Escape The Minimum Wage: 8 Highest Paid Jobs In The UK Without A Degree

Manuela Willbold

Friday, November 25th, 2022

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Table of Contents

£14,076.

That is a huge amount, right?

It is not just a random number but one year’s cost of living in the UK with the minimum living standards.

Due to the impacts of the recession, the total amount required each week has increased by 26.8% compared to 2021.

The below chart shows how much Brits in different age groups have been worrying about the cost-of-living crisis.

Source

For a single working adult, it requires at least £293.28 each week, excluding the rent, to achieve the minimum standard of living in the UK.

If the cost of living goes up with inflation, but your income stays the same as it was a year ago, then life will be nothing less than living on the edge.

According to financial experts, the UK’s annual inflation could go even higher, as much as 15%, by 2023.

And the only solution to keep up with current and future inflation is to get the highest-paid jobs in the UK.

Yes, it is possible to start a new job that pays more, even if you don’t have a university or college degree.

Here is the list of 10 highest paying jobs without a degree that you can do in the UK:

Serial Number	Job	Average Salary per year
1	Health and Wellness Coach	£25,960
2	Digital Marketing	£32,500
3	Life Coach	£31,220
4	Personal Trainer	$32,127
5	HR Manager	£42,243
6	Journalist	£29,240
7	Virtual Assistant	£30,000
8	Estate Agents	£39,000

Reading further, you will find the above jobs detailed with career requirements along with their pros and cons.

1. Health and Wellness Coach

Health and wellness coaches are specialists who work with their clients one-to-one to empower and encourage them to accomplish their health and wellness-related goals.

Career requirements:

Health and wellness coaching is one of the highest paying jobs without a degree, course requirements, or hours of training, nor is a license necessary for practicing it.

But there are certificate courses you can invest in to get legit information and skills. Take a look at some of the best health coach certification programs:

Apart from the credentials having soft skills like empathy, good communication, and listening will be an add-on to becoming a good health and wellness coach.

Pros:

You can develop it into a business eventually.
The cost of becoming a wellness coach is less costly than other degrees.
The demand for wellness coaches is increasing yearly, and the business is known to be relatively recession-proof.

Cons:

It takes time to see the results in your clients & make money.
It is more challenging to operate your business in the comforts of your home.

Top Tip: Why not invest one or two hours per day in blogging or vlogging about your health and wellness tips as a wellness influencer?

2. Digital Marketing

Digital marketing refers to the marketing tactics used to connect with current and prospective clients through digital channels such as search engines, email, social media, and other websites.

Indeed shows 12,000+ job postings for the post of digital marketing, with a starting average salary of £20,000 and there are various marketing careers you can target.

Career requirements:

You don’t necessarily need a marketing degree or certificate program to become a digital marketer, one of the highest paying jobs without a degree with the greatest potential for growth in the future.

Instead, the best way to be a digital marketer is to start practicing offering marketing services.

You can start your career through a social media handle if you know how to navigate through social media platforms which is a big part of digital marketing.

Pros:

There is a huge growth prospective of 8% in marketing between 2018-2028, with many job opportunities in the future.
A job in digital marketing provides flexibility in working hours and can often be done remotely.
Several specializations exist, like content marketing, performance marketing, SEO, social media marketing, and email marketing.

Cons:

It is essential to stay updated on the latest strategies, developments, and updates.
It demands time and detailed research to structure digital marketing strategies.

3. Life Coach

A life coach is a well-being expert who helps individuals identify obstacles, create strategies, and set goals to improve their relationships and careers to live better lives.

According to Glassdoor, the national average salary for a life coach in the UK is £31,211.

Career requirements:

No education prerequisites are needed to enter a training program for life coaching, the highest paying job without a degree in the UK.

But with the increasing understanding of the coaching profession, many businesses hiring external coaches ask for certificate course accreditation from authorized coaching institutions and references.

Pros:

A physical storefront or an office space is unnecessary to start your life coach business.
There are no overhead costs to begin your job as a life coach.

Cons:

It’s essential to analyze the market and understand where the demand lies since it is highly competitive.
The conversion process of prospective clients is time-consuming.

4. Personal Trainer

A Personal Trainer is someone who provides the understanding and skills to support clients in accomplishing their fitness goals through exercise programs.

Career requirements:

You can learn how to become a personal trainer by attending personal training courses or working under another trainer in a gym or health club.

According to CIMSPA, you require Level 3 Personal Training Qualification to begin your career in personal training.

