No degree necessary: entry-level jobs offering salaries up to $90k in Denver

DENVER — There’s a boom in jobs in the Denver area and some employers are offering big paychecks for entry-level work.

Denver7 set out to find the jobs hiring in Denver that don’t require any experience to get hired, don’t require a college degree, offer training on the job, and pay at the salary levels of $30,000, $60,000 and $90,000. And we found Colorado is offering plenty of opportunities for those seeking a new career path or just starting out.

“It’s a great job market in Denver, one of the best in the nation, honestly,” Alexandra Hall, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment's chief economist, told Denver7.

The $30,000 Job: Postal Carrier

Yvonne Thomas is four months into her new job delivering mail for the U.S. Postal Service and she’s loving it.

“I have people who give me bottles of water on my route everyday so it’s awesome,” Thomas said.

Her new gig pays $16 an hour, adding up to a base pay of $33,400 a year. But with overtime, she’s making even more. Yvonne says she works about 50-60 hours a week.

And there’s an added bonus in her job walking the routes: no need to pay for a gym membership!

“I walk probably 13 miles a day, everyday,” Thomas said.

Click here to apply for a job with the U.S. Postal Service.

The $60,000 Jobs: Construction & Electricians

Daniel Jacobsen is learning on the job to become an electrician.

“I really wanted to work with my hands,” he told Denver7.

Apprentice electricians like Daniel can start with salaries as high as $14 an hour, $29,120 annually. And that paycheck is only going to grow.

There's such a huge need for electricians that companies are willing to hire trainees, pay them full paychecks and also pay for four years of schooling at the same time.

“Once they become a journeyman, they are making somewhere between $55,000 and $65,000 a year,” said Marilyn Akers Stansbury, CEO of Independent Electrical Contractors.

Click here for local electrician job postings.

One look at all the cranes stretching into the Denver skyline makes it clear: the construction industry is booming. And companies are hiring!

RK does electrical, mechanical and engineering work and they say they can’t seem to hire enough people. It’s simple math: every new transplant needs somewhere to live and somewhere to work. And that means lots of building.  

“There’s more work than you can shake a stick at,” said Nate Trail, a project superintendent for RK.

RK has an apprenticeship program that combines full-time employment with on-the-job training and the classroom learning. For those who make it through the program and stick with it, salaries just keep growing.

“In four to five years, you can make 60 grand,” Trail said.

Click here for details on RK’s apprentice program.

The $90,000 Job: Cybersecurity

The website CyberSeek.com says there is a “dangerous shortage” of cybersecurity workers in the United States. The website says there are 128,000 openings for cybersecurity jobs every year nationwide but only about 88,000 people currently working in the field.

Some entry-level jobs in cybersecurity have average salaries topping $90,000 a year, according to CyberSeek. 

There is a path to an entry-level cybersecurity job that doesn’t require a college degree. SecureSet offers 12-week training “boot camps” in cybersecurity for $12,000 and the company works with numerous hiring partners to help graduates find work right away.

“Security professionals are in very high demand because there’s not enough of them out there,” Dr. Bret Fund of SecureSet told Denver7.

Click here to apply for SecureSet Academy’s boot camps.