For decades, economic mobility in America has been declining. And those most likely to be left behind are workers without four-year college degrees.
Yet one in five workers with only a high school diploma defied the odds, according to a new study by Burning Glass Institute, an independent nonprofit research center. Those workers earned more than $70,000 a year — above the median income of college graduates — by the age of 40. And nearly two million, or 5 percent of them, pulled down six-figure salaries.
Those overachievers often began in jobs that open a door to career paths and help workers acquire a mix of vocational expertise and communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills, according to the report, which was published on Thursday. The researchers identified 73 such promising starter jobs, including bank teller, pharmacy aide and restaurant host.
The new report adds to a growing body of evidence that routes to upward mobility in America exist for the 60 percent of the nation’s labor force without a four-year college degree. Work force experts and advocacy groups in recent years have challenged the pervasive narrative that everyone should pursue a higher degree by highlighting that skills acquired at work or in effective job-training programs can also provide a path to success.
“This research provides empirical analysis of career paths and outcomes that contributes to a really important shift in public discourse,” said Ross Wiener, executive director of the education and society program at the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan policy organization, which was not involved in the study.
Burning Glass’s new report examined job-site profiles, government statistics and surveys to compile career histories of over 65 million American workers. It was commissioned by American Student Assistance, a nonprofit that supports research and offers online career readiness tools and information.
The researchers found 2.2 million postings in 2023 for starter jobs that frequently led to higher incomes. Other “launchpad jobs” included telemarketer, computer support specialist, software developer, flight attendant, procurement clerk, product tester, commercial diver and quarry rock splitter.
While the jobs don’t guarantee success, “starting well gives you a set of skills and experiences you can build on,” said Matt Sigelman, president of Burning Glass Institute and a co-author of the report. “The real power of a launchpad job is what it can lead to, the next job and the one after that.”
Angelo Cortina graduated from high school two years ago in Tolleson, Ariz. Through a school-to-career program, Jobs for America’s Graduates, he secured a summer internship with Credit Union West. That led to a full-time job as a teller.
Mr. Cortina was soon promoted to loan officer and now handles personal, auto and home-equity loans. He’s taking after-hour courses for a bachelor’s degree in business.
At 21, Mr. Cortina makes more than $50,000 a year, roughly 50 percent above his starting salary.
“I try to be a sponge, soak up everything, and not leave any opportunity on the table,” he said, adding that he might pursue becoming a financial adviser or branch manager.
Jobs that may look the same in terms of starting wages can lead to very different career trajectories and wage gains, according to the report.
Take restaurant hosts and hotel housekeepers. They begin making similar incomes. But two decades later, the report found, the former hotel housekeepers on average earned $37,000 a year, while the onetime restaurant hosts made more than $80,000.
Mr. Sigelman of Burning Glass said restaurant hosts developed highly valued skills like communication, teamwork and rapid decision making.
Meanwhile, more organizations, nonprofit training programs and states are focusing on providing training and pathways for those without college degrees. About 5 percent of high school graduates who began their careers in good starter jobs go on to get bachelor’s or graduate degrees, according to the report.
When Chloe Aspleaf was a junior in high school in Stilwell, Kan., she joined a career-oriented learning program, Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies. Tracks included business, engineering and medicine. She chose the latter, splitting her days between classroom study and on-site internships.
Her senior year, she worked in a local drugstore as a pharmacy technician, which became a paid job when she graduated.
“I never would have known of the opportunity without the work-study program,” she said.
She worked part time while continuing her education in pharmacy school, eventually earning a doctorate. Today Dr. Aspleaf, 28, is a pharmacy operations manager at University Health Kansas City, a large teaching hospital. She makes more than $100,000 a year.
Technology is also changing the ability to earn bigger salaries with only a high school degree. Tech jobs now exist in nearly every industry, and many are less degree dependent than in other professions. Code-writing ability, not a college credential, is what matters.
Isaiah Mowbray of Wilmington, Del., dropped out of college after one semester. He applied and was accepted at Year Up United, a nonprofit job-training program. There, he learned coding, as well as how to work on team-based projects and make presentations, he said.
Year Up arranged an internship with JPMorgan Chase, and after six months the bank hired him. The 27-year-old has been promoted twice in the last four years, and is now a senior software engineer. He declined to disclose his income, but software engineers with his experience at the bank earn six-figure salaries.
“I come into work every day trying to be open to new things and give it my all tackling new tasks and challenges,” he said.
The authors of the report hope high school students will use the new data to make more informed career choices.
“There are many paths to a better life, and most young people don’t know how to find them,” said Jean Eddy, chief executive of American Student Assistance and a co-author of the report. “We’ve got to do a better job.”
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