Highest-paying jobs in Tulsa that don't require a college degree

Gen Z has figured out that college isn't the only way to land a high-paying job. According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 2 in 5 (38.6%) of recent high school graduates opted out of college in 2023, up from 33.8% in 2019.

This shift comes at a good time for high school grads, as companies face labor shortages for many jobs that don't require a college degree. Baby boomers retiring and a trend to reopen factories in the United States have both driven demand for young talent. A July 2024 Intelligent report found that 1 in 3 companies have already dropped bachelor's degree requirements across entry-level, mid-tier, and even senior positions to attract more employees.

The need for skilled workers, regardless of educational attainment, means better pay. Median wages for those with a high school degree are at their highest since 1990, according to the New York Federal Reserve.

At $40,000 on average, these wages are still $20,000 lower than those of a college grad. Yet nearly 1 in 5 workers who opt out of college earn more than employees with bachelor's degrees. Two million high school grads across the U.S. make six-figure annual salaries—without the financial burden of attending a four-year university. As of 2025, the average annual cost of college is more than $38,200 per student, and the average college graduate has more than $39,000 in student debt. It's little wonder that, according to a May 2024 survey from Pew Research, 29% of Americans think attending college is not worthwhile.

However, not every career field pays high school grads equally well, and understanding what the good jobs are is the first step to landing one. Stacker ranked the 50 highest-paying jobs that don't require a college degree in Tulsa using annual compensation data from the BLS. The analysis included jobs that listed a high school diploma, a postsecondary nondegree award, or had no formal education requirements for entry-level positions. Jobs are ranked by their median annual pay as of May 2024, so any jobs without annual compensation figures available were excluded from this analysis.

RossHelen // Shutterstock

1 / 50

#50. Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders

- Median annual wage: $59,600
- Median hourly wage: $28.66
- Total employment: 560 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Erin Deleon // Shutterstock

2 / 50

#49. Postal service mail carriers

- Median annual wage: $59,610
- Median hourly wage: $28.66
- Total employment: 1,090 people (2.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Said M // Shutterstock

3 / 50

#48. Service unit operators, oil and gas

- Median annual wage: $59,890
- Median hourly wage: $28.79
- Total employment: 370 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Carolina K. Smith MD // Shutterstock

4 / 50

#47. Transportation security screeners

- Median annual wage: $59,950
- Median hourly wage: $28.82
- Total employment: 110 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Wipas Rojjanakard // Shutterstock

5 / 50

#46. Occupational health and safety technicians

- Median annual wage: $60,160
- Median hourly wage: $28.92
- Total employment: 60 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Kmpzzz // Shutterstock

6 / 50

#45. Construction and building inspectors

- Median annual wage: $60,310
- Median hourly wage: $29.00
- Total employment: 460 people (1.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Etaphop photo // Shutterstock

7 / 50

#44. Electricians

- Median annual wage: $60,370
- Median hourly wage: $29.03
- Total employment: 2,620 people (5.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Studio 72 // Shutterstock

8 / 50

#43. Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

- Median annual wage: $60,380
- Median hourly wage: $29.03
- Total employment: 30 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Syda Productions // Shutterstock

9 / 50

#42. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants

- Median annual wage: $60,470
- Median hourly wage: $29.07
- Total employment: 870 people (1.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Rebekah Zemansky // Shutterstock

10 / 50

#41. First-line supervisors of correctional officers

- Median annual wage: $60,610
- Median hourly wage: $29.14
- Total employment: 40 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Leszek Glasner // Shutterstock

11 / 50

#40. Property, real estate, and community association managers

- Median annual wage: $60,690
- Median hourly wage: $29.18
- Total employment: 620 people (1.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

rezoff // Shutterstock

12 / 50

#39. Plant and system operators, all other

- Median annual wage: $60,930
- Median hourly wage: $29.29
- Total employment: 50 people (0.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Stock Rocket // Shutterstock

13 / 50

#38. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products

- Median annual wage: $60,980
- Median hourly wage: $29.32
- Total employment: 4,000 people (8.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

John Gress Media Inc // Shutterstock

14 / 50

#37. Engine and other machine assemblers

- Median annual wage: $61,260
- Median hourly wage: $29.45
- Total employment: 130 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock

15 / 50

#36. Chemical equipment operators and tenders

- Median annual wage: $61,360
- Median hourly wage: $29.50
- Total employment: 210 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

16 / 50

#35. Advertising sales agents

- Median annual wage: $61,550
- Median hourly wage: $29.59
- Total employment: 280 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

pio3 // Shutterstock

17 / 50

#34. Police and sheriff's patrol officers

- Median annual wage: $61,580
- Median hourly wage: $29.60
- Total employment: 2,200 people (4.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

GaudiLab // Shutterstock

18 / 50

#33. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers

- Median annual wage: $61,650
- Median hourly wage: $29.64
- Total employment: 5,070 people (11.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jat306 // Shutterstock

19 / 50

#32. Millwrights

- Median annual wage: $61,750
- Median hourly wage: $29.69
- Total employment: 30 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

