Americans are surprised to learn of the many no-degree-required jobs available, and 10 of the top 20 such jobs are in the healthcare industry. That’s according to the results of recent research by JobSage.
In December, JobSage surveyed 629 Americans about their levels of surprise and interest in 100 different jobs that don’t require a college degree. Respondents ranged in age from 18 to 76 years; 49% of them were female, 48% were male and 3% were nonbinary.
“When it comes to which ‘no degree required careers’ that people are most surprised about, licensed practical and vocational nurses (79%) made first place on our list — above other jobs that put your life in someone else’s hands, like surgical assistants (73%) and commercial pilots (56%),” Katie Duncan wrote in a blog post this month for the employer review site. “At No. 10 on our list are medical records specialists (43%), just above hearing aid specialists (39%) and locomotive engineers (31%).”
According to the study, 79% of respondents were surprised to learn that LPNs and surgical technologist positions don’t require a four-year college degree, and 73% were surprised to discover that surgical assistants don’t need one.
Other surprising no-degree-required healthcare careers on the top 20 list included healthcare practitioners and technical workers, health technologist, occupational health and safety technician, community health worker and paramedic.
“Our respondents seem to agree that college degrees are not quintessential to having a successful career,” Duncan wrote. “In fact, only one in four Americans say their college degree has helped a lot in their career so far. The days when attending university was a non-negotiable are coming to a halt.”
Seventy-two percent of the respondents said they would skip college if their ideal job didn’t require it, according to JobSage.
