown the jobs that advertise loudest, not the jobs that pay best. The ones that pay best tend to hire through apprenticeships, civil service exams, union halls, and employer training programs, none of which buy much advertising.
Below are 25 entry-level jobs that pay well with no experience. Every wage figure pulled from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2024. Each one pays above the national median. Several pay double.
What No Experience Actually Means Here
Before the list, you need one distinction, because it will save you from wasting applications.
No experience required does not mean no preparation required. It means employers do not expect you to arrive already knowing the job. What they expect instead falls into four patterns, and knowing which one you are dealing with tells you exactly how to apply.
- Hired then trained. You are hired first and taught on the job, sometimes for more than a year. Power plant operators, water treatment operators, and correctional officers work this way. You get paid from day one.
- Apprenticeship. You earn a wage while you learn, typically for three to five years, with pay increasing on a fixed schedule. Elevator installers, boilermakers, ironworkers, plumbers, and electricians enter this way.
- License or exam first. A short licensing course or a written test comes before hiring, but it is measured in weeks, not years. Insurance agents, real estate agents, and postal workers fall here.
- Short credential. A certificate program of a few months rather than a degree. Aircraft mechanics, wind turbine technicians, and truck drivers follow this route.
Not one of these asks for prior experience in the field. All of them ask you to show up and commit to a training period. That trade is the entire opportunity.
The Full List at a Glance
Every figure below is the median annual wage from BLS for May 2024. Median means half of workers in that occupation earned more and half earned less, so treat these as the middle of a career, not a first-day salary.
| Job | Median pay | Typical education | How you get in |
| Air traffic controller | $144,580 | Associate’s degree | FAA Academy training |
| Elevator and escalator installer | $106,580 | High school diploma | Apprenticeship |
| Power plant operator | $103,600 | High school diploma | Long-term on-the-job training |
| Sales rep, technical and scientific | $100,070 | Varies | Employer training program |
| Electrical power-line installer | $92,560 | High school diploma | Long-term on-the-job training |
| Avionics technician | $81,390 | Postsecondary certificate | FAA-approved program |
| Aircraft mechanic | $78,680 | Postsecondary certificate | FAA-approved program or military |
| Police officer or detective | $77,270 | High school diploma | Academy training |
| Railroad worker | $75,680 | High school diploma | Employer training |
| Stationary engineer or boiler operator | $75,190 | High school diploma | Apprenticeship or on-the-job |
| Boilermaker | $73,340 | High school diploma | Apprenticeship |
| Electrical and electronics installer | $71,270 | High school diploma | On-the-job training |
| Plumber, pipefitter, or steamfitter | About $67,800 | High school diploma | Apprenticeship |
| Flight attendant | $67,130 | High school diploma | Airline training program |
| Sales rep, wholesale and manufacturing | $66,780 | High school diploma | Employer training program |
| Structural iron and steel worker | $62,700 | High school diploma | Apprenticeship |
| Wind turbine technician | $62,580 | Postsecondary certificate | Technical school, 3 to 6 months |
| Electrician | About $61,590 | High school diploma | Apprenticeship |
| Insurance sales agent | $60,370 | High school diploma | State license plus employer training |
| Reinforcing iron and rebar worker | $59,280 | High school diploma | Apprenticeship |
| Water treatment plant operator | $58,260 | High school diploma | Long-term on-the-job training |
| Correctional officer | $57,970 | High school diploma | Academy training |
| Postal service worker | $57,870 | No formal credential | Written exam |
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver | $57,440 | Postsecondary certificate | CDL school, 4 to 8 weeks |
| Real estate sales agent | $56,320 | High school diploma | State license |
Plumber and electrician figures are annualized approximations drawn from BLS wage data; the other 23 are published BLS median annual wages for May 2024.
The Utility and Energy Jobs Nobody Talks About
If you only read one section, make it this one, because the pay to barrier ratio here is the best on the entire list.
