There are some great entry-level jobs for college grads with no experience. As a college graduate, finding employment can be challenging. Many people take up internships while in college to gain some experience in their field or earn money as a graduate assistant. But if you have no experience, where do you start?

You can start looking on Indeed, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and plenty of other hiring sites that will help you find your way. Not all jobs demand extensive experience or years of post-secondary education. Some entry-level jobs pay pretty well, and many offer paid on-the-job training or apprenticeships too.

To help you choose what you want, here are the best jobs for college grads with no experience.

Top 8 Best Jobs For College Grads With No Experience, 2021

Administrative/Office Assistant Job

Degree or Certificate Relevant: High school diploma or its equivalent
Training Requirement: A few weeks’ on-the-job training
Median Salary: $40,990
Salary Range (10th to 90th Percentile): $26,880 to $67,510

Even amid the relentless automation of rote clerical tasks, the position of an administrative assistant retains its tenacious hold on the white-collar workplace. While that may change in the coming years, some employers are still in need of administrative assistants. Instead, assistant roles are changing.

Alongside traditional office-bound roles, the arrival of fully remote, all-digital positions creates more opportunities for organized, self-motivated professionals with flexible schedules.

Virtual assistants perform various administrative functions from the comfort of their own homes, with a number of them handling dozens of clients across the world.

Bartender Job

Degree or Certificate Relevant: No degree required; bartender certificate may boost job prospects
Training Requirement: A few weeks of on-the-job training; state-mandated “responsible serving” coursework as expected
Median Salary: $24,960 or $12.00 per hour (alongside tips)
Salary Range (10th to 90th Percentile): $8.63 to $22.93 per hour (alongside tips)

Research shows that the United States has several bartenders hiding in plain sight. In 2019, they were more than 650,000, and another 40,000 positions are projected for the following decade. This is one of the best jobs for grads with no experience.

Beyond legally mandated “responsible serving” courses, which may vary by jurisdiction, bartender training is often pretty casual. In a number of cases, experienced barkeepers or drink managers take anyone under their supervision for a few weeks until such a person is ready to work independently.

Less-experienced bartenders may work as bar-backs in fancier places, fetching bottles and washing glasses until they are presentable enough for prime-time service.

With tips, bartenders working full-time can earn $60,000 or more yearly, with high-end and high-volume establishments offering the most incredible opportunity.

Delivery Driver Job

Degree or Certificate Relevant: High school diploma or equivalent
Training Requirement: A few days’ on-the-job training
Median Salary: $34,340
Salary Range (10th to 90th Percentile): $22,470 to $70,080

This is one of the best jobs for college grads. You can choose to do driving delivery for a local restaurant. With tips and base pay, you can earn good money of about $20 upward per hour during peak periods, and it often requires no skills or experience apart from the ability to drive.

There are also package delivery drivers — people working for FedEx, UPS, and small courier firms, who often do even better. With the recent explosive growth in app-based restaurant and grocery delivery, driven by outfits like DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates, a number of them are earning a good living as full-time food delivery drivers.

Delivery driving is a trendy part-time job with benefits without any previous work experience. The good thing is that barriers to entry are low for this kind of job. Simply get a high school diploma or equivalent and a few days of on-the-job training, and you are good.

Fitness Instructor Job

Degree or Certificate Relevant: High school diploma or equivalent required; fitness certificate (one-year program) or associate’s degree (two-year program) preferred
Training Requirement: Variable on-the-job training
Median Salary: $40,510
Salary Range (10th to 90th Percentile): $21,640 to $76,550

This is also amongst one of the best jobs for college grads. Fitness instructors work in various active settings, including yoga studios, spin studios, and school gymnasiums. To get higher earnings, try personal training or delivering one-on-one fitness instruction to private clients willing to pay you $50 or more per hour for your service.

Employers often prefer trainers certified via private industry organizations like the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. If you specialize in a type of practice, such as yoga or Pilates, it is recommended that you complete additional training or certification before or during the onboarding process.