Pros:

It gives you flexibility over your time on when to work.
Personal trainers spend a lot of time in gyms giving them the opportunity to stay physically fit.

Cons:

Most personal trainers work for themselves. Hence, they don’t receive the traditional benefits packages.
They don’t have long-term job security since most clients are there for a short duration until they achieve their fitness objectives.
Staying physically fit becomes more challenging as you get older.
You will have to familiarize yourself with fitness apps and software to expand.

5. HR Manager

A human resources (HR) manager supervises the business’s executive and organizational functions by playing a vital role between the management and the employees.

Career requirements:

To start a career as an HR Manager, you must deeply understand the job market you plan to work in.

Soft skills like good communication, business management, and specific administration skills will help you to master your job.

Attending certificate programs can help enhance your resume and validate that you possess the required aptitudes for the job.

Pros:

The human resource department provides better professional growth in the job profile, description, and remuneration.
HR managers have financial authority over employees’ and employers’ economic necessities.

Cons:

An HR Manager is a high responsibility position and demands good working experience.
Requires excellent legal skills to avoid uncertain problems for the company.

6. Journalist

Journalists are professionals who collect information, write articles, and present the news truthfully through TV channels, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and websites.

Career requirements:

According to Bennetto, the senior journalism lecturer at City University in London, qualifications are “not necessary, but not having an understanding of the law, ethics, news, and feature layout, and multimedia skills can make you stuck at a junior level.”

Creating a solid journalism portfolio is the key to getting hired for this highest-paid job in the UK.

Editors always prefer applicants with proven journalism experience with soft skills like writing, communication, time management, and adaptability.

Pros:

Journalism lets you learn something new daily and helps you stay updated.
You get the chance to connect with many influential people, from celebrities to politicians.
You can walk into almost any event in your city with the privilege of your press card.

Cons:

Journalism is a stressful job demanding long working hours and tight deadlines.
It is a risky job where journalists are expected to work often under life-threatening conditions.

Top Tip: you can start a news blog on your own by writing journalistic pieces and publishing them on your own website. You could do this together with other writers and journalists to scale it and grow it faster by also publishing press and news releases. Or by providing expert tips like Martin Lewis via his moneysavingexpert.com website for example.

7. Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant is an independent contractor looking after clients’ administrative services without working in the company’s brick-and-mortar office space.

It is one of the highest paying jobs without a degree where you can work in the comforts of a home office.

Career requirements:

There are online certification programs for virtual assistants.

But there are no hard-and-fast educational requirements to start a career in virtual assistance.

Many clients look for a good portfolio and specialized training when hiring virtual assistants.

A virtual assistant should have a wide range of computer skills and high proficiency in software and business programs.

Pros:

You can work from your home or anywhere you like without worrying about a boss looking after you.
You can choose precisely what assistance you want to deliver to the client.
There is an infinite earning potential where you can set your rates and have the privilege of choosing your clients.

Cons:

As a beginner, finding the first paying client takes a lot of work.
You must take care of all the supporting tasks like paying taxes, scheduling client calls, and invoicing clients apart from your virtual assistant job.

8. Estate Agents

The real estate agent is one of the highest paying jobs without a degree, where the agent will assist clients in buying, selling, and renting new homes or commercial spaces.

They help their clients buy and sell homes and guide them through the negotiation process to obtain the best deals while they stay up to date with the real estate market.

There are nearly 500+ real estate agent job postings available on LinkedIn every 24 hours and the UK with hot property markets like London and Manchester offers many job opportunities.

Career requirements:

No mandatory degree education is required to become a real estate agent.

A real estate license is not necessary if you want to start a career as a real estate agent, but individual agents may be qualified and professional body members, such as of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The National Association of Estate Agents requires its members to have specific qualifications.

You can attend a real estate certification course to help you develop a deeper understanding of the industry.

You must also have good communication and negotiation skills to stay competitive in the real estate industry.

Pros:

There is a huge income potential, with an average of 25 percent more income than all workers and high property prices in certain areas.
Real estate agents have more flexible working hours, allowing them to set their own schedules.

Cons:

You will have to deal with rejections a lot of times.
You will have to communicate and deal with people from different walks of life.

Are you ready to work in the highest-paying jobs without a degree?

University education is not everyone’s cup of tea plus it is not affordable for everyone. So, of course, there are alternative opportunities to get into some of the highest-paying jobs without a degree straight from secondary school. All it takes is dedication and motivation to perform well in any of these jobs and earn perhaps even above average to escape the minimum wage.