High paying production jobs in Alaska with no experience

The best paid production occupations in Alaska that require neither a degree nor prior experience in a related job. This is the narrowest cut on the site, so it is also the shortest list: where a field has only two or three such occupations, there is no page at all rather than a page pretending otherwise.

Cost of living: prices in Alaska run 2.4% above the national average (2024), so a Alaska salary is worth about 0.98× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in Alaska.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find production jobs in Alaska

OccupationMedian, Alaska · Employed

1Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers$124,530
High school diploma or equivalent
$83,680 – $167,880370
2Power Plant Operators$88,870
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,260 – $135,690650
3Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$80,840
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,660 – $109,940790
4Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$78,150
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,500 – $142,430300
5Machinists$77,670
High school diploma or equivalent
$50,900 – $105,540120
6Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$69,910
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,850 – $92,340140
7Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$60,160
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,200 – $99,840750
8Butchers and Meat Cutters$50,450
No formal educational credential
$35,810 – $71,460230
9Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$49,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,980 – $69,770220
10Printing Press Operators$46,460
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,660 – $65,440170
11Helpers--Production Workers$42,530
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,210 – $63,760280
12Bakers$39,710
No formal educational credential
$34,550 – $64,110430
13Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$38,730
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,010 – $60,130260
14Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers$37,180
No formal educational credential
$35,640 – $38,840970
15Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$36,050
No formal educational credential
$27,200 – $48,550750

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianAlaska	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and GaugersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$124,530	$83,680 – $167,880	370
2	Power Plant OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$88,870	$43,260 – $135,690	650
3	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$80,840	$49,660 – $109,940	790
4	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$78,150	$49,500 – $142,430	300
5	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$77,670	$50,900 – $105,540	120
6	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$69,910	$34,850 – $92,340	140
7	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,160	$35,200 – $99,840	750
8	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$50,450	$35,810 – $71,460	230
9	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,390	$35,980 – $69,770	220
10	Printing Press OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,460	$30,660 – $65,440	170
11	Helpers--Production WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,530	$37,210 – $63,760	280
12	BakersNo formal educational credential	$39,710	$34,550 – $64,110	430
13	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,730	$33,010 – $60,130	260
14	Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and TrimmersNo formal educational credential	$37,180	$35,640 – $38,840	970
15	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$36,050	$27,200 – $48,550	750

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Alaska. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

More for Alaska

Metro areas in Alaska

Pay varies more between metros than between states — the spread inside one state is often wider than the gap between two.

By field in Alaska

Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Alaska to rank honestly.

High paying production jobs in Alaska with no experