Australians have broken down barriers to jobs that pay six-figure salaries without requiring a university degree.
The workers were stopped on the streets of Brisbane and asked what kind of work they did, what they earned and whether they needed a qualification to get started.
From government jobs to sales and trade, most respondents said they instead used the years they would normally spend in college to advance their careers.
One young woman said she earns $130,000 as a policy officer at Queensland Health despite “barely” finishing high school.
She said she skipped college and started working at a call center for the state health service at age 18, working her way up the ranks from there.
“I work on the state budget team. I do budget submissions, a little bit of project management, project engagement and things like that,” she said.
A mother who sells fruit to Coles and Woolworths says senior roles in the horticulture sector can earn more than $200,000.
She said the sector was “crying out for young people” and that those wanting to earn more than a six-figure sum “need to show some initiative”.
The employees are some of the many who To anticipate who revealed that Australians can still earn a good salary despite the conventional university route.
Australians have revealed how they are earning six-figure salaries by starting at the bottom of the career ladder and working their way up instead of going to university
One man said he now makes more than $250,000 a year as an insurance agent after starting out as a mail carrier.
He said he had “learned the tricks of the trade from start to finish,” giving him the skills to impress his superiors when they finally gave him the chance.
“I look at the risks and determine which are good and which are bad, and then we price them,” he said.
His success in the industry also led to his employer paying for his Master of Business Administration (MBA), allowing him to continue his career without accruing debt.
Tradespeople also reported making a fortune. For example, a plumber said he earned $2,000 a week, while a tree surgeon said he earned $26,000 in just one week of hard work.
Another man, a self-employed underground miner, said he makes more than $300,000 a year.
One mother said she started out in a call centre in horticulture and earned above average wages selling fruit to Coles and Woolworths
According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), a number of the jobs highlighted during interviews pay more than the average Australian salary, which is just over $98,000.
The data also shows that the miner, who only has to complete a one-year course, earns between $120,000 and $140,000 depending on the state.
Meanwhile, the average lawyer who has spent about three years in college earns between $90,000 and $110,000.
While it may seem like non-university graduates earn a reasonable amount to purchase a property, analysis of PropTrack data by Finder.com.au shows this is nowhere near enough to buy a house in Sydney.
The analysis found that Australians now need to earn $278,000 a year to buy a home in the New South Wales capital.
It also found that homebuyers need to earn twice as much as in 2020 to afford a median-priced home, in all capital cities except Darwin and Melbourne.