Nevada
These are five of the best paying jobs in California if you only graduated high school
Looking for a job? Here are some tips to help your search for work
If you are a job seeker, these tips may help you land a new postion.
For more than 5 million Californians, a high school diploma is the highest level of education they’ve attained. That’s enough for these higher-earning jobs.
A 2023 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau found that, more specifically, about 20% of Californians who are 25 years old or older only have a high school diploma or the equivalent.
It comes amid changing perspectives on the value of higher education, as a Pew Research Center survey found that 40% of U.S. adults say a four-year college degree isn’t too important or “not at all important” in getting a well-paying job.
While California’s minimum wage is $16 — and will remain so as voters rejected a measure to raise it to $18 per unofficial election results – what a Californian needs to make to cover their basic needs is about $11 more.
That’s based on the Living Wage Calculator, which calculates what a person working full time must earn hourly to cover basic needs, including food, housing, and health care, in their area. For an adult with no children in California, that’s $27.32 — based on figures last updated in February.
So, if you’re trying to determine what field to enter, we’ve compiled a list of jobs that typically only need entrants to have a high school diploma or the equivalent. These are jobs with a median hourly wage higher than the living wage for California. Some of these jobs require relevant work experience and on-the-job training.
What are the best-paying jobs in California for people without a college degree?
The following five jobs are among the highest-paying jobs in California from 2022 to 2032, in which only a high school diploma or the equivalent is typically needed to enter the job. This is based on the state’s long-term occupational employment projections data. We’ve also included the total job openings. These figures reflect the projected total job openings, whether from industry growth to people leaving the industry, from 2022 to 2032 to give job seekers a better idea of how competitive it may be to get a foot in the door.
First-line supervisors of police and detectives
For example, police chiefs or police captains, according to ONET, a database for occupational information.
- Total job openings: 5,950
- Median annual wage in 2023 dollars: $167,118
Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- Total job openings: 8,770
- Median annual wage in 2023 dollars: $108,185
Power plant operators
This refers to people involved in operating, controlling or maintaining the machinery generating electricity, not nuclear power, said the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Total job openings: 1,880
- Median annual wage in 2023 dollars: $106,370
Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators and gaugers
This refers to people operating or controlling petroleum refining or processing units, so think industries such as oil and gas extraction or petroleum and coal products manufacturing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Total job openings: 2,330
- Median annual wage in 2023 dollars: $105,203
Correctional officers and jailers
People who guard inmates or may guard prisoners who are in transit to jails or courtrooms said ONET.
- Total job openings: 24,600
- Median annual wage in 2023 dollars: $93,253
Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.
$3.99 on Sunday, $4.09 just days later.
An extra dime for the same gallon of gas, but why?
Conflict in the Middle East has impacted prices at the pump for drivers here in northern Nevada and across the country.
According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of gas has jumped nearly 27 cents since last week, coming in at $3.25. In Reno, the average price is roughly $4.26.
Experts say for every $5 to $10 increase in oil prices, drivers could pay 15 to 25 cents more per gallon.
The increase primarily comes down to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, which controls roughly 20% of the world’s oil supplies. Amid the tensions, traffic through the area has recently ground to a halt.
Michael Goldman, General Manager of Caru Containers North America, said many of the shippers who typically go through the Strait have changed course.
“We’re seeing the routes ships need to take be much longer, much more costly. Going around the Horn of Africa instead of going through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. And we’re definitely seeing cost increases to those carriers to make those journeys,” said Goldman.
Jayce Robinson from Sparks said he’s always looking for the best deal in town on gas.
“I mostly fill up here for work, so it’s not my money, but when I do fill up, I definitely look for the cheapest place because money’s tight and gas is expensive,” Robinson said.
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Authorities have canceled an AMBER Alert after they say a 10-month-old child taken by a non-custodial parent was found safe.
North Las Vegas Police said Thursday that Leilani Williams (aka Leilani Duke) was taken by her father, Roderick Duke.
Duke and Leilani were last seen at an apartment complex in the area of Martin L. King Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue at 1:40 a.m.
“An AMBER Alert has been activated due to Roderick being in emotional crisis and making threats to harm himself and 10-month-old Leilani,” NLVPD said in a statement.
By 10:05 a.m., NLVPD said that Leilani was located unharmed.
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Officers took Duke into custody without further incident, and the AMBER Alert has been canceled.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed Nevada Democrats who packed a Las Vegas brewery Wednesday evening for a discussion about his upbringing, his political life and efforts his state has taken to combat the Trump administration agenda.
Newsom, who has been floated as a possible White House contender for 2028, sidestepped a quip from former Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak who introduced him as the next U.S. president amid cheers from the crowd.
“I’m very grateful for your friendship, and a friendship that’s only strengthened over the course of the last year or so,” Newsom told Sisolak.
Book tour stop
The event, which served as a book tour stop for the California governor, was organized by the Nevada Democratic Party. It took place at Nevada Brew Works near Summerlin.
Nevada Assemblymember Daniele Monroe-Moreno, the state party chair running for North Las Vegas mayor, moderated the discussion.
It was part of the party’s Local Brews + National Views series that’s been bringing Democrats for similar discussions at intimate venues. Past speakers have included former President Joe Biden, Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Criticizing President Donald Trump, Newsom spoke about the immediate aftermath of the 2024 general election.
“We were handwringing, a lot of finger pointing, and a sense of weakness,” Newsom said. “And just incapable of dealing with this moment, this existential moment.”
He said he is taking account for what he described as his own complicity.
“This happened on my watch. This is all happening on our watch,” Newsom said. “And so I realized that I needed to be better.”
That included his advocacy to redraw California’s Congressional map after Trump called for the same in Texas, he said.
“They’re not screwing around, nor are we,” he said about Trump and his administration. “All of us.”
‘You’re giving us a voice’
Newsom spoke out against the surge of federal immigration enforcement operations in California and later Minnesota, calls from the Trump administration to nationalize elections, and cuts to government funding due to the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act.
He said that pushback against Trump’s policies, including dozens of lawsuits filed by California, were making the president retreat on some of his proposals and policies.
“You’re filling the void, you’re giving us a voice, you’re giving us courage,” he told the crowd. “For things to change, we have to change. And it’s changing.”
The Republican National Committee reacted to Newsom’s Las Vegas visit. Earlier in the day, Newsom attended a private Boulder City event.
“Democrats are selling out to the spoiled, phony rich kid governor from California for years,” RNC spokesperson Nick Poche wrote in a statement. “President Donald Trump and Republicans are delivering major tax cuts and keeping Nevadans safe, unlike Democrats.”
The national Republican Party also criticized California’s policies, and tied them back to Nevada Democrats.
Most of Newsom’s remarks weren’t specific to Nevada. He didn’t take any questions from media.
Polling shows Newsom and Vice President JD Vance leading in hypothetical races for their parties’ nomination. That includes a survey of likely Nevada voters conducted one by Emerson College Polling in November.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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