Some jobs don't need a college degree, and they can make it possible for Americans to be part of the middle-class and enjoy financial security.
Insider's previous reporting on wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that some jobs that don't require a bachelor's degree pay pretty well, such as air traffic controllers. Some of these jobs are also expected to grow over the next decade per BLS data.
Some of those types of jobs are especially valuable to boosting the middle class in the middle of the country. A recent report from think tank Heartland Forward, as first reported by Axios, focuses on "opportunity occupations" in the 20 states that make up the "Heartland" region of the US, such as Louisiana and Iowa. These jobs are "those that offer middle-class wages but do not require a bachelor's degree," according to Heartland Forward.
"As the cost of obtaining a four-year degree rises, jobs that pay middle-class wages but do not require a bachelor's degree are becoming critical for class mobility," Ross DeVol, president and CEO of Heartland Forward, told Insider in an email.
According to the report, the opportunities vary by state. For instance, these opportunities make up 48.4% of jobs in North Dakota compared to just 33.0% in Texas.
The report shows there are opportunities outside of big cities in this region. "Our research shows how living away from the larger, more expensive cities extends middle-class opportunity to non-college-educated populations," the authors wrote.
DeVol notes a large number of opportunity occupations in the Heartland states are registered nurses, truck drivers, and customer service representatives. Per the report, there's 1.2 million registered nurses in the Heartland region and that number is projected to grow by 2.5% in just five years. He added that these jobs in particular have lower unemployment rates in this region than in the US.
"That may not always be the case, however: Employment in customer service is actually projected to decline, while employment in nursing and truck driving is projected to grow," DeVol said. "It's imperative that policymakers track these trends and adapt their strategies accordingly."
The report notes that some of these top jobs that fall into this classification are projected to decline in employment in the region.
Along with nurses, drivers, and customer service representatives, Heartland Forward found the most common eight jobs in this region of the US that can be considered opportunity occupations. Using data from the Heartland Forward, here are the top eight ranked by employment size in the region.