15 Jobs That Pay $30 an Hour With No Experience or Degree

Thirty bucks an hour works out to $62,400 a year if you’re full time (40 hours a week, 52 weeks). Every job below has a national median at or above $30 an hour, none of them needs a college degree to get started, and none needs experience in the field before you apply.

Quick reality check on “median”: half the people in the job make more and half make less. A brand-new apprentice starts well under the median and works up to it. Pay also swings a lot by state, so check local postings before you get your heart set on a number.

Trades where you get paid to learn

This is the best deal on the page. An apprenticeship means a paycheck from day one plus classroom time, and you come out the other side with a skill nobody can outsource.

Electrician ($30.38 an hour)

You need a high school diploma to get into an apprenticeship, and then you learn wiring on real job sites. Every building needs you.

Some of that work is in attics in August, so go in with your eyes open.

Plumber or pipefitter ($30.67 an hour)

Same path as electricians: diploma, then an apprenticeship. Most states and some cities require plumbers to be licensed, so you’ll test for that along the way. Not glamorous work, but somebody always needs a plumber when a pipe bursts at 2 a.m., and that somebody isn’t picky about whether you went to college.

Boilermaker ($36.74 an hour)

Boilermakers build and fix boilers and big tanks that hold liquids and gases. It’s an apprenticeship trade with a diploma to get in. The work is heavy and the jobs can be far from home.

That’s part of why it pays more than plumbing.

Elevator installer and repairer ($52.84 an hour)

The top earner on this list, with nothing but a diploma and an apprenticeship to start. Most states require a license. Apprenticeship spots are hard to land, so you’ll want to apply wide and apply early.

Jobs you learn on the job

No apprenticeship here. The employer trains you, sometimes for a long time, and you get paid the whole way.

Power plant operator ($50.52 an hour)

You run the equipment that makes electricity and keep an eye on the systems that move it. A diploma gets you in, then there’s long on-the-job training. Plants run around the clock, so you should expect nights and weekends.

Power-line installer and repairer ($45.83 an hour)

Electrical line workers climb poles and fix the lines that bring power to your house, often right after a storm knocks them down. Diploma plus long on-the-job training. It’s one of the more dangerous jobs here, and it pays like it.

Railroad worker ($37.90 an hour)

A diploma and on-the-job training gets you started. Most locomotive engineers begin as conductors or yardmasters and move up, so plan on working your way into the cab. The schedule can be rough, with calls at odd hours.

Stationary engineer or boiler operator ($37.80 an hour)

Big buildings like hospitals and factories have heating and boiler systems that someone has to run.

That’s you. Diploma, long on-the-job training, and in some places a license for the equipment you run alone.

Insurance claims adjuster ($37.51 an hour)

You look into insurance claims and decide what the company should pay. A diploma is the usual bar for adjusters, and licensing rules change from state to state. It’s mostly desk work and phone calls, with some site visits, which makes it one of the few non-physical jobs here.

Police officer ($37.17 an hour)

That’s the median for police and detectives together. Some departments take a high school diploma and others want college credits or a degree, so look up the rules where you want to work. The job asks a lot of you. Don’t do it for the money alone, because you’ll burn out fast if that’s the only reason you’re there.

Sailor or deckhand ($34.55 an hour)

That’s the median for all water transportation workers, which includes the captains and engineers at the top. Sailors and marine oilers usually don’t need a formal education and get 1 month to 1 year of training after they’re hired. You’ll need a TSA worker ID card and a Merchant Mariner Credential from the Coast Guard. Weeks on a boat is part of the deal.

Telecom equipment installer ($31.83 an hour)

You set up and fix the equipment behind your internet and phone service. Diploma to get in, then training that runs from several months to several years depending on the work. Lots of driving between jobs.

A short school program first

These three need a certificate from a trade school or community college. No degree, but you’ll pay tuition and spend some months in class before the money starts.

Court reporter ($34.82 an hour)

Court reporters type everything said in court, word for word. You need a certificate from a court reporting program, then short on-the-job training. Your typing speed is the whole job.

Aircraft mechanic ($38.55 an hour)

Most mechanics go through an FAA-approved trade school, because the FAA requires aircraft maintenance to be done by a certified mechanic or under one. It’s a real time and money investment up front. The payoff is one of the higher medians on this list.

Wind turbine technician ($30.83 an hour)

Wind techs install and fix turbines, which means climbing hundreds of feet up a tower. Most finish a trade school program and then get long on-the-job training. If heights bother you, skip it.

Can a side gig pay $30 an hour?

Honestly, most can’t. Delivery apps pay per order, and the ones that do post an hourly range sit well under $30. The jobs that pay $20 an hour breakdown covers what delivery can really do for you.

One gig with posted rates over $30 is remote AI training work, if you’ve got the skills for it.

DataAnnotation

Best for: coders and pros who want remote hourly work

What it is

A remote contract gig where you train and check AI chatbots.

What you do

Rate and fix AI answers, write prompts, and for the coding projects, review and write code. You pick your hours.

How much it pays

Its site lists coding and data science work at up to $150+ an hour, professional roles like finance or law at up to $125+, and general work at up to $50 an hour.

The catch

You apply and pass a qualification first, and nothing says how much work you’ll get once you’re in. “Up to” is the ceiling, not the starting rate.

Worth it? Only if you can code or have a real professional specialty. That’s where it clears $30 an hour by a mile. General work can too, but it’s not a sure thing.

Apply on DataAnnotation

For everything else that’s paying right now, from apps to quick gigs, check what’s paying right now.

How to pick one

Start with the question nobody asks: can you afford to train? An apprenticeship or an on-the-job program pays you from the first week, so it’s the smart move if you need money now. A trade school certificate means a few months without that $30 rate, but aircraft mechanics and court reporters get there faster than most.

Then be honest about your body. Half of this list is climbing or lifting, a lot of it outside in the heat. If that’s not you, look at claims adjusting, court reporting or the jobs on the jobs that pay $5,000 a month list, which leans toward office and healthcare work. And if you just need extra cash on the side while you train, the weekend jobs list has ideas that fit around a schedule. More in the freelancers section.

Jobs that pay $30 an hour: FAQ