Seems to be all the "Talk" on the right radio shows these days,
5 blue collar jobs that pay $100,000 a year
By Quentin Fottrell
Published: Jan 10, 2015 9:15 a.m. ET
You don’t need to wear a suit and tie to work to make six
figures. Though it may require self-employment, the support of a labor union
and, in some cases, not a small amount of risk to your safety, you can earn
over $100,000 at a traditionally blue collar job.
“There are several occupations that have that potential,”
says Carl Van Horn, professor of public policy and director of Rutgers John J.
Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. “A lot of them are in the trades.”
As third-level students leave college saddled with debt, others are looking for
alternative ways to earn $100,000 or more a year. On Thursday, The Wall Street
Journal interviewed a 24-year-old welder who earns $140,000 a year and attended
Texas State Technical College in Waco, Texas.
New York Police Department salaries can go as high as
$131,000 a year, depending on the rank and tenure, according to information
confidentially submitted to careers website Glassdoor by NYPD employees. A
police officer’s salary ranges from $50,000 to $116,000, while a sergeant’s
salary can run from $105,000 to $131,000, excluding overtime. “These income
levels for police vary by region,” Van Horn says. “A person who is doing police
work at Port Authority is very different from a police officer in the rural community.”
In 2013, some 20 NYPD employees brought in over $50,000 in overtime. As the
recent killings of police officers in New York has shown, they often face
life-or-death situations every day.
Bartenders
A six-figure salary for bartenders is not common -- the
Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median salary at $18,900 a year -- but
bartenders in upmarket bars in major cities like New York and L.A. can make
hundreds of dollars a night in tips. Most bartenders take home between $45,000
and $73,000, including tips, according to Rob Doherty, author of “Highball: The
Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Professional Bartender.” “It’s possible for a
bartender to find just the right situation to rake in the much sought after
$100,000,” he writes. The best bartenders remember everything there is to know
about their customers, often share opinions on issues of the day and never
forget their names.
Contractors and construction managers
All those fixer-uppers add up. The national average for
contractor salaries is $65,239, according to Glassdoor, but can vary from
$32,000 to $110,000, depending on the scale of the work. “It’s a field that’s
so broad, from large construction companies to one-man operations,” Van Horn
says. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that pay for construction
managers can range from $82,790 to $144,520. Although a bachelor’s degree may
not be required, rigorous training, substantial experience and/or formal
certification/licensing may be necessary, says Patrick O’Keefe, director of
economic research at CohnReznick, an accounting and advisory firm. More than
half (57%) of construction managers were self-employed in 2012, the BLS found.
But it’s demanding: “The need to meet deadlines and to respond to delays and
emergencies often requires long hours. Many managers also may be on call 24
hours a day.”
Farmers and ranchers
“Farmers in the Midwest and up and down the east and west
coasts can bring home six figures,” says Scott Dobroski, career trends analyst
at careers website Glassdoor. They work in industries where their products
never go out of fashion. “After all, everyone in America drinks orange juice,”
he says, although the price of oranges and orange juice can be volatile. While
the median annual wage for farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers is
$70,110 a year, it can rise to $119,530 a year, as measured by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics. California farmers have the highest annual mean wage of all
states in this industry ($93,630 a year versus $75,960 a year in Florida), the
BLS says. California’s most valued commodities in 2012 included milk ($6.9
billion in revenue a year), grapes ($4.5 billion a year) and almonds ($4.4
billion a year), according to the California Department of Food and
Agriculture.
Oil rig workers
While most geologists, engineers and drilling consultants
have a bachelor’s degree, there are some oil rig jobs that don’t require one.
Oil rig foremen/superintendents, directional drillers and oil rig managers are
among jobs that don’t typically require a bachelor’s degree and can command six
figure salaries or close to, according to a report by RigZone, a jobs site for
the industry -- but they often require years of experience and oil and gas
worker salaries fell 3% in 2013 for the second consecutive year. Working on a
rig can be lonely, laborious and dangerous, but salaries have been rising in
recent years, he adds. North Dakota had the highest fatality rate in the
country in 2012 (17.7 per 100,000 workers) followed by Wyoming (12.2), Alaska
(8.9) and Montana (7.3), according to a report by AFLCIO, the American
Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.
Let's examine these 1 by 1.
ReplyDeleteWelder, Although someone found a welder that makes six figures that is way outside the norm. And this individual Did go to a technical college to get his skill. Yes skill, welding is a skill. Not everyone can do it and if you are not skilled at it where you can produce attractive welds you ain't gonna work let alone make 100 grand. Most welders make 15-17 dollars and hour.
NYC police officer. this is laughable. Yes Police officers do make six figures in NYC and the number needed is limited so don't plan your move until you have secured one of the spots. And keep in mind that NYC is among the most expensive places in the world to live. The average salary for a police officer is about 50 thou a year and get this you get a pay premium if you have (ha ha) a college degree in the field.
Bartenders Really? yeah at some private exclusive club maybe. Most bartenders are paid minimum wage for tipped employees and average 28,000 a year according to glassdoor.com
Construction managers. Okay the piece starts off stating the obvious most construction managers average about 65,000 a year. Once you get in 15-20 years of experience you may get assigned to a 100,000 paid job. But guess what will get you there quicker. A degree in a related field.
Farmers and Ranchers
Wow they can but what hard back breaking work it takes. Most of this experience is handed down through families over decades and if you make this kind of profit your family has been at it a long time. You aren't going to start a ranch or farm from scratch and make 100 grand from the get go. You may do that working for a conglomerate but to get that job you will probably need a degree in an ag field.
Oilrig workers. Again after 20 years or so you will make 100 grand. But to get there it is years of dirty backbreaking work long hours away from home and long hours working daily. The average rig worker salary has actually fallen in recent years. And to get one of the good clean higher paying jobs quickly the degree in geology or engineering never held anybody back.
Stop the bullshit it just ain't true.