Highest paying jobs that require a 2 year degree in Wichita

Written by:
July 15, 2022
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Highest paying jobs that require a 2 year degree in Wichita

Although it all depends on what you make of it, choosing to further your education may lead to higher paying job opportunities. An associate's degree takes just two years and offers more affordable tuition rates than a four-year school. As of April 2022, the average yearly salary for an individual with an associate's degree comes out to $45,989.

Students have a plethora of specialties to choose from when obtaining a 2-year degree, from industry-specific roles in health care or IT or a more generalized education path. Salaries differ between areas of study, job type, experience, and, of course, location. A Georgetown University study that looked at job growth and education requirements through 2020 stated that 30% of job openings required "at least some college or an associate's degree." Students can choose to head right into the workforce after earning an associate's, or continue their education toward earning a bachelor's degree.

The unemployment rate for associate's degree holders is only 2%, according to research from the Education Data Initiative. Having an associate's degree under your belt is proven to increase one's chance of holding a professional or management position in any number of industries, among them education and health, wholesale retail and trade, and professional and business services.

Stacker compiled a list of the highest and lowest paying jobs that require a 2-year degree in Wichita, KS using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs are ranked by 2021 annual mean wage.

#27. Veterinary technologists and technicians

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $34,480
- #268 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 240

National
- Annual mean salary: $37,860
- Employment: 109,490
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($57,990)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($52,220)
--- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA ($51,340)

#26. Human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $36,380
- #366 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 130

National
- Annual mean salary: $44,170
- Employment: 108,470
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($60,080)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($55,410)
--- Napa, CA ($54,120)

#25. Preschool teachers, except special education

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $40,150
- #67 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 330

National
- Annual mean salary: $36,550
- Employment: 370,940
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA ($49,990)
--- Ocean City, NJ ($49,720)
--- Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ ($49,560)

#24. Broadcast technicians

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $40,730
- #82 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 70

National
- Annual mean salary: $49,250
- Employment: 25,960
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($75,430)
--- Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY ($70,990)
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($69,950)

#23. Medical equipment repairers

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $41,740
- #181 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 160

National
- Annual mean salary: $55,090
- Employment: 48,510
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($84,820)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($84,030)
--- Reno, NV ($83,450)

#22. Paralegals and legal assistants

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $44,970
- #340 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 470

National
- Annual mean salary: $56,610
- Employment: 332,720
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($90,640)
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($76,960)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($75,640)

#21. Environmental science and protection technicians, including health

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $45,540
- #120 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

National
- Annual mean salary: $50,960
- Employment: 31,860
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Kennewick-Richland, WA ($79,780)
--- Huntsville, AL ($78,320)
--- Birmingham-Hoover, AL ($76,970)

#20. Chemical technicians

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $47,350
- #195 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 60

National
- Annual mean salary: $53,700
- Employment: 63,490
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Billings, MT ($86,340)
--- Alaska nonmetropolitan area ($79,390)
--- Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV ($78,000)

#19. Civil engineering technologists and technicians

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $49,170
- #233 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 160

National
- Annual mean salary: $56,590
- Employment: 67,270
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($92,190)
--- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($83,250)
--- Baton Rouge, LA ($81,340)

#18. Architectural and civil drafters

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $49,210
- #319 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 120

National
- Annual mean salary: $59,120
- Employment: 99,180
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC ($76,060)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($75,700)
--- Anchorage, AK ($75,650)

#17. Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $49,340
- #171 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 60

National
- Annual mean salary: $60,880
- Employment: 39,880
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Baton Rouge, LA ($112,580)
--- North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area ($91,580)
--- New Orleans-Metairie, LA ($91,550)

#16. Cardiovascular technologists and technicians

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $52,690
- #163 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 110

National
- Annual mean salary: $60,940
- Employment: 55,980
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA ($99,130)
--- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($94,400)
--- Santa Rosa, CA ($92,140)

#15. Electrical and electronics drafters

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $54,150
- #88 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 60

National
- Annual mean salary: $65,720
- Employment: 23,020
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($98,380)
--- Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX ($86,920)
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($83,760)

#14. Radiologic technologists and technicians

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $54,700
- #372 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 550

National
- Annual mean salary: $64,840
- Employment: 206,720
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($127,890)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($118,480)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($118,100)

#13. Mechanical drafters

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $55,190
- #160 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 200

National
- Annual mean salary: $61,490
- Employment: 51,620
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($104,540)
--- Corpus Christi, TX ($90,720)
--- New Orleans-Metairie, LA ($82,590)

#12. Morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $55,760
- #73 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 50

National
- Annual mean salary: $59,000
- Employment: 24,560
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Southwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area ($82,420)
--- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI ($79,240)
--- Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($73,940)

#11. Physical therapist assistants

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $56,230
- #281 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 170

National
- Annual mean salary: $59,440
- Employment: 92,740
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($85,960)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($78,740)
--- Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA ($76,390)

#10. Respiratory therapists

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $58,870
- #243 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 340

National
- Annual mean salary: $65,640
- Employment: 131,890
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($113,450)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($109,330)
--- Santa Rosa, CA ($101,690)

#9. Occupational therapy assistants

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $60,230
- #139 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 80

National
- Annual mean salary: $63,420
- Employment: 42,750
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($85,570)
--- Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV ($77,720)
--- San Diego-Carlsbad, CA ($77,650)

#8. Industrial engineering technologists and technicians

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $61,410
- #82 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 90

National
- Annual mean salary: $59,920
- Employment: 62,980
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS ($94,360)
--- Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX ($90,460)
--- Baton Rouge, LA ($86,020)

#7. Electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $64,040
- #182 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 150

National
- Annual mean salary: $68,310
- Employment: 115,270
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Northeast Virginia nonmetropolitan area ($99,890)
--- Fort Collins, CO ($91,980)
--- Bakersfield, CA ($90,780)

#6. Magnetic resonance imaging technologists

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $66,250
- #140 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40

National
- Annual mean salary: $75,960
- Employment: 39,270
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($133,590)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($127,930)
--- Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA ($120,550)

#5. Nuclear medicine technologists

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $67,910
- #91 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40

National
- Annual mean salary: $82,080
- Employment: 17,510
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($149,860)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($148,240)
--- Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA ($135,080)

#4. Dental hygienists

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $70,830
- #304 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 480

National
- Annual mean salary: $78,050
- Employment: 194,830
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA ($125,750)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($122,660)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($119,320)

#3. Diagnostic medical sonographers

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $76,720
- #124 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 160

National
- Annual mean salary: $77,790
- Employment: 73,920
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($138,110)
--- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($137,140)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($131,080)

#2. Radiation therapists

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $84,500
- #50 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40

National
- Annual mean salary: $94,300
- Employment: 17,390
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($169,080)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($159,660)
--- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($131,960)

#1. Air traffic controllers

Wichita, KS
- Annual mean salary: $105,130
- #27 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40

National
- Annual mean salary: $127,440
- Employment: 22,190
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI ($158,210)
--- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX ($154,180)
--- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA ($153,770)

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