To ask if you don't have a degree and earn a good salary...

[atcrossroad]

What do you do and how did you get into it?

My degree was totally unrelated - my degree is in art, I subsequently got a job in financial services and worked my way in to risk and control, operational risk then compliance and regulatory engagement- I earn 50k currently and am aiming for promotion.

€60k, work 4 days pw from home.
Financial Services Compliance Software company.
I don't have a degree.

How are you defining “good salary”?

95K, HR. No degree but have worked my way up the ladder and work for a large company within a specific industry. It's not been easy but I've taken risks like doing secondments in other HR roles/in other teams to develop breadth of experience across topics, which has paid off.

Not me, but a young man I know recently got a job paying just under £30,000.

I know that's not a high salary, but I'd say it's pretty good for someone who was doing his A levels less 2 years ago and has only just turned 20. He works in IT support for a local authority.

a couple of ‘o’ levels, no A levels or degree, earn 70k in financial services

My DS does not have a degree and earns £40k plus as a class 1 lorry driver. He could earn about £7k more if he wanted to do nights.

Don't have a degree and didn't go to university but I did accounting and tax professional qualifications while IW as working. Have worked for about 25 years and earn around £200k pa.

My husband doesn’t have a degree, he’s an actuary who qualified via an apprenticeship, so technically degree level. I’m also an actuary, degree educated and he earns more than me.

I'm on 39k. I'm a planner. Started in admin roles and managed to job hop and ladder climb in each new role, gained experience and have kept going.

No degree. A diploma. 48K.

I manage a team that gathers intelligence on modern slavery and human trafficking - £38k which I feel is more than reasonable. I’m now mid degree as I’ve hit a bit of a wall for more senior roles.

I only have 5 GCSEs and earn £50k a year in a Head of Communications role in the public sector. I worked my way up and I've been working there for over 20 years - in different roles.

I work in consulting. No degree. Entry through project management then lots of strategic job hopping.

Husband earns six figs. No A levels. Senior commercial role in financial services. Entry through business analysis (retrained then did a sort of apprenticeship). Again strategic job hopping but I think he is also very likable and good with people.

I think finding the best organisation is better than the right job. Find somewhere with growth opportunities, with varied revenue streams/with many departments, or one which is growing very fast.

Not me but my son did an apprenticeship and is on 38k as a newly qualified electrician. Not bad for 20.

I think this depends on age. By Y2K, more and more people went to university as standard. Where I am, people 50+ are less likely to have degrees and have worked their way up than anyone under 40.

I've got a degree but didn't need it for my job: project management. I'm very much on the bottom rung at the moment but am confident of progressing steadily over the next five years or so.

My DH didn't go to university, he did an apprenticeship and is an engineer of sorts. He earns £75k. I did go to university and earn about £14k 😂

No degree, £85k Info security, risk and compliance. Worked my way up and self taught doing free courses along the way.

I built up a niche, sought-after skill set (partly by accident, partly by design) and took up any potentially useful training opportunities whilst doing a lot of job hopping.

No degree, started out as project coordinator, then project management, then programme management. Now head of portfolios and earn £145K

Both my Husband and I scraped even GCSEs. Had awful shit jobs until our late 20s, now in our early 40s with a combined income of £120k. Again like others say just by working our way up. Both transport sector or linked to.

You can be sans degree and do well in any private or public sector as long as your intelligent and savvy and are willing to work your way up. Having said that I often question the intelligence of others in my org so maybe that doesn’t hold much value either 🤭

I'm an accountant. No degree, instead you do professional exams while working.

IT support is often a foot in the door for a lucrative Software Engineering job.

I have a degree and I certainly don't earn a good salary.

On the other hand those I know on good salaries without a degree are either plumbers, self employed builders or lorry drivers ect. All typically male dominated jobs. The same level jobs that tend to be female dominated are poorly paid.