Aussies worried about racking up a huge amount of student loan debt that they might never be able to fully pay off can go down a different path and still pull in six figures. Young people have been told for decades that they need to go to university if they want to earn a decent living.
But some are speaking out about how they've forged their own journey. Tash Markham told Yahoo Finance she's managed to get the job of her dreams and it didn't require a uni degree.
She "wished" someone had told her this when she was in her early 20s "trying to navigate what I wanted to do". But she's not the only one who has scored an epic role without spending years schlepping it out to a university campus.
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$130,000 a year even without 'book smarts'
A woman in Brisbane explained in a TikTok video that she "barely" finished Year 12 at high school and was faced with two options.
"My mum said, 'If you don't get a government job, you have to go to uni'. [So] I got a government job and didn't go to uni," she told jobs app GetAhead.
She started at a call centre when she was just 18 years old and has slowly worked her way up the ranks at Queensland Health and is now a principal policy officer earning $130,000 a year.
"I work in the state budget team with Queensland Health... So just working on budget submissions, a bit of project management, project engagement and stuff like that," she said.
Up to $200,000 a year selling fruit
Another woman in Queensland's capital revealed how there are loads of opportunities for people in the horticulture industry.
She helps sell fruit like mangos, strawberries and pineapples to Coles and Woolworths and said you can make upwards of $200,000 in a high-ranking role.
The mum said she started in the industry 17 years ago by just answering phones and is now at the level where she's pulling in six figures.
"Our industry is crying out for young people... just come through, show some initiative in any of the fields, and you'll be given plenty of opportunities," she told GetAhead.
$150,000 to $200,000 a year if you 'start asking questions'
Another man revealed how buyer's agents can earn upwards of $200,000 a year if they're good at what they do.
There's no formal university qualification needed for the role, but a real estate license is required, which is dependent on work experience and other eligibility requirements.
But the buyer's agent said the job might not be for everyone.
"We have clients all over the world, all over the country, and we go and search for what they're looking for," he said before explaining how stressful the job can be. "I've lost my hair over it."
He added that it's important to set boundaries when you're in a job like that. The agent said while you need the license to properly get started, it's worth doing some research to get your head around the industry.
"There's, there's so many different ways of doing it... YouTube's a fantastic thing that you can go see now... Just being able to go and find out who's doing what, where and when, and see how you can slot in. Yeah, start asking questions."
$250,000 per year after starting as a mail boy
This one is a bit of a rogue entrant but it shows you don't need to go to university to start your career.
This insurance underwriter started out as the mail boy and is now earning a quarter of a million dollars a year.
The man said he "learned the ropes from the ground up" until his superiors decided to take a chance on him.
This did result in him going to university but in a non-traditional way.
His employers paid for him to get a Master of Business Administration (MBA) while he worked.
Now, he's earning $250,000 a year "looking at risks and deciding which ones are good, which ones are bad, and then we put the pricing on it".
Best way to get into a job without a degree
While some of these people achieved these jobs by working their way up the ladder, Aussies have been told that many fields that don't need a degree still require certain skills.
“While people don’t need formal qualifications, they will be looking for relevant experience or those transferable skills," Indeed's career coach Sally McKibbin explained to Yahoo Finance.
“They may still require some other qualifications, such as a diploma or certificate. If you have that, you can work your way up to some of these highest-paying roles without a degree.”
Indeed also found that if you're going down the route of university and want a job, then you'll need to have some experience under your belt.
Some university students have vented about the low-paying entry level roles they were expected to take after studying and racking up serious HECS debts.
The majority of both employers (68 per cent) and graduates (61 per cent) thought undergraduate degrees were no longer enough to secure a good job.
Most bosses (59 per cent) said they were more likely to hire a grad with internship or work experience, over one without it.
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