ALPA PROD // Shutterstock

20 / 50

#31. First-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling supervisors

- Median annual wage: $61,980
- Median hourly wage: $29.80
- Total employment: 1,940 people (4.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock

21 / 50

#30. Electrical power-line installers and repairers

- Median annual wage: $63,110
- Median hourly wage: $30.34
- Total employment: 850 people (1.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

SritanaN // Shutterstock

22 / 50

#29. Industrial machinery mechanics

- Median annual wage: $63,470
- Median hourly wage: $30.51
- Total employment: 1,750 people (3.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Vladimir Endovitskiy // Shutterstock

23 / 50

#28. Rotary drill operators, oil and gas

- Median annual wage: $63,960
- Median hourly wage: $30.75
- Total employment: 310 people (0.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

manine99 // Shutterstock

24 / 50

#27. Maintenance workers, machinery

- Median annual wage: $64,340
- Median hourly wage: $30.93
- Total employment: 740 people (1.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Elizaveta Galitckaia // Shutterstock

25 / 50

#26. Wellhead pumpers

- Median annual wage: $64,570
- Median hourly wage: $31.04
- Total employment: 110 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Pixel B // Shutterstock

26 / 50

#25. Tool and die makers

- Median annual wage: $64,650
- Median hourly wage: $31.08
- Total employment: 130 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

PHILIPIMAGE // Shutterstock

27 / 50

#24. Motorboat mechanics and service technicians

- Median annual wage: $65,060
- Median hourly wage: $31.28
- Total employment: 40 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Washburn HM // Shutterstock

28 / 50

#23. Transportation inspectors

- Median annual wage: $65,420
- Median hourly wage: $31.45
- Total employment: 70 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

29 / 50

#22. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators

- Median annual wage: $65,960
- Median hourly wage: $31.71
- Total employment: 1,010 people (2.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Paolo Bona // Shutterstock

30 / 50

#21. Food service managers

- Median annual wage: $66,050
- Median hourly wage: $31.75
- Total employment: 630 people (1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock

31 / 50

#20. Stationary engineers and boiler operators

- Median annual wage: $66,300
- Median hourly wage: $31.88
- Total employment: 70 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

32 / 50

#19. Computer numerically controlled tool programmers

- Median annual wage: $67,130
- Median hourly wage: $32.27
- Total employment: 120 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Oleg Golovnev // Shutterstock

33 / 50

#18. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers

- Median annual wage: $69,330
- Median hourly wage: $33.33
- Total employment: 3,300 people (7.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Vladeep // Shutterstock

34 / 50

#17. Crane and tower operators

- Median annual wage: $69,930
- Median hourly wage: $33.62
- Total employment: 180 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

sculpies // Shutterstock

35 / 50

#16. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

- Median annual wage: $73,270
- Median hourly wage: $35.23
- Total employment: 3,000 people (6.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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4 PM production // Shutterstock

36 / 50

#15. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers

- Median annual wage: $75,710
- Median hourly wage: $36.40
- Total employment: 2,660 people (5.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Tyler Olson // Shutterstock

37 / 50

#14. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers

- Median annual wage: $76,520
- Median hourly wage: $36.79
- Total employment: 380 people (0.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Prath // Shutterstock

38 / 50

#13. Detectives and criminal investigators

- Median annual wage: $77,440
- Median hourly wage: $37.23
- Total employment: 240 people (0.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Christian Lagerek // Shutterstock

39 / 50

#12. Gas plant operators

- Median annual wage: $77,680
- Median hourly wage: $37.35
- Total employment: Not available

g-stockstudio // Shutterstock

40 / 50

#11. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers

- Median annual wage: $79,560
- Median hourly wage: $38.25
- Total employment: 880 people (1.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Oil and Gas Photographer // Shutterstock

41 / 50

#10. Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door

- Median annual wage: $80,310
- Median hourly wage: $38.61
- Total employment: 250 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

michaeljung // Shutterstock

42 / 50

#9. Power plant operators

- Median annual wage: $80,940
- Median hourly wage: $38.92
- Total employment: 90 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Peter Braakmann // Shutterstock

43 / 50

#8. First-line supervisors of farming, fishing, and forestry workers

- Median annual wage: $88,730
- Median hourly wage: $42.66
- Total employment: 80 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

goodluz // Shutterstock

44 / 50

#7. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers

- Median annual wage: $95,400
- Median hourly wage: $45.87
- Total employment: 440 people (0.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Suwin // Shutterstock

45 / 50

#6. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay

- Median annual wage: $95,890
- Median hourly wage: $46.10
- Total employment: 60 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Ken Wolter // Shutterstock

46 / 50

#5. Postmasters and mail superintendents

- Median annual wage: $96,200
- Median hourly wage: $46.25
- Total employment: 40 people (0.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Ground Picture // Shutterstock

47 / 50

#4. First-line supervisors of police and detectives

- Median annual wage: $96,350
- Median hourly wage: $46.32
- Total employment: 400 people (0.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Skycolors // Shutterstock

48 / 50

#3. Commercial pilots

- Median annual wage: $101,830
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: Not available