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Best Jobs for Low-Skilled Workers
Low-skilled workers have been the worst hit by the economic recession. Unemployment rates and pay scale cut rates were the highest for those workers who possessed less than a high school diploma. Despite the picture of gloom, there were still several low-skill jobs that were in sufficient demand to pay good salaries.
Who are low-skilled workers?
"Low-skilled" workers are those who can simply be defined as those working on wages, as opposed to salaries, and whose work involves manual labor. Low-skilled work does not mean a complete absence of skills. In fact they require extensive training, usually in the form of apprenticeships or special training courses.
Highest-Paying Low-Skilled Jobs
Among low-skilled workers, the highest wages went to elevator installers and repairers, where wages averaged $32.57 per hour - which is $12 more than the national average for all low-skilled occupations combined.
The industry with the highest wage rates is predominantly the railroad industry, where subway and streetcar operators and locomotive engineers can make on average $25.71 per hour. Signal and track switch repairers earn up $49,060 a year, higher than the annual salaries for tool makers and brickmasons. They are closely followed by transportation inspectors and commercial divers.
Other high-paying low-skilled jobs include powerhouse, substation, and relay repairers (with an average annual salary of $60,700) and oil and gas rotary drill operators (with an average annual salary of $54,370).
Qualifications Required
Despite the label, these jobs usually require extensive training. Although the duration differs from occupation to occupation, the typical requirements are a high school diploma and four to five years of training, including apprenticeships. Training is mostly on-the-job, which means that workers can continue to earn while are still acquiring skills, rather than complete a college education and spend the first few years of their career paying off their debts.
