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If you don’t have a college degree, certain jobs may be out of your reach. But does that mean that you can’t feel professionally fulfilled? Absolutely not. There are many careers that don’t require post-secondary education and can provide workers with a sense of happiness and purpose.

Here’s a look at the characteristics that make a job rewarding, the industries that offer the greatest sense of well-being, and the most satisfying jobs you can get in those industries that don’t require a degree.

Characteristics of a Satisfying Job

It can be tough to pin down the characteristics of a satisfying job. That’s because satisfaction can be subjective. There are plenty of roles out there that you may prefer to avoid but others would be over the moon to try.

That said, the most rewarding jobs tend to share some qualities. According to the Urban Institute, good jobs typically offer:

•   Liveable wages that allow employees to cover basic needs.

•   Growth opportunity within the company to improve skills and advance.

•   Workplace flexibility and control over one’s schedule.

•   Benefits, such as paid leave, health care, and retirement contributions.

•   Safe working conditions.

Why Is It Difficult to Find a Satisfying Job Without a College Degree?

There are other characteristics you might find necessary to consider work satisfying. For example, you might want a job where you help people, like a doctor, or a job where you work with animals, like a veterinarian.

Unfortunately, without a post-secondary degree, your pool of available jobs will likely be limited. Depending on the job market in your area, that may mean you have to compromise on the job you choose or relocate so you can be closer to meaningful work you qualify for.

Recommended: Should I Go to Community College?

Tips for Finding a Satisfying Job Without a College Degree

It’s a good idea to start your job hunt with online search engines. Your search will likely lead you to large job sites that compile listings from industries across the country. If you’re looking for a particular type of role, you may want to try industry-specific job boards.

Networking and word of mouth are also good ways to find work. Reach out to people in your area who work in the industry you’re looking to join. Ask to meet with them to learn what you need to do to successfully apply for a job in that field, and put the word out that you are actively looking.

Just because a job doesn’t require a degree doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find one that pays well. Consider exploring high-paying trade jobs and high-paying vocational careers to find jobs that pay top dollar.

Once you begin to earn a salary, consider using a spending app to help you budget and track your money.

Recommended: 25 High-Paying Trade Jobs in Demand

Top 10 Most Satisfying Jobs You Can Get in America Without a Degree

Now for the tricky part: How to take a subjective measure like satisfaction and apply it to a list of jobs that don’t require a degree?

For this list, we looked at The Washington Post’s roundup of 10 industries that offer the greatest sense of well-being, which was based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those fields include:

•   Agriculture, logging, and forestry

•   Real estate, rental, and leasing

•   Construction

•   Management, administrative, and waste

•   Information

•   Health and social assistance

•   Arts and entertainment

•   Transportation and warehousing

•   Wholesale

•   Retail

What are the most satisfying jobs in those industries? Read on for examples.

Forest and Conservation Workers

Forest and conservation workers typically help measure the state of forest and improve quality. They may work for state and local governments or for privately owned forest lands.

Median annual wage: $30,550

Job outlook: Employment in this industry is expected to decline 3% through 2031. However, there are still 2,300 openings for forest and conservation workers projected each year.

Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents

Real estate brokers and sales agents help people who are looking to rent, buy, or sell properties. They tend to be self-employed and are usually able to set their own hours.

Median annual wage for real estate brokers: $62,010

Median annual wage for real estate sales agents: $48,340

Job outlook: Employment is expected to grow 5% through 2031, which is about as fast as average. There are a projected 54,800 job openings each year.

Construction and Building Inspectors

Construction and building inspectors work alongside or as part of a team to make sure that new buildings meet codes, ordinances, zoning restrictions, and match up with specifications made in building contracts.

Median annual wage: $61,640

Job outlook: Employment for this job is expected to decline 4% through 2031. However, there are a projected 14,800 new jobs annually.

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collector

As part of waste management infrastructure, refuse and recyclable material collectors collect and dump waste materials. Their job may include driving waste collection vehicles.

Median annual wage: $38,500

Job outlook: N/A

Library Assistant

Library assistants work in public, private, or university libraries helping to shelve and organize materials, assist patrons, and perform clerical tasks. The job typically requires a high school diploma, and may require a post-secondary certificate.

Median annual pay: $34,050

Job outlook: Library assistant jobs are expected to decline 4% through 2031, with a projected 24,000 openings each year.

Home Health Aide

Home health aides are among the fastest growing jobs. They help people with chronic disabilities or illness perform acts of daily living, like getting dressed and eating. They may work in a client’s home, a group home, or a day service facility.

Median annual wage: $29,430

Job outlook: Jobs for home health aides are expected to grow 25% through 2031, with about 711,700 openings projected each year.

Musician

Musicians sing or play musical instruments in recording studios or in front of live audiences in concert halls, clubs, and churches. Many singers work part-time.

Median hourly wage: $30.49

Job outlook: Employment for singers is expected to grow through 2031 by 4%, with 20,800 projected job openings.

Truck Driver

Truck drivers are charged with transporting goods from one place to another. It’s typically a pretty solitary line of work, but if being on the open road brings you happiness, it might be worth considering.

