Want a middle-class income but hate the thought of endless college drudgery? Consider pursuing a career* in one of the following occupations, all with favorable job markets:
- First-line supervisors: transportation, material-moving machine, vehicle operators
- Police and sheriff’s patrol officers
- First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
- First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers
- Property, real estate, and community association managers
- Construction and building inspectors
- Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- Physical therapist assistants
- Respiratory therapists
- Occupational therapy assistants
- Web developers
- Diagnostic medical sonographers
- Dental hygienists
- Computer network support specialists
- Aircraft mechanics and service technicians
- Property, real estate, and community association managers
- Construction and building inspectors
- Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
- Cardiovascular technologists and technicians
- Magnetic resonance imaging technologists
- Billing and posting clerks
- Maintenance and repair workers, general
- Self-enrichment education teachers
- First-line supervisors of retail sales workers
- Carpenters
- Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters
- Sales representatives, services, all other
- Electricians
- First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers
- Computer user support specialists
- Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers
- Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
- Medical and clinical laboratory technicians
- Paralegals and legal assistants
- Medical records and health information technicians
- Automotive service technicians and mechanics
- Massage therapists
- Health technologists and technicians, all other
- Audio and video equipment technicians
- Surgical technologists
- Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers
- Firefighters
- Opticians, dispensing
- Healthcare support workers, all other
- Tax preparers
- First-line supervisors of personal service workers
- Sales and related workers, all other
- Community health workers
- Highway maintenance workers
- Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors
- First-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers
- Insurance claims and policy processing clerks
- Installation, maintenance, and repair workers, all other
- Loan interviewers and clerks
- Solar photovoltaic installers
- Information and record clerks, all other
- Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers
- Bus drivers, transit and intercity
- Automotive body and related repairers
- Chefs and head cooks
- Real estate sales agents
- Security and fire alarm systems installers
- Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists
- First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers
- Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators
- Production, planning, and expediting clerks
- Sheet metal workers
- Tree trimmers and pruners
- Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks
- Court, municipal, and license clerks
- Dental laboratory technicians
- Police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers
- Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators
- Hazardous materials removal workers
- Machinists
- Glaziers
- Cargo and freight agents
- Surveying and mapping technicians
- Eligibility interviewers, government programs
- Maintenance workers, machinery
- Brickmasons and blockmasons
- Structural iron and steel workers
- Ophthalmic medical technicians
- Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other
- Wind turbine service technicians
- Life, physical, and social science technicians, all other
- Civil engineering technicians
- Architectural and civil drafters
- Aircraft mechanics and service technicians
Notes and Definitions:
The above list care of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics/Occupational Outlook Handbook Occupation Finder.
Middle-class: I’m calling a single-earner household middle-class if the householder’s median pay (50%ile of the pay range) is sufficient for the household to be in the middle income quintile, which was between $45,600 - $74,875 in 2016. Median pay is where you’re likely to get after a few years in the occupation, assuming decent skill level and job performance. Many job holders will eventually earn much higher than the median pay. For example, while the median pay for Computer Network Support Specialists was $62, 670 in 2016, the 75th%ile pay was $82,560, and the 90th%ile was $105,910.
Single-Earner Household: An earner is someone who receives a wage, salary or is self-employed. The idea here is a household achieves middle-class status if just one person works full-time and has worked long and well enough to reach the median pay level in the occupation. Per the Census Bureau, 24% of US households in 2016 had no earners, 36% had one earner, and 40% had two or more earners.
Education Requirements: These occupations all required a High School Diploma or Equivalent, Post-Secondary Training/Certificate, some College, or an Associates Degree – but not a 4-year college degree or higher. On the OOH website, there were some middle-class jobs that did not require even a high school diploma, but I don't want to encourage anyone to drop out of high school. Also, through sheer talent, hard work or luck, some people have successful careers in occupations that typically require more education than they have. But planning to be the exception to a rule is usually not a good move.
Favorable Labor Market Conditions: employment is projected to increase at least 5% and add 5,000 to over 50,000 new jobs over the period of 2016-2026. That’s in addition to job openings created by people leaving the occupation. Although I did not include them in the above list, some occupations with a slower than average growth rate also have a favorable job market because they are very large occupations. For example, over the period of 2016-2026 more than 50,000 new jobs are projected for the middle-class occupation of First-Line Supervisors of Admin Support Workers (2016 median pay: $54,340), although the growth rate for that occupation is slower than average.
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* Pursuing a career path may mean starting in a lower-paying occupation to accumulate the necessary job experience to qualify for the middle-class occupation. This is especially the case for supervisory and management positions. For example, 90% of restaurant managers started in entry-level positions like food server.