---
title: "Jobs That Pay $20 an Hour With Little Training"
description: "Jobs whose May 2025 median pay is $20 to $25 an hour and that need only a high school diploma or less, ranked by yearly openings."
url: https://careerdirecting.com/jobs-without-a-degree/jobs-that-pay-20-an-hour/
updated: 2026-10-09
site: CareerDirecting
---

Lists · $20 an hour

# Jobs that pay $20 an hour Little or no schooling, real openings.

Quick to start

Twenty dollars an hour works out to about $41,600 a year at full time. These jobs have a national median in that range and need a high school diploma or less, so you can often start within weeks.

In short

Many jobs pay around $20 an hour without a degree, including customer service representatives, office clerks, maintenance workers, construction laborers, light truck drivers and medical secretaries. In May 2025 BLS data, these jobs have medians between about $41,600 and $52,000 a year and usually need only a high school diploma or on-the-job training.

**Job numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics** Updated October 9, 2026. Pay figures are national medians and are not a promise of what you will earn.

**On this page**

1. [ Jobs with a median of $20 to $25 an hour](#s-jobs-with-a-median-of-20-to-25-an-hour)
2. [Remember the median is the middle](#s-remember-the-median-is-the-middle)
3. [Moving past $20](#s-moving-past-20)
4. [Questions people ask](#s-faq)

## Jobs with a median of $20 to $25 an hour

Sort by

Jobs with a median near $20 to $25 an hour, by openings

| # | Job | Median pay | Typical way in | Growth 2025 to 2035 | Openings a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Customer service representatives [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/customer-service-representatives.htm) | $44,770 | High school or GED | a decline of 5.3% | 289,500 |
| 2 | Office clerks, general [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/general-office-clerks.htm) | $45,010 | High school or GED | a decline of 6% | 249,000 |
| 3 | Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/secretaries-and-administrative-assistants.htm) | $47,540 | High school or GED | a decline of 6% | 163,900 |
| 4 | Maintenance and repair workers, general [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/general-maintenance-and-repair-workers.htm) | $49,590 | High school or GED | 4.2% | 148,700 |
| 5 | Construction laborers [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/construction-laborers-and-helpers.htm) | $47,120 | No diploma needed | 7.3% | 120,000 |
| 6 | Light truck drivers [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/delivery-truck-drivers-and-driver-sales-workers.htm) | $44,860 | High school or GED | 6.3% | 107,200 |
| 7 | [Medical secretaries and administrative assistants](https://careerdirecting.com/careers/medical-administrative-assistant/) | $45,930 | High school or GED | 4.8% | 89,200 |
| 8 | Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/fitness-trainers-and-instructors.htm) | $47,160 | High school or GED | 7.3% | 68,000 |
| 9 | Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/production/quality-control-inspectors.htm) | $48,570 | High school or GED | 2.5% | 66,700 |
| 10 | Industrial truck and tractor operators [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/material-moving-machine-operators.htm) | $46,420 | No diploma needed | 1.5% | 64,700 |
| 11 | Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/material-recording-clerks.htm) | $45,260 | High school or GED | a decline of 7.6% | 61,300 |
| 12 | Bus drivers, school [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/bus-drivers.htm) | $47,920 | High school or GED | 0.7% | 56,500 |
| 13 | Self-enrichment teachers | $46,800 | High school or GED | 3.5% | 50,000 |
| 14 | Social and human service assistants [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/social-and-human-service-assistants.htm) | $45,930 | High school or GED | 7.4% | 48,900 |
| 15 | [Pharmacy technicians](https://careerdirecting.com/careers/pharmacy-technician/) | $45,750 | High school or GED | 6.4% | 44,700 |
| 16 | Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders | $43,220 | High school or GED | 4.1% | 41,400 |
| 17 | Billing and posting clerks [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/financial-clerks.htm) | $48,500 | High school or GED | a decline of 0.1% | 37,000 |
| 18 | Tellers [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/tellers.htm) | $43,030 | High school or GED | a decline of 13.2% | 26,800 |
| 19 | Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/production/assemblers-and-fabricators.htm) | $45,850 | High school or GED | 5% | 25,900 |
| 20 | Painters, construction and maintenance [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/painters-construction-and-maintenance.htm) | $49,400 | No diploma needed | 3% | 24,900 |
| 21 | Food batchmakers [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/production/food-and-tobacco-processing-workers.htm) | $42,290 | High school or GED | 6.5% | 23,100 |
| 22 | Taxi drivers [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/taxi-drivers-and-chauffeurs.htm) | $42,100 | No diploma needed | 11.5% | 20,400 |
| 23 | Insurance claims and policy processing clerks [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/financial-clerks.htm) | $49,230 | High school or GED | a decline of 1.9% | 17,500 |
| 24 | Court, municipal, and license clerks [(BLS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/information-clerks.htm) | $48,700 | High school or GED | 3.4% | 17,100 |
| 25 | Residential advisors | $42,240 | High school or GED | 3.5% | 16,500 |

Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/occupational-projections-and-characteristics.htm) (Table 1.2), May 2025 median wages, retrieved 2026-10-09. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or switch fields.

## Remember the median is the middle

Half the people in each job earn less than the median and half earn more. A new hire might start a few dollars below it. Use the [hourly to yearly calculator](https://careerdirecting.com/career-quiz/hourly-to-salary/) to see what a starting rate means for your budget.

## Moving past $20

Many of these jobs have a next step: a maintenance worker can train toward HVAC, a construction laborer can apply for an apprenticeship. See the [$25 an hour list](https://careerdirecting.com/jobs-without-a-degree/jobs-that-pay-25-an-hour/) for where those steps lead.

## Questions people ask

### How much is $20 an hour a year?

About $41,600 before taxes at 40 hours a week for 52 weeks.

### What jobs pay $20 an hour with no experience?

Jobs with short on-the-job training, like construction laborer or delivery driver, often pay near that in many areas.

### Do these pay $20 everywhere?

No. Pay is higher in expensive cities and lower in rural areas.

## Sources

- [BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035, Table 1.2 (occupational projections and worker characteristics)](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/occupational-projections-and-characteristics.htm)

## Where to go next

- [$25 an hour](https://careerdirecting.com/jobs-without-a-degree/jobs-that-pay-25-an-hour/)
- [Hourly to salary](https://careerdirecting.com/career-quiz/hourly-to-salary/)
- [Easiest trades](https://careerdirecting.com/jobs-without-a-degree/easiest-trades-to-learn/)
- [Jobs without a degree](https://careerdirecting.com/jobs-without-a-degree/)
- [6-month certificates](https://careerdirecting.com/jobs-without-a-degree/6-month-certificate-programs/)
- [AI-proof jobs](https://careerdirecting.com/jobs-without-a-degree/ai-proof-jobs/)
- [Associate degree jobs](https://careerdirecting.com/jobs-without-a-degree/associate-degree-jobs/)
- [Trades for women](https://careerdirecting.com/jobs-without-a-degree/best-trades-for-women/)

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