Median annual salary: $48,310

Job outlook: Employment is expected to grow 4% through 2031, which is nearly average for all occupations.

Material Recording Clerk

Material recording clerks help track product information and keep supply chains running and businesses on schedule.

Median annual wage: $37,870

Job outlook: Employment is expected to decline 3% through 2031, with 131,900 projected job openings each year.

Retail Sales Worker

Retail sales workers help customers in stores find the products they need and then ring them up at the cash register. They may also restock shelves

Median hourly wage: $14

Job outlook: Employment is expected to stay the same through 2031, with a projected 594,00 openings each year

The Takeaway

Not having a college degree doesn’t mean you can’t find fulfilling work. Satisfying jobs that don’t require a degree can be found in any industry, though certain roles may provide a great sense of well-being. Examples include a construction inspector, a real estate broker or sales agent, a retail sales associate, a musician, a truck driver, and a library assistant. As you hunt for a job, look for roles that match up with what you want in terms of the type of work, workplace, amount of social interaction, and wage requirements.

Once you find a satisfying job and start earning a paycheck, a money tracker app can help you manage your finances. The SoFi app connects all of your accounts in one convenient dashboard. From there, you can see all of your balances, spending breakdowns, and credit score monitoring, plus you can get other valuable financial insights.

FAQ

What are the most satisfying jobs?

According to a Washington Post analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the most satisfying jobs can be found in the agriculture, logging, and forestry industry.

What jobs pay over $100,000 without a degree?

It is possible to find jobs that pay over $100,000 a year and don’t require a college degree. One example is a construction site manager or a senior real estate manager.

How can I make $100,000 a year without a degree

If you want to make more than $100,000 a year without a college degree, begin by researching jobs that offer high wages and only require a high school diploma. You may then consider taking an entry-level position that allows you to gain the skills and experience needed so you can advance to higher wages.

Photo credit: iStock/Pekic

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Fiduciary financial advisors are professionals who have a legal obligation to manage assets or give retirement advice with their client’s best interest in mind.

Among the guidelines fiduciary financial advisors need to abide by are avoiding conflicts of interest, being transparent (about fees and investments choices), acting in good faith, and being as accurate as possible.

Financial advisors aren’t the only professionals who can have fiduciary responsibilities. Lawyers, bankers, board members, accountants and executors can all be considered fiduciaries.

Fiduciary financial advisors cannot recommend investments or products simply because they would pay them bigger commissions. They can be held civilly responsible if they give advice that isn’t in the best interest of their clients.

What Is a Fiduciary?

A fiduciary is someone who manages property or money on behalf of someone else. “When you are named a fiduciary, you are required by law to manage the person’s money and property for their benefit, not yours,” according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a government watchdog agency.

The CFPB provides an example of this, along with the requirements of being a fiduciary:

“For example, a friend of yours may name you her fiduciary through a power of attorney (POA). This means that you are responsible for her finances if she becomes sick or injured.”

As a fiduciary, your four basic duties are to act only in your friend’s best interest, manage her money and property carefully, keep her money and property separate from your own, and keep good records. Basically, you are to do your very best to manage her finances honestly.

In this sense, a person who is named as a fiduciary may not have any particular financial planning expertise. Therefore, they may still choose to hire out the actual work of managing the money to a financial expert. In doing this, they are exercising fiduciary responsibility.

What Is the Fiduciary Responsibility in Financial Planning?

Someone who acts with fiduciary responsibility will act in the customer’s best interest.

There is no universal standard for fiduciary responsibility because there are multiple agencies that act as regulatory bodies in the financial services industry.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is one, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is another. Additionally, the organizations offering certifications, like the board of Certified Financial Professionals (CFPs), may provide their own guidance on fiduciary responsibility and code of conduct.

In 2016, the Labor Department issued what was called the “fiduciary rule,” requiring that any advisors offering retirement advice must act in their clients’ best interest. The rule was widely challenged from within the industry and subsequently overturned in the courts in 2018.

While there has been subsequent discussion about the DOL restoring the fiduciary rule, as of early 2023 there are no plans to do so. Rather, investors interested in working with financial fiduciaries are encouraged to inquire directly with various professionals, as there are still some guidelines in effect.

Broker-Dealer Fiduciary Obligations

In June of 2019, the SEC passed its own version of the fiduciary rule, called Regulation Best Interest (RBI). It says that all broker-dealers (which includes brokers) must act in the best interest of the retail customer when making recommendations, without placing their financial interest ahead of the customer’s.

According to the SEC, broker-dealers must adhere to the following obligations:

Disclosure Obligation: provide certain required disclosure before or at the time of the recommendation, about the recommendation and the relationship between you and your retail customer;

Care Obligation: exercise reasonable diligence, care, and skill in making the recommendation;

Conflict of Interest Obligation: establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to address conflicts of interest; and

Compliance Obligation: establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to achieve compliance with Regulation Best Interest.

Not everyone is convinced that the new RBI standards do enough to protect the consumer. Additionally, the new RBI rules may have actually weakened the need for some Registered Investment Advisors to work in a fiduciary capacity.