Power plant operators, distributors, and dispatchers earn a median of $103,600. The typical entry-level education is a high school diploma, required prior experience is none, and new hires receive extensive long-term on-the-job training. You are running the systems that generate and move electricity across the grid. The work is shift based, often rotating eight or twelve hour shifts, and that shift structure is a large part of why it pays what it does.
Electrical power-line installers and repairers earn a median of $92,560, again entering with a high school diploma. Employment is projected to grow 7 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the 3 percent average across all occupations, with about 10,700 openings each year. This is physically demanding outdoor work at height, frequently in storms, which is precisely why the pay holds up.
Stationary engineers and boiler operators sit at $75,190 and keep the heating, cooling, and steam systems running in hospitals, universities, and large facilities. Water and wastewater treatment plant operators earn $58,260, enter with a high school diploma and no experience, and complete their state licensing during on-the-job training rather than before it.
One honest caveat on this group. BLS projects power plant operator employment to decline 10 percent and water treatment operator employment to decline 7 percent over the decade. Declining does not mean disappearing, and replacement hiring continues as an older workforce retires, but you should expect competition and be willing to relocate to where plants are.
The Skilled Trades You Can Enter Through an Apprenticeship
An apprenticeship is the most underrated financial instrument available to a young American. You earn while you learn, your wage rises on a set schedule, and you finish with no tuition debt.
Elevator and escalator installers and repairers top this category at a median of $106,580, entering with a high school diploma, no prior experience, and an apprenticeship. BLS found this was the highest paying occupation typically requiring an apprenticeship. Employment is projected to grow 5 percent, faster than average, though with only about 2,000 openings a year, so competitive apprenticeship slots are the real bottleneck.
Boilermakers earn $73,340 and assemble and repair the large vessels that hold liquids and gases. Structural iron and steel workers earn $62,700, with the top 10 percent clearing $107,520. Reinforcing iron and rebar workers earn $59,280. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters and electricians both sit in the $60,000s at median, and both had hourly mean wages above the all-occupations average in BLS apprenticeship data.
Be clear eyed about the tradeoff. Apprentice pay starts well below journeyman wage, often in the $30,000s, and rises over three to five years. You are accepting lower pay early in exchange for a high wage with no debt at the end. That is a good trade for most people, but only if you can absorb the early years.
Transportation and Aviation
Air traffic controllers earn a median of $144,580, the highest figure on this list by a wide margin, and required prior work experience is none. The catch is the entry process rather than the experience. You need to be a U.S. citizen, pass medical and background checks, apply during an open FAA hiring window, and complete training at the FAA Academy. Age limits apply. Growth is only 1 percent through 2034, so openings are limited and the bidding process is genuinely competitive, but no one arrives at the Academy already knowing how to do the job.
Aircraft mechanics and service technicians earn $78,680 and avionics technicians $81,390, both entering through an FAA-approved certificate program rather than a degree, with BLS listing required prior experience as none and on-the-job training as none. Employment is projected to grow 5 percent, faster than average.
Railroad workers earn a median of $75,680 with a high school diploma and employer training. Flight attendants earn $67,130, enter with a high school diploma, and are trained by the airline, with employment projected to grow 9 percent through 2034, much faster than average, and about 19,800 openings a year. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn $57,440, need only a commercial driver’s license from a school that typically runs four to eight weeks, and have about 237,600 openings projected annually, which is the highest volume of any job on this list.
Public Sector and Protective Service
Government hiring is slower than private hiring, and it is worth the wait for one reason most job listings never mention: pensions and benefits that private employers stopped offering decades ago.
Police and detectives earn a median of $77,270, with the top 10 percent above $120,460, entering with a high school diploma and academy training. Correctional officers and jailers earn $57,970 with a high school diploma, no prior experience, and moderate-term on-the-job training. Postal service workers earn $57,870 with no formal educational credential required at all, though you must pass a written exam.
Two notes on this group. Correctional officer employment is projected to decline 7 percent and postal work 5 percent, yet both still show large annual openings from replacement hiring, roughly 31,900 and 34,500 respectively. And these roles carry real physical and psychological demands that a salary figure does not capture. Go in with your eyes open.
Sales and Commission Roles
Sales is the most accessible category on this list and the most misunderstood, because the median hides an enormous spread.
Sales representatives in wholesale and manufacturing for technical and scientific products earn a median of $100,070. For non-technical products the median is $66,780. Many companies run formal training programs for beginners that last up to a year, where trainees rotate through plants and offices before getting their own territory. About 142,100 openings are projected annually.
Insurance sales agents earn $60,370, with a state license and employer training. Real estate sales agents earn $56,320, though the range here is the widest of anything listed: the bottom 10 percent earned under $31,940 while the top 10 percent cleared $125,140, because nearly all income is commission based.
That spread is the point. In salaried roles the median tells you roughly what to expect. In commission roles it tells you almost nothing about your individual outcome. If you have no savings runway, a commission-only first job is a serious risk regardless of how good the median looks.
How to Actually Get Hired With No Experience
The jobs above are real, but the application process for them looks nothing like applying on a job board. Here is what works.
- Apply where the job actually gets posted. Utility and municipal jobs are posted on city, county, and utility websites, not aggregators. Apprenticeships go through local union halls and apprenticeship.gov. Federal roles go through USAJOBS. If you are only searching one large job site, you are not seeing most of this list.
- Get the credential before the application, not after. A CDL, an insurance license, a real estate license, or an FAA certificate takes weeks and moves you from unqualified to qualified. Several of these roles cannot legally hire you without it.
- Translate what you already have. If you have worked retail, you have handled cash, de-escalated conflict, and kept a schedule. Those map directly onto protective service and sales roles. Write them in the language of the job you want.
- Expect a slow process for government roles. Background checks, physical tests, and academy classes mean four to twelve months between application and start date is normal. Apply well before you need the income, and keep applying elsewhere while you wait.
- Ask about the training explicitly. In an interview for any of these, asking how the training period is structured signals that you understand the deal and intend to complete it. That is exactly what an employer investing a year in you wants to hear.
Four Traps to Avoid
- Reading the median as a starting salary. Every figure here is the midpoint for people already in the occupation. Your first year will be lower, often substantially. That is not a bait and switch, it is how medians work.
- Ignoring the shift structure. A large share of the highest paying jobs on this list involve nights, rotating shifts, weekends, or long stretches away from home. That premium is compensation for a real cost to your life. Price it honestly.
- Paying for a job. Legitimate employers do not charge you to be hired. Training programs charge tuition, which is different and disclosed up front. Anyone asking for a fee to place you in a role is a problem.
- Chasing only the top number. Air traffic control pays $144,580 and has about 300 net new positions projected over an entire decade. Truck driving pays $57,440 with 237,600 openings a year. Your realistic odds of getting hired belong in the calculation alongside the wage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What entry-level job pays the most with no experience?
By median wage, air traffic controllers at $144,580 lead the list, and BLS lists required prior work experience as none. For a role you can enter with just a high school diploma, elevator and escalator installers at $106,580 and power plant operators at $103,600 are the highest paying options, both of which train you after hiring.
Can you really get a job paying $70,000 with no experience?
Yes. Based on BLS May 2024 medians, power plant operators, electrical power-line installers, aircraft and avionics technicians, police officers, railroad workers, stationary engineers, and boilermakers all have median wages above $70,000 and list no required prior experience. Most involve a training or apprenticeship period after you are hired.
What jobs pay $50,000 a year with no experience?
Every job on this list clears $50,000 at median, since the national median across all occupations is $49,500. The most accessible entry points near that level are postal service work at $57,870 with no formal educational credential, truck driving at $57,440, correctional officer at $57,970, and real estate sales at $56,320.
Which jobs give you paid training?
Apprenticeship trades pay you a rising wage throughout training, including elevator installers, boilermakers, ironworkers, plumbers, and electricians. Roles with long-term on-the-job training such as power plant operator, water treatment operator, and electrical power-line installer also pay you from your first day while teaching you the job.
Do these jobs require a college degree?
Almost none of them. Of the 25 listed, the large majority list a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education, several require only a short postsecondary certificate, and postal work lists no formal educational credential. Air traffic control is the main exception, typically requiring an associate’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
What is the fastest job on this list to get into?
Commercial truck driving. CDL school typically runs four to eight weeks, and BLS projects about 237,600 openings per year across 2,235,100 jobs, which is by far the largest volume on this list. Insurance and real estate licensing are also measured in weeks rather than years.
Are entry-level jobs with no experience good for career changers?
Often better than for new graduates, because several of these roles reward maturity, reliability, and judgment more than technical background. Trades, utilities, and protective service hire career changers routinely. The main constraint is financial, since apprenticeship and training periods start at reduced pay.
Which of these jobs are actually growing?
Flight attendants at 9 percent and electrical power-line installers at 7 percent are growing much faster than the 3 percent average through 2034. Wind turbine technician is the fastest growing occupation in the entire BLS handbook at 50 percent, though from a small base of about 2,300 openings a year. Several roles on this list, including power plant operator and correctional officer, are projected to decline even while continuing to hire replacements.
Do I need to relocate for these jobs?
Sometimes, and it is worth planning for. Power plants, refineries, rail yards, and wind farms exist where the infrastructure is, not necessarily where you live. Truck driving, sales, protective service, and the building trades are available almost everywhere in the country.
How do I find these jobs near me?
Skip the large aggregators for most of this list. Use apprenticeship.gov for the trades, USAJOBS for federal roles, your city and county websites for municipal and utility jobs, your state workforce agency, and CareerOneStop, the free tool run by the U.S. Department of Labor. Local union halls will tell you directly when apprenticeship applications open.
The Bottom Line
The assumption that a good salary requires either a degree or years of prior experience is one of the most expensive beliefs in circulation, and the federal government’s own wage data contradicts it every year.
What these jobs ask of you instead is a willingness to be trained, which usually means accepting lower pay for a defined period, working hours that other people avoid, or doing physical work in conditions that are not comfortable. Those are real costs, and you should weigh them honestly rather than being talked into anything.
But if you are willing to make that trade, the path is open, it is documented, and it does not require a dollar of student debt. Pick two or three from the list that match how you actually want to spend your days. Find where they are posted in your area. Then apply this week, because for most of these the slow part is the hiring process, not the work.
References
1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Occupation Finder (May 2024 median wages, entry-level education, and required work experience for all occupations): https://www.bls.gov/ooh/occupation-finder.htm
2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Power Plant Operators, Distributors, and Dispatchers: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/production/power-plant-operators-distributors-and-dispatchers.htm
3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/elevator-installers-and-repairers.htm
4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Air Traffic Controllers: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/air-traffic-controllers.htm
5. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, TED: The Economics Daily, apprenticeship occupations with hourly mean wages above the U.S. average: https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2024/five-apprenticeship-occupations-had-hourly-mean-wages-above-the-u-s-all-occupations-average-in-2023.htm
6. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/line-installers-and-repairers.htm
7. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/wholesale-and-manufacturing-sales-representatives.htm
8. U.S. Department of Labor, Apprenticeship.gov, official registered apprenticeship finder: https://www.apprenticeship.gov/apprenticeship-job-finder
9. U.S. Department of Labor, CareerOneStop, free job and training search tools: https://www.careeronestop.org/
entry level jobs | high paying jobs no experience | on the job training | apprenticeships | careers without a degree | BLS wage data | skilled trades | career change | job search 2026 | paid training
