Okay so education and skills that lead to high paying careers… yeah I’ve been obsessed with this topic for like the last three years straight, sitting here in my shoebox apartment in the PNW where it’s somehow raining again even though it’s supposed to be summer soon, laptop fan screaming because I have 47 chrome tabs open and half of them are salary comparison sites.
I used to think college = automatic money. Grew up hearing that my whole life. Went to a decent state school, majored in something I actually liked (communications, lol), graduated with honors, felt proud for about 48 hours until I realized my “dream job” entry-level offer was $38k in a city where rent alone was $1800. That was a gut punch. Like, literal stomach hurt. I cried in my car in the Target parking lot eating a $1 hot dog because that’s all I could afford that week. True story, embarrassingly.
Where I Totally Screwed Up Chasing Education and Skills That Lead to High-Paying Careers
First mistake was believing the “follow your passion and the money will come” crap without any backup plan. Passion doesn’t pay rent. I spent two years bouncing between marketing coordinator jobs that sounded cool on paper but paid garbage and had zero growth. Meanwhile friends who went the boring route—accounting, nursing, software—were already clearing six figures or close.
I got salty. Like really salty.
Then I panicked and signed up for every “learn to code in 3 months” bootcamp ad I saw on Instagram. Dropped almost 14 grand on one (yes I’m ashamed), moved back in with my parents for six months to save money, coded until my eyes burned, failed the final project the first time because I couldn’t figure out async/await to save my life. Almost quit. Almost.
But I passed on the retake. Landed a junior dev job at $92k base + bonus. First time in my life my paycheck made me tear up in a good way. That’s when I finally started believing that certain education and skills that lead to high-paying careers are actually predictable if you’re willing to eat dirt for a while.
Tech Still Reigns (But It’s Not the Only King)
From everything I’ve seen and lived:
- Software engineering / dev roles – still printing money in 2025-2026. Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, cloud (AWS/GCP/Azure), DevOps basics. I know people who learned on freeCodeCamp + YouTube and cracked 120-180k within 2-3 years.
- Data / ML / AI stuff – exploding. I have a friend who did a part-time master’s in data science while working retail. Now she’s at a FAANG adjacent making stupid money.
- Cybersecurity – huge shortages. Certs like Security+, CISSP, OSCP still open doors fast.
But it’s not only tech.
Healthcare Education and Skills That Lead to High-Paying Careers (The Ones I Almost Picked)
I almost went nursing route after watching my mom’s medical bills bankrupt her savings. Nurse practitioners, CRNAs, physician assistants – those paths are quietly making absolute bank right now. My cousin became a PA, started at $135k, now mid-160s five years in. Insane stability too.
But blood. I faint at blood. So that dream died quick.
Still – if you can handle bodily fluids, accelerated BSN programs + NP school or PA programs are probably the most bulletproof high-paying education paths in America today. Look up the latest Medscape salary report or BLS data, numbers don’t lie.
Finance, Trades, and the Weird Ones That Actually Pay
I know a plumber who clears $220k+ a year owning his own small business. Didn’t go to college. Just union apprenticeship + hustle. Another buddy got into wind turbine technician training – six-figure travel job, sees the country, climbs giant towers. And finance still slaps if you go quant / trading / IB / PE route, but good luck without top-tier school or insane networking.
Moral? Education and skills that lead to high-paying careers aren’t always the glamorous ones people post about on LinkedIn.
Sometimes it’s learning SQL really well, Sometimes it’s getting commercial drone certified and doing real estate photography, Sometimes it’s grinding Salesforce admin certs and jumping to $110k remote.
The through-line is: high demand + medium-to-high barrier to entry + measurable skill. Not vibes. Not passion alone. Measurable value.
Final Rambling Thoughts Before I Go Eat Something
Look, I’m not some guru. I still have anxiety attacks about layoffs. I still check Zillow and wonder if I’ll ever own anything. I still sometimes feel like an imposter even though the numbers say otherwise.
But from where I’m sitting right now—rain tapping the window, dog snoring on the couch, bank account finally not terrifying—certain education and skills that lead to high-paying careers do exist, and they’re more accessible than the internet makes them seem… if you’re willing to look stupid for a while.
If you’re reading this and feeling stuck, just pick one measurable skill in a high-demand field and go embarrass yourself learning it. That’s what worked for me. What skill are you thinking about grinding? Drop it below, I’ll probably reply with some dumb story about how I failed at it first.
Anyway. Go get that bag. Or at least go get a better bag than the one holding your dreams together with duct tape like mine did for years.
