Every so often, a new story makes the rounds about how Americans without four-year college degrees can still make six-figure salaries. Take this piece from LendingTree, which highlights elevator installers and repairers—47.5 percent of whom earn more than $100,000 a year without a bachelor’s degree. It’s the kind of story that spreads quickly: hope for the non-college majority, proof that not all good jobs require a diploma.
I’m glad these stories exist. They broaden people’s sense of possibility in the labor market. But they also tend to distort the conversation.
The truth is that workers with bachelor’s degrees still earn significantly more, on average, than those who lack them. The median annual income for someone with a bachelor’s degree is about $80,000, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York data. Compare that with $47,000 as the median income for those whose education ended at high school.
And while there are exceptions in certain trades, only 9 percent of workers without a bachelor’s degree earned $100,000 or more in 2023, according to the LendingTree analysis of Census Bureau data.
The odds of making six figures jump to about 1 in 3 for mid-career college graduates, and about half of those with advanced degrees earn $100,000 or more, according to College Board research.
That doesn’t make the trades any less valuable. But it does mean we need both/and reasoning. Both college degrees and skilled trades can lead to meaningful, well-compensated careers. The danger is when we pit them against each other—or worse, when media stories imply that skipping college is a guaranteed ticket to financial security.
Inside the elevator trade
Take the case of elevator installers and repairers, the group LendingTree spotlighted. These are genuinely good jobs. They pay well, they are in demand, and they provide a clear path to the middle class.
But they are not easy jobs. Nor are they jobs one simply “walks into” without training. I learned a lot about this work from a recent conversation with Greg Neurath, senior vice president of global field operations for Otis Elevator Co., who began his own career as an apprentice.
As Neurath explains, elevator work is a niche field, often discovered by chance. It typically requires a five-year apprenticeship, national certification, and in many states, a license. Apprentices train for thousands of hours—in classrooms and on the job—before they can work independently. Along the way, they climb into shafts, wire electrical systems, lift heavy equipment, and work in conditions that can be dangerous for the unprepared.
The pay is attractive. Unionized elevator mechanics earn about $52 an hour, with overtime opportunities that can push annual earnings well past $100,000. But the work is physically demanding, requires comfort with heights, and often involves harsh weather and long hours.
Neurath’s own career underscores another truth: Education and training go far beyond apprenticeship. Over decades in the trade, he earned not just his bachelor’s degree in finance but also a master’s degree in management. His employer, like many in the industry, supported his continued education with tuition assistance. In other words, the story of elevator installers is not about escaping education—it’s about pursuing the right kind of education for the work.
A false choice between degree or no degree
This is the real lesson. Higher education is not a binary choice—degree or no degree. It is a continuum of learning opportunities, from apprenticeships and certificates to associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, and graduate study.
We should celebrate the fact that well-structured apprenticeships exist. In fact, we need more of them. They combine hands-on experience with classroom learning and often lead to strong wages and steady careers. But they also demand rigorous study, licensing exams, and continual updating of skills. That looks a lot like higher education—even if it doesn’t come packaged as a four-year degree.
Meanwhile, college degrees continue to deliver broad, long-term benefits. Beyond higher median wages, they offer resilience in downturns, open opportunities for career changes, and provide access to professions in which a degree is required. When the labor market shifts—as it inevitably does—college graduates generally have more mobility.
At the same time, the field of higher education should take note of the popularity of headlines touting six-figure jobs without a degree. People are looking for alternatives to the steep costs of college, they don’t want to give up earning livable salaries while they pursue education, and they want to know their degrees will pay off through higher earnings.
Colleges and universities can learn from the appeal of the trades. A stronger system of higher education will find ways to make bachelor’s degrees more affordable, provide flexible learning, and strengthen workforce connections to equip students with valuable real-world skills.
The real value of higher education
The healthiest labor market—and the most resilient society—depends on a mix of college and the trades. We need people earning bachelor’s and graduate degrees in fields such as nursing, education, and engineering. We also need highly skilled technicians who build, maintain, and repair the infrastructure of daily life. And we need to stop treating these as mutually exclusive.
As Neurath put it, an apprenticeship in the elevator industry offers “a really great path into the organization… You can build a whole career in this business.” But he also emphasized the lifelong learning involved: national exams, ongoing training, and, in his case, advanced degrees.
That’s the model we should embrace everywhere. Whether you’re in a classroom, a lab, or a machine room, education is the through-line leading to opportunity.
So yes, by all means, if you want to be an elevator installer, an electrician, or a plumber, go for it. These are excellent jobs, vital to the economy, and well worth pursuing. But let’s not pretend they negate the value of higher education. The data are clear: for most people, earning a degree remains the surest path to higher wages and long-term security.
The choice isn’t “degree or no degree.” It’s how best to combine education and experience to build a career. For some, that will mean starting in a trade and later pursuing a degree. For others, it will mean four years of college before stepping into the workforce. For just about everyone, continual upgrading of skills will be a must.
The real value of higher education lies not just in a diploma but in the mindset it instills: that learning never stops, and that the path to opportunity is rarely linear. That is the message we need to carry into every conversation about the future of work.