Questions to Ask a Fiduciary Financial Advisor

Because the rules of fiduciary responsibility remain somewhat up for interpretation, the waters remain a bit murky for some retail customers, and the responsibility for finding a fiduciary requires effort on the consumer’s part.

Ask questions, carefully consider investment recommendations, and challenge possible conflicts of interest. It is good to be in the habit of asking the person you intend to work with whether they’ll be acting with fiduciary responsibility. Do not hesitate to ask them outright, “Are you a fiduciary?”

Then, ask them to clarify what fiduciary responsibility means to them, their title, and the institution that they represent. Also, consider how they are being compensated, i.e. what does the financial advisor charge? Much, although not all, can be sussed out via the compensation model.

The Fiduciary Versus Suitability Standard

Previously, broker-dealers may have adhered to what is called the “suitability rule,” as opposed to a fiduciary rule. Although broker-dealers are now technically held to a fiduciary standard, it’s an important word to know, just in case you work with someone who does not fall under the SEC’s regulatory purview. Suitability is not the same fiduciary responsibility.

The rule by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a non-governmental regulatory organization, requires that a firm or associated person have “a reasonable basis to believe” that a financial or investment recommendation is suitable for the customer.

The firm needs to make this determination based on the customer’s “investment profile,” which can include age, other investments, financial situation and needs, taxes, liquidity and risk tolerance, among other factors.

How to Find a Fiduciary Financial Advisor

Finding a financial professional that assumes fiduciary responsibility is a great start.

That said, there is more to finding a trusted financial advisor than simply adhering to fiduciary standards. Being a fiduciary doesn’t guarantee that a financial professional offers the right service for you, or even that they’re someone that you’ll want to work with.

For example, a doctor may have a license to practice, but not a good bedside manner. Or, you may need a dermatologist, so making an appointment with a pediatrician won’t do.

Here are a handful of the services offered in the financial help space, along with their respective adherence to fiduciary guidelines.

Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs)

Generally, RIAs manage investment portfolios on behalf of customers. They may or may not offer other services, such as comprehensive financial planning.

Previously, all RIAs were held to a fiduciary standard. Counterintuitively, this may have changed with the new RBI standards, which may have loosened standards for RIAs.

Brokers

Brokers, such as a stock broker, are professionals who buy and sell securities on behalf of clients. Typically, a broker works on some form of commission from the sale of securities.

Before the RBI, brokers were not held to a fiduciary standard. They are now held to the new standards, though it remains to be seen exactly how this will shake out within the industry.

Certified Financial Planners (CFPs)

CFP^® may offer more holistic financial services, such as financial planning, budgeting, and personalized investment advice. Not all financial planners are CFPs — you may want to ask about the credentials of the professional you want to work with.

The CFP Board “supports a uniform fiduciary standard of conduct for all personalized investment advice. This fiduciary standard of conduct should put the interests of the client first, and should include both a duty of care and a duty of loyalty.”

Again, it is important to seek out the professional that will best serve your needs.

If a financial professional suggests a product or strategy, do not be afraid to ask questions.

How Are Fiduciary Financial Advisors Compensated?

Financial professionals are compensated in several different ways:

Fee-only

In this case, you would pay a financial professional, such as a CFP^®, a fee to sit down and discuss a financial plan or roadmap. This could be a one-time meeting, or meetings could take place at regular intervals (such as quarterly or annually). If a financial planner is fee-only, then they will not receive any additional commissions on products being sold.

Fee-based

An advisor who is fee-based may charge a fee and collect commissions. This fee could be a one-time or annual fee, or it could be measured as a percentage of assets under management. For example, an investment advisor could charge a 1% annual fee.

Assets under management

Similarly, some investment advisors and planners who manage an investment portfolio may charge a percentage on top of assets that are being managed.

Hourly

Some financial professionals may charge by the hour. This may be more common for financial coaching and planning than wealth management.

Commissions

Commissions typically come in the form of payments to the financial professional, from the company that creates the product. Commissions are common on insurance products, like annuities and life insurance, and some actively managed mutual funds.

It is possible that a financial professional be compensated in multiple ways. Be sure to ask.

A popular choice for those just getting started is a fee-only fiduciary financial planner. To find a fee-only fiduciary financial planner, you may want to check a database like XY Planning.

The Takeaway

Fiduciary financial advisors are professionals who are legally obligated to invest money or give retirement advice that’s in the best interest of their clients.

Among the requirements fiduciary financial advisors need to abide by are minimizing conflicts of interest and being transparent about how they are compensated. Acting in good faith and giving accurate financial advice are also guidelines that fiduciaries are supposed to follow.

Investors looking for trusted help should try to find a fiduciary financial advisor. Some robo-advisors and online investing platforms offer access to a financial planner who can answer questions for investors.

Ready to invest in your goals? It’s easy to get started when you open an Active Invest account with SoFi invest. You can invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and more. SoFi doesn’t charge commissions, but other fees apply (full fee disclosure here). Also, members can access complimentary financial advice from a professional.

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