{"id":5263,"date":"2026-03-06T08:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T15:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rsi.edu\/?p=5263"},"modified":"2026-03-05T14:09:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T21:09:33","slug":"trades-vs-entry-level-careers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rsi.edu\/blog\/skilled-trades\/trades-vs-entry-level-careers\/","title":{"rendered":"How Skilled Trades Careers Compare To Other Entry-Level Jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

You graduated. Or maybe you are about to. Either way, the question has already started: “So, what are you going to do?”<\/span><\/p>\n

And the honest answer for a lot of people is: “I do not know yet.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That is fine, but here is what tends to happen next: You take whatever job is hiring, because rent exists and so does your phone bill. You tell yourself it is temporary. Then six months turns into a year, the pay barely moves, and you are still Googling career options after high school at 1 a.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

That cycle is common, but it is not inevitable. When you compare the most common entry-level jobs with a skilled trades career path, the difference in where each one leads is hard to ignore.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Jobs Most People Default To<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Retail, food service, and warehouse work often show up first when you search “jobs near me,” and are often hiring. That matters when you need money now.<\/span><\/p>\n

But getting hired fast and <\/span>building a career<\/span><\/a> are two different things.<\/span><\/p>\n

What the Pay Actually Looks Like<\/b><\/h3>\n

Many of these positions start at or near the <\/span>federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour<\/span><\/a>. According to the BLS, <\/span>82,000 workers earned exactly the federal minimum<\/span><\/a> in 2024, and about 760,000 less than that. Some states and cities set higher minimums, but for workers without prior skills or experience, minimum wage is often the reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even at median pay levels, these roles sit well below the national average. According to <\/span>BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data<\/span><\/a>, here is what workers in common entry-level fields earned as of May 2024:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Occupation<\/th>\nMedian Annual Wage (May 2024)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Food and beverage serving workers<\/td>\n$31,030<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Food preparation workers<\/td>\n$34,220<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Retail salespersons<\/td>\n$34,570<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hand laborers and material movers<\/td>\n$37,680<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

For context, the <\/span>median annual wage across all occupations<\/span><\/a> in the U.S. was $49,500 in May 2024, according to the BLS. Every job on that list falls $12,000 to $18,000 short of that number.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where These Jobs Tend to Stall<\/b><\/h3>\n

Pay aside, the bigger issue is what happens after you have been in the role for a while:<\/span><\/p>\n