11 Highest-Paying Jobs That Require Zero Experience (2024)

RD.COM

Updated: Apr. 18, 2024

It's tricky to land a job that requires prior experience if you cannot get a job to gain that much-needed experience. Thankfully, there are plenty of careers and high-paying jobs you can get without any experience at all.

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High-paying entry-level jobs

According to a study by The Interview Guys, there are many high-paying jobs available that require zero experience. From nurse practitioners earning a median salary over $110,000 and pharmacists pulling in a median income of $123,000 to math and English teachers, each earning approximately $80,000 annually, there’s a great new job waiting for you whether you’re just getting started in the job market or looking to make a career switch. You don’t need a college degree to be a police officer or to land one of these great jobs, either.

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Blogger

There’s always been a market for stories but never before has the access to both tell and monetize our own stories been so readily available. And there’s zero experience required for this potentially high-paying job. Kate Sorensen, the successful blogger behind the sites CouponCravings.com and MomsCravings.com, says she makes over $100,000 a year as an at-home, working mom.

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Transcriptionist

“We have some transcriptionists that make over $50,000 a year that had no experience before they started with us,” says Ben Walker, CEO of Transcription Outsourcing, LLC. Of course, as with most jobs, you’ll need to learn the skill and it takes time to reach that annual salary but many transcriptionists got there in just about a year.

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Recruiter

“One job that can pay very well with no experience is recruitment,” notes Taylor, who worked in IT recruitment before becoming a freelance consultant and founder of homeworkingclub.com. “The reason it’s sometimes possible to get into this work without experience is that it requires strong sales skills, resilience, and a thick skin—a combination that can be hard to find, and is sometimes more about natural attributes than experience.” Being a recruiter often means a commission-based wage with a small salary, but it is possible to turn zero recruitment experience into a high-paying job. These 14 careers could make you a millionaire before you retire.

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Remote location dishwasher

Unlike a traditional kitchen, where chefs earn the big bucks, a remote location dishwasher is a high-paying job with no experience needed. “On offshore oil-rigs or remote camps for example, a dishwasher can earn $80,000 or more each year plus benefits,” says Michael Alexis, CEO at Team Building Hero. If you’re willing to head off to a remote location, there’s a lot of money to be made without having technical knowledge or specific industry experience. Looking to switch careers later in life? Here are some cool jobs you could have in the future.

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Sales

According to Power Home Remodeling, the nation’s largest full-service exterior home remodeling company with $700 million in annual revenue, “It is not atypical for first-year sales employees to earn between $100,000 and $185,000 for meeting their annual—and very attainable—goals.” The company goes on to state that not only is experience not required for this high-paying entry-level sales job, but a college degree also is not a prerequisite.

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Real estate investor and agent

“One of the best-paying jobs that require no previous experience is investing in real estate,” per Daniela Andreevska, the marketing director at Mashvisor, a real estate data analytics company. “You can easily start investing in rental properties or other types of real estate after doing some reading and research online and using your common sense,” Andreevska says. This is a very intuitive job that could be high-paying and requires zero experience to get started. Roger Maftean, a Career Expert and Content Strategist at Resumelab, shares, “To become a real estate agent you need to have an impeccable appearance and be equipped with the right skills set, including patience, perseverance, and interpersonal skills,” but zero experience is required for this high-paying job. Maftean goes on to point out that a successful real estate agent will be, “passionate about working with people, understand their needs, and match these with the right solutions, and knowing basic math and negotiation tactics would come in handy too.” It’s never too late to start a second career.

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Police officer

There is no experience required to be a police officer and because the average starting salary of a police officer is $57,794, according to Ethan Lichtenberg of USInsuranceAgents, it’s a solid high-paying job many adults can perform. Lichtenberg says that the need to go through police school is a possible downside for some, but the salary may be worth a little extra education to get a high-paying job.

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Translator

“Freelance translation was one of the first legitimate online jobs on the market, and to this day the translation industry continues to grow as the world becomes more globalized,” according to Darko Jacimovic, co-founder of What To Become. “Anyone who has functional knowledge of two languages can do it. If you have good language skills, you can make a lot of money with translation without any working experience.” Find out the 10 best careers to pursue right now.

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Online proofreading

You may not have any professional proofreading experience on your resume, but per Martin Luenendonk, co-founder and CEO of Cleverism, if you, “have learned writing structures from the online course like Coursera or Udemy, etc, then you can earn well from providing your proofreading services online.” The Cleverest CEO continues, “In proofreading, you don’t need to rewrite or create content for someone’s book, but you need to give it a last conclusive read to remove an anomaly in text. Ideally, an online proofreader can earn $44,954 to $58,595 annually.” Being a freelance online proofreader is just one of many jobs where you can be your own boss.

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Air traffic controller

It may come as an uneasy surprise, but, “It’s not extensive work experience that matters in becoming an air traffic controller,” per Roger Maftean. “From a formal point of view, you need to be under 30 and pass a few examinations, including medical tests, and to make it as an air traffic controller, you must be endowed with unique skills and predispositions, including spatial vision, outstanding stress resistance, ability to work in a team, and quick decision-making.” If you qualify, even with zero experience you could land one of the highest-paying jobs out there, with a median annual wage of around $120,000. Read on to learn about the most unusual high-paying jobs.

Sources:

• The Interview Guys: “No Experience Needed”
• Kate Sorensen, the successful blogger behind the sites CouponCravings.com and MomsCravings.com
• Ben Walker, CEO of Transcription Outsourcing, LLC
• Taylor, founder of homeworkingclub.com
• Michael Alexis, CEO at Team Building Hero
• Power Home Remodeling
• Daniela Andreevska, marketing director at Mashvisor
• Roger Maftean, Career Expert and Content Strategist at Resumelab
• Ethan Lichtenberg of USInsuranceAgents
• Darko Jacimovic, co-founder of whattobecome.com
• Martin Luenendonk, co-founder and CEO of Cleverism

Originally Published: February 27, 2020