Flight Attendant Job

Degree or Certificate Relevant: High school diploma or equivalent
Training Requirement: Three to six weeks of on-the-job training; continued employment depends on the receipt of FAA Certificate of Demonstrated Proficiency (renewed yearly)
Median Salary: $59,050
Salary Range (10th to 90th Percentile): $30,930 to $84,790

Demand for flight attendants will likely keep increasing as the world expands globally with increasing air traffic volumes.

Generally, airlines like to see applicants with at least a year or two of customer service experience. However, they are not picky about where you get the experience. If you end your high school restaurant server job on good terms, you’d probably find a domestic airline willing to train you on cabin service.

Training for this job is not arduous. Prepare yourself for the three to six weeks of on-the-job training, toward the end of which you will take an FAA-mandated exam, which determines if you will be employed or not.

This is an excellent job for those looking to quell their wanderlust. Still, the irregular hours, the physical toll of long periods of standing, and high customer service expectations challenge some applicants as people on this job would always lament; “I hate my job!”

Public Relations Associate Job is also one of the Jobs for College Grads

Degree or Certificate Relevant: B.A. in communications, journalism, public relations, or a similar field
Training Requirement: A semester-long internship may be great; otherwise, variable on-the-job training
Median Salary: $62,810
Salary Range (10th to 90th Percentile): $35,350 to $118,210

This is also one of the jobs for college grads. Many public relations associates turn out to be refugee journalists who are looking for a more lucrative, stable line of work, and a good number of them go into the field straight out of college. With a bachelor’s degree, you are good to go for entry-level public relations work. It would help if you also had strong written and verbal communication skills are critical.

Real Estate Agent and Broker Job

Degree or Certificate Relevant: High school diploma or equivalent required; post-secondary coursework or degrees in real estate and business may be great; real estate brokers should get state licenses
Training Requirement: One to three years of on-the-job training (as sales agents), alongside self-study and experience
Median Salary: $51,220
Salary Range (10th to 90th Percentile): $25,100 to $174,120

Real estate is one of the few remaining industries that offer the real six-figure earning potential for an entry-level person with nothing beyond a high school diploma and a state broker’s license. It is not at all surprising that real estate is a prevalent career choice.

According to a career survey from Aceable Agent, 18% of all workers would opt for working in the real estate industry, and 85% of real estate agents were satisfied with their career choice.

Nevertheless, it is essential that to be a successful real estate agent or broker, you need to be extremely good at selling.

Real estate career paths generally differ, but the general progression includes completing some post-secondary coursework in real estate or business, working for one to three years as an entry-level real estate sales agent at a brokerage, sitting for (and passing) your state’s real estate licensing exam, getting your broker’s license and working toward a partnership or starting your brokerage.

Ensure you renew your broker’s license every two to four years, depending on the state policy.

Restaurant Server Job (Waiters and Waitresses)

Degree or Certificate Relevant: No formal education requirements
Training Requirement: A few days to a few weeks’ on-the-job training (highly variable); state-mandated “responsible serving” coursework as needed
Median Salary: $23,740 ($11.42 per hour, alongside tips)
Salary Range (10th to 90th Percentile): $8.42 to $20.46 per hour (alongside tips)

Restaurant service is one of the best jobs for college grads. Research shows that more than 2.6 million people work as servers in the United States, with nearly 100,000 more to join them by 2029. Although servers are increasingly under threat due to automation (for instance, there are the table iPads spreading across the restaurant industry), full-service restaurants will still require human wait staff for the foreseeable future.

A server’s compensation, including tips increases as he/she ascends the menu-price ladder, alongside the employer’s expectations around service quality and menu knowledge. A number of fancy restaurants often require servers to complete menu courses and exams before bringing them in contact with the customers.

Additionally, servers whose job duties include dispensing alcoholic beverages may have to complete “responsible serving” courses, depending on the local law and employer’s policy.

Conclusion

Past work experience requirements hardly influence the standards to which employers hold new hires. If you are fortunate enough to get one of the positions on the list of best jobs for college grads above, don’t assume you can slouch your way to a promotion or approach your duties without any form of seriousness.

Regardless of the job you choose, it is essential to know what is expected from you on your first day on the job. Knowing that and meeting up to expectations are the surest ways to excel at your job.

Top 8 Best Jobs For College Grads With No Experience, 2021 | Job Type, Certificate & Salary.