10 Blue-Collar Jobs That Pay at Least $80,000 a Year

With college costs escalating year after year, some workers don't want to pursue a higher education. The good news is that blue-collar jobs often offer a well-paying salary, allowing you to build wealth, and no college degree is typically required. These jobs can quickly lead to high salaries and good work satisfaction.

Here's a look at 10 such jobs that each pay at least $80,000 a year — and they generally offer a great amount of on-the-job training.

Editor's note: Salary information comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Median annual salary: $83,400

Gas plant operators distribute or process gas for utility companies and others by controlling compressors to keep specified pressures on pipelines. A high school diploma is typically sufficient to land a job as one.

You can also expect to develop relevant technical skills through long-term on-the-job training.

Median annual salary: $83,600

You can find a job as a signal and track switch repairer with just a high school diploma. Then, you can work your way up with experience.

As a signal and track switch repairer, you may install, inspect, test, maintain, and repair gate crossings, signals, track switches, or intercommunications systems within a railroad system.

Median annual salary: $84,830

You may find success working with subways or streetcars. As an operator, you'd help run the machines that transport passengers. You can start your career with a high school diploma and progress with experience.

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Median annual salary: $85,750

Are you fascinated by transportation systems? You could find a rewarding career as a transportation inspector.

In this role, be ready to inspect equipment and goods related to the safe transport of cargo and people. You may need a high school diploma to enter the field before you gain experience in the workplace.

Median annual salary: $87,980

If you want a job that helps your community and don't mind some physically demanding work, perhaps a job as a farmer or rancher is a good fit. You can find these agricultural workers everywhere across the country.

In this kind of role, you would oversee the establishments that produce crops, livestock, or dairy products. Many farmers and ranchers have high school diplomas and on-the-job experience.

Median annual salary: $92,560

You can take home a good salary as an electrical power-line installer or repairer. In this job, you would install and fix the lines used in electrical power or distribution systems.

As this type of work involves potentially dangerous situations, you'll need technical instruction and on-the-job training. You may want to consider searching for an apprenticeship to transition into this type of work.

Median annual salary: $97,540

Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers operate or control petroleum refining or processing units.

Since you're likely to receive a good deal of on-the-job training, you could specialize in controlling manifold and pumping systems, gauging oil in tanks, or regulating the flow of oil into pipelines.

Median annual salary: $99,590

If you have good technical and mathematical skills, perhaps working as a civil engineer would be a rewarding experience. These workers help plan and design the construction and maintenance of building and infrastructure projects.

Since this type of work usually involves planning and hands-on activities, you may split your time between an office and a construction site.

Median annual salary: $103,600

When it comes to median annual salaries, power plant operators have among the highest on our list of blue-collar jobs. This type of work generally requires extensive on-the-job training.

Power plant operators, along with distributors and dispatchers, manage the systems to generate and distribute electric power.

Median annual salary: $106,980

If you have construction experience, you may find success as a manager in the industry. You can learn while working and develop leadership and business skills.

As a construction manager, be prepared to plan, budget, coordinate, and supervise construction projects at all phases from start to completion.

Transportation and construction are among the fields where blue-collar workers can find success in terms of high salaries and high job satisfaction.

In addition to helping boost your bank account, these blue-collar positions offer opportunities to work away from an office, and they may be more abundant than you think. Blue-collar workers make up about 27% of the American workforce, according to the Pew Research Center.