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Five high-paying jobs for high school graduates

Americans have a near-religious belief that you have to go to college to be successful, but the post-recession, still-evolving U.S. economy is testing that conviction. Here are five jobs that offer high school graduates a chance to earn more than that, according to Debt.org, sometimes much more:

5. Air traffic controller

David Goldman/File-Pool/AP/File
An air traffic controller works in a terminal radar approach control room at the Atlanta TRACON in Peachtree City, Ga. The pay for air controllers is good, but their numbers are likely to fall as the US air-traffic control system increasingly becomes automated.

  • By Bill Fay Contributor

One of the surprising jobs you can get with only a high school diploma is air traffic controller, but you had better be ready for takeoff if you want to cash in on this one. Air traffic controllers’ median pay is $108,040 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bad news is that the job outlook is poor. There are only 27,000 of them and that number could be cut by 800 in the next five years as more of the system is automated. If you don’t have a college degree, there is a five-week qualification training. Once you pass that, there are a series of on-the-job training programs with the starting salary at $35,000 and bumps in pay every time you finish a program. The last bit of bad news to consider: Nobody ever says anything about your job, unless you mess up. 

– Bill Fay is a writer for Debt.org, focused mainly on news stories about the spending habits of families and government. Join the conversation on our Debt.org Facebook.

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Mark Sappenfield
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