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30 US jobs that pay up to $94,260 a year and don’t require a four-year degree

Sandy Verma | June 20, 2026 9:24 PM CST

The roles span healthcare, science and engineering, and every one can be entered with an associate’s degree, a postsecondary nondegree award, or a high school diploma, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said in a Career Outlook report published in February. Each is also projected to grow at or above the 3% average rate for all U.S. jobs through 2034, the agency’s latest projection cycle.

What stands out is the inversion at the top of the list: the best-paid of these jobs out-earn many that require a bachelor’s degree. Most clear the $49,500 median wage for all U.S. workers, and the strongest cluster is in healthcare, where technical roles combine high pay with fast growth.

Among healthcare practitioner and technical jobs, dental hygienists earn the most at a median $94,260, followed by diagnostic medical sonographers at $89,340 and MRI technologists at $88,180, all requiring only an associate’s degree, according to BLS. Psychiatric technicians and ophthalmic medical technicians are the fastest-growing in this group, each projected to expand 20% by 2034.

Occupation	Projected growth, 2024-34	Median wage, 2024	Minimum education
Psychiatric technicians	20%	$42,590	Postsecondary nondegree award
Ophthalmic medical technicians	20%	$44,080	Postsecondary nondegree award
Hearing aid specialists	18%	$61,560	High school diploma or equivalent
Health information technologists and medical registrars	15%	$67,310	Associate’s degree
Diagnostic medical sonographers	13%	$89,340	Associate’s degree
Respiratory therapists	12%	$80,450	Associate’s degree
Veterinary technologists and technicians	9%	$45,980	Associate’s degree
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	7%	$88,180	Associate’s degree
Medical records specialists	7%	$50,250	Postsecondary nondegree award
Dental hygienists	7%	$94,260	Associate’s degree

Healthcare support roles grow even faster.

Physical therapist assistants, at a median salary of $65,510, are projected to expand 22% through 2034, the fastest of any job on the list, while occupational therapy assistants lead the group on pay at $68,340, BLS data show.

Occupation	Projected growth, 2024-34	Median wage, 2024	Minimum education
Physical therapist assistants	22%	$65,510	Associate’s degree
Occupational therapy assistants	19%	$68,340	Associate’s degree
Home health and personal care aides	17%	$34,900	High school diploma or equivalent
Massage therapists	15%	$57,950	Postsecondary nondegree award
Medical assistants	13%	$44,200	Postsecondary nondegree award
Medical equipment preparers	10%	$46,490	High school diploma or equivalent
Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers	9%	$37,320	High school diploma or equivalent
Dental assistants	6%	$47,300	Postsecondary nondegree award
Phlebotomists	6%	$43,660	Postsecondary nondegree award
Other healthcare support occupations	4%	$46,050	High school diploma or equivalent

Outside healthcare, the science and engineering roles pay well but grow more slowly.

In life, physical, and social science, occupational health and safety technicians are the fastest-growing at 9%, though BLS notes most of these jobs require one to 12 months of on-the-job training to learn equipment, production techniques, or sample-handling procedures.

Occupation	Projected growth, 2024-34	Median wage, 2024	Minimum education
Occupational health and safety technicians	9%	$58,440	High school diploma or equivalent
Food science technicians	5%	$49,430	Associate’s degree
Agricultural technicians	4%	$46,790	Associate’s degree
Environmental science and protection technicians, including health	4%	$49,490	Associate’s degree
Chemical technicians	4%	$57,790	Associate’s degree
Other life, physical, and social science technicians	4%	$60,130	Associate’s degree

In architecture and engineering, aerospace engineering and operations technologists lead on both counts, with a median $79,830 and projected 8% growth, according to BLS.

Occupation	Projected growth, 2024-34	Median wage, 2024	Minimum education
Aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians	8%	$79,830	Associate’s degree
Calibration technologists and technicians	5%	$65,040	Associate’s degree
Surveying and mapping technicians	5%	$51,940	High school diploma or equivalent
Architectural and civil drafters	4%	$64,280	Associate’s degree

A few no-degree jobs pay even more but are shrinking. Nuclear technicians, for instance, earn a median $104,240, the highest of any role BLS tracks in these fields, but their numbers are projected to fall 8% by 2034.

Most openings across the growing occupations will come from the need to replace workers who retire or change jobs, the agency said, rather than from newly created positions.