Does sitting at a cubicle from eight to five, five days week sound…uninspiring to you? Many people fall into an office job because they think it’s what they need to pay the bills and support their families.

While many people do fine at a desk, the traditional office environment is not ideal for many workers. As a matter of fact, workers in a non-office setting are less likely to complain about their work environment, and they are more active and less likely to be overweight. They also enjoy more variety in the workday and often a more flexible work environment (source).

CareerBuilder recently did a study on the highest paying non-office jobs. Accordingly, “the analysis found that there are 170 non-desk jobs that pay $15 per hour or more on average, don’t require a four-year degree for a typical entry-level position, and have grown 6 percent from 2010-2014.

Consider the top 18 non-desk jobs for 2015, listed below in order of their national median hourly earnings:

Elevator installer and repairer: $37.81/hour

Dental hygienist: $34.19/hour

Diagnostic medical sonographer: $31.93/hour

Electrical power-line installer and repairer: $30.85/hour

Boilermaker: $27.74/hour

Avionics technician: $26.92/hour

Signal and track switch repairer: $26.75/hour

Occupational therapy assistant: $26.57/hour

Mechanical engineering technician: $25.19/hour

Industrial engineering technician: $25.01/hour

Oil and gas rotary drill operator: $24.79/hour

Electro-mechanical technician: $24.68/hour

Wind turbine service technician: $23.79/hour

Solar photovoltaic installer: $19.04/hour

Locksmith: $18.25/hour

Massage therapist: $17.27/hour

Travel guide: $16.26/hour

Fitness trainer and aerobics instructor: $15.88/hour

Note that none of these jobs require a four-year degree; they require vocational training instead. And all of these professions are also growing in demand, which suggests future job security.

You may also want to consider that many non-traditional jobs are also willing to train someone with particular aptitudes. Several clients of Abbey Placements hire untrained employees if they show the right mix of mechanical aptitude, math ability, and attention to detail through a series of simple tests. Once hired, these employees receive significant training both in the workplace and through local vocational institutions all at the expense of the employer.

If you’re looking for a vocational change or simply want to jump-start your career in a positive direction, a non-traditional job could be just the path you’re looking for

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Image courtesy of Flickr.com