6 Profitable Industries that Only Require a Two-Year Degree

I’m thinking about getting my third out of four degrees very soon. I love school. This makes me a weirdo. I have decided to own it.

You might have the very opposite of my nerdy nature. The thought of yet another year of school, let alone four, might make you cringe. I find this is much more common than my fellow educators would like to believe. You may want to own your potential lack of interest in scholarly pursuits, or at least consider a compromise – the two year degree, if this is the case for you. You may not understand the benefit of this decision, what those careers look like, or how to get there. Have no fear, I got you.

My fantasies of being a professional student are halted every time I have to pay my student loan bill. Despite the high costs of a bachelor’s level education, there are those of you out there who are more hands on, active, and would prefer to be directly interacting with people or moving your bodies throughout the day. People like you are the “Doers”, or otherwise known as the Realistic personality, of our society. I think one’s strengths should be embraced and celebrated rather than shunned. Finding a job that fits your individual needs and personality leads to job satisfaction and good physical health, which are linked to long-term well-being and success.  

Yet, the unfortunate reality of our world is that the demand for higher education in the job market is increasing. So how do you reconcile the reality of needing a degree with the acceptance that pulling all nighters for four years isn’t your idea of a delightful way to enter the workforce? You should consider a few occupations that pay well with only a two-year degree that will be in high demand in the future. When I did some digging on O*Net about the occupations they identify in the bright outlook section in the associate’s degree or vocational school job zone, I saw the following industries and the corresponding positions that fall within them:

HealthCare (10): acute care nurse, critical care nurse, dental hygienists, hearing aid specialists, medical laboratory technician, neurodiagnostic technologists, occupational therapy assistant, physical therapy assistant, radiologic technician, surgical technologists

Housing (7): landscaping & groundskeeping supervisor, electrician, construction and building inspectors, plumbers, refrigeration mechanic, solar energy installation managers, heating and air conditioning mechanic

Finance (3): assesors, loan officers, customs brokers

Computer support (3): computer tool programmer, computer user support specialists, web developers

Hospitality and Tourism (2): chefs and head cooks, flight attendant

Beauty (1): make-up artists

This analysis of bright outlook careers showed that the number of careers that do not require a high school degree have definitely decreased, and the number of those that only require a high school diploma are not too far behind. The exciting news is that jobs that require only an associate’s degree or vocational training are in increasing demand. I encourage you to do some research on O*Net for the specific job to learn about it in more detail, and then also look it up on the Occupational Outlook Handbook to find guidance on how to achieve this goal. Even if you’re interested in higher levels of education beyond the two-year degree, these jobs  can also be good windows of opportunity for individuals that need to make money in college or graduate school doing part-time work or side hustles. No matter your goals, I like to say it is better to identify your desirable career and industry, then pursue the level of education and training required for that profession, rather than the other way around. Happy job hunting!