You can get a great job without a college degree.

If you (or someone you know) is interested in finding a job, bypassing college could be a really smart move right now.

Going to a trade school instead might be a brilliant move.

I read recently that only 1 in 4 college graduates find jobs. On top of that, according to the U.S. Burea of Labor Statistics, 8 of the 10 fastest growing jobs don’t require college degrees.

As you might expect, these are service jobs and they’re difficult to outsource. Booyah! Even better. That’s why the opportunities are there.

The question is, how do you decide which trade to get trained in and how do you get the training at the least cost?

Flikr, Isafmedia

Here are the steps I suggest you take:

1. Flex Your Brain

Make a list of all the jobs you find interesting. Even if you ultimately want to be a business owner rather than an employee, be open-minded. If you want to own a fleet of plumbing trucks one day, start off as a plumber. In fact, you should look at it in reverse. Just because you might start off as a plumber doesn’t mean you can’t own a fleet of plumbing trucks one day.

Also, you can always learn a trade and go to college down the road if you so choose- just make sure that you don’t spend moneyyou don’t have to when you get your degree. The point is, nothing you do now is irrevocable.

2. Investigate

There are tons of high-paying jobs that don’t require a 4-year degree.

According to CNN, here are 19 of them:

1· Air traffic controller
Annual income: $102,030

2· Storage and distribution manager
Annual income: $66,600

3· Transportation manager
Annual income: $66,600

4· Police and detectives supervisor
Annual income: $64,430
·

5.Non-retail sales manager
Annual income: $59,300

6· Forest fire fighting and prevention supervisor
Annual income: $58,920

7· Municipal fire fighting and prevention supervisor
Annual income: $58,902

8· Real estate broker
Annual income: $58,720

9· Elevator installers and repairer
Annual income: $58,710

10· Sales representative
Annual income: $58,580

11· Dental hygienist
Annual income: $58,350

12· Radiation therapist
Annual income: $57,700

13· Nuclear medicine technologist
Annual income: $56,450

14· Child support, missing persons and unemployment insurance fraud investigator
Annual income: $53,900

15·Criminal investigators and special agent
Annual income: $53,990

16· Immigration and Customs inspector
Annual income: $53,990

17· Police detective
Annual Income: $53,990

18· Police identification and records officer
Annual income: $53,990

19· Commercial pilot
Annual income: $53,870

Accordingb to the the U.S. Department of Labor, 2 out of every 3 jobs only require on-the-job training.

If you’re competing for one of these jobs, going to college could actually hurt you.

Why? Because the other people competing for that job will have had 4 years of experience while you were hanging out at Starbucks with your laptop and iPhone.

3. Connect

Now that you know what you want to do, make sure there is going to be a job waiting for you once you get trained.
Talk to people in the industry. Ask them about job prospects. Ask what they like and dislike about their jobs. Ask what they think about the future of the industry.

I guarantee that if you call 10 people in the industry, 7 will be more than happy to meet with you for a cup of coffee to give you a clear picture.

Ask them how they got into the profession, where they got trained and what schools (if any) they’d recommend for you. Most important, ask who else you should meet to learn more.

Meet with at least 10 people in the industry to make sure you’re view is accurate.
If you don’t know how to get in touch with people working in the field, no problemo – see step 4 below.

4. Schools

Interview the various trade schools that offer training. Ask to speak with alumni currently working in the industry. Then, when you meet with these folks, ask them for a few other references – people who didn’t necessarily go the school they graduated from. Talk to those people too.

While you’re interviewing the schools, ask about job placement assistance and success rates.

Remember that you only have to spend the money to get trained once but have a lifetime of earnings ahead. If one school costs more but has a far better success rate, it could still be a better bargain.

Oh…and one more thing.  If you already have a college degree and can’t find a job (or your retired and want to earn money) you can still follow these same steps to land one of these awesome jobs.

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