Ask most high school guidance counselors, and they'll tell you a college degree is your key to a decent paying job. But that's not necessarily always the case. While many jobs like lawyer, doctor, and professor still require degrees, Al Lee, director of quantitative analysis at Payscale.com, helped us pinpoint several jobs that don't.
However, before you ditch your plans to earn a college diploma, we should note that these jobs do require specialized knowledge, whether it's obtained through a vocational training program or an on-the-job education. Many people in these occupations also have a traditional degree, so that certainly can't hurt.
There's no high-paying job that doesn't require a high level skill," says Lee. "You can learn it on the job, but you're going to have to learn it." With the rising cost of college tuition, it may make sense to pursue one of these career paths.

1. Freelance Photographer - $47,800
Lee says that non-degree jobs tend to fall into one of two categories: technical or entrepreneurial. Being a freelance photographer requires a high degree of business savvy in addition to photography skills. Depending on the type of work you do, you might take product shots, family portraits, corporate headshots, wedding pictures, or other images, then touch up the pictures digitally and send them to clients for review.