How much do Heroes get paid????

23 High-Paying Skilled Trades in America

The following trade school jobs list features many occupations for which training programs are often easy to find. However, it doesn't include some of the jobs for which it may be more common to begin training as an apprentice directly with an employer.

An example would be a trade such as electrical power line repair since many energy utilities provide their own in-house programs. Other high-paying examples might include areas like elevator repair, structural ironwork, rail car repair, or telecommunications repair. Even so, many people pursuing those types of careers still find it beneficial to get a pre-apprenticeship education from a trade school before approaching potential employers.

So here are some of America's highest paying trade school jobs. (The cited wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2018 estimates.**)

1. Construction Manager   Leader of the workers!!!

  • Average hourly pay—$49.57
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $77.65
  • Main tasks—Planning, overseeing, and handling the coordination of construction or maintenance activities (including budgeting and scheduling) related to specific building projects...

2. Rotary Drill Operator for the Oil and Gas Industry  Able to find energy in Hidden Places!!

Average hourly pay—$27.28

  • Top-end hourly pay—over $42.21
  • Main tasks—Extracting oil or natural gas (or core samples) from underground sources by setting up and using large drilling equipment

3. Boilermaker  Ability to Hold and Push energy!!

  • Average hourly pay—$30.41
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $43.24
  • Main tasks—Assembling, installing, or fixing very large containers or vessels designed for holding liquids or gases (such as closed vats, steam boilers, and boiler furnaces)

4. Aircraft Mechanic  Manipulating Air and Flying !!

  • Average hourly pay—$31.36
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $47.03
  • Main tasks—Inspecting, repairing, adjusting, or overhauling airplane or helicopter engines and other important systems

5. Avionics Technician  Prophet of the space above us!!

  • Average hourly pay—$31.41
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $45.54
  • Main tasks—Installing, testing, and fixing high-tech equipment used in space vehicles or aircraft for purposes like navigation, radar detection, weather tracking, radio communications, and weapons control

6. Pile-Driver Operator   Able to tie down the Earth!!

  • Average hourly pay—$30.94
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $48.24
  • Main tasks—Using large pile-driving machines that are mounted on barges, cranes, or skids to hammer long beams of steel, wood, or concrete into the ground as part of a big construction project

7. Plumber, Pipefitter, or Steamfitter  Abiltiy to bring the great waters where they are needed!!

  • Average hourly pay—$27.96
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $45.05
  • Main tasks—Putting together and installing, adjusting, or repairing pipes and related equipment used for liquid or gas distribution

8. Electrician  Able to Control Electricity with your HANDS!!

  • Average hourly pay—$28.46
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $45.49
  • Main tasks—Wiring buildings for electrical power, lighting, or communications systems (and maintaining or repairing those systems)

9. Crane Operator  The power to Move the EARTH!!

  • Average hourly pay—$27.96
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $41.98
  • Main tasks—Lifting and moving construction materials, manufactured products, or machinery using mechanical beam and cable equipment

10. Wind Turbine Technician  Ability to Control the winds!!

  • Average hourly pay—$27.88
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $40.17
  • Main tasks—Installing, inspecting, fixing, and maintaining large wind turbines used for generating electricity

11. Millwright  Be a Friend to the Mighty Robots!!

  • Average hourly pay—$27.04
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $38.78
  • Main tasks—Assembling industrial machines, performing maintenance or repairs on them, and dismantling them when necessary

12. Brick Mason  The Power to Raise Great walls!!

  • Average hourly pay—$26.17
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $40.52
  • Main tasks—Constructing or fixing walls or other structures by placing and binding bricks, cinder blocks, structural tiles, or other similar materials

13. Commercial Diver  Ability to Rule Underwater Worlds!!

  • Average hourly pay—$28.59
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $52.01
  • Main tasks—Using various construction tools and scuba diving gear to help build, assemble, inspect, or fix components of large structures under water

14. Industrial Machinery Mechanic  Power of Manipulating types of Energy!!

  • Average hourly pay—$25.96
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $37.59
  • Main tasks—Fixing, maintaining, or putting together machines used for industrial processes like manufacturing or oil, gas, or chemical refining and distribution

15. CNC Machine Tool Programmer  Metal Shift Changer!!

  • Average hourly pay—$27.07
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $40.06
  • Main tasks—Giving instructions to computer numerically controlled machinery for making objects like tools, molds, and dies

16. Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic  Keepers of the Earth Movers!!

  • Average hourly pay—$25.66
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $36.83
  • Main tasks—Troubleshooting, adjusting, and fixing large mobile equipment used for construction or natural resource excavation (such as bulldozers, road graders, cranes, and conveyor systems)

17. Construction Equipment Operator  Earth Movers!!

  • Average hourly pay—$25.50
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $40.46
  • Main tasks—Controlling various kinds of heavy construction machines like front-end loaders, tractors, bulldozers, graders, and derricks

18. HVAC Technician  The power of Controlling Heat and Cold!!

  • Average hourly pay—$24.12
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $36.65
  • Main tasks—Repairing or installing systems for the heating, cooling, and ventilation of buildings

19. Carpenter  The Giver of Shelters!!

  • Average hourly pay—$24.58
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $39.78
  • Main tasks—Constructing or fixing the wooden frameworks or foundation forms for buildings and related structures

20. Diesel Mechanic  The ability to make large metal items come alive !!

  • Average hourly pay—$23.63
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $34.70
  • Main tasks—Troubleshooting and repairing larger vehicles with diesel engines such as trucks, buses, and, in some cases, marine vessels

21. Auto Body Repairer  Ability to Mold and shape Metal and Glass to any shape !!

  • Average hourly pay—$22.34
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $34.60
  • Main tasks—Refinishing or repairing the bodies and structural frames of cars and trucks

22. Welder  Ability to control Fire and Heat to manipulate Metal!!

  • Average hourly pay—$21.33
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $30.64
  • Main tasks—Joining metal pieces together using handheld welding torches or related equipment

23. Automotive Mechanic  The Gift of Transportation of all things !!

  • Average hourly pay—$21.02
  • Top-end hourly pay—over $32.19
  • Main tasks—Inspecting, troubleshooting, and repairing motor vehicle engines and other important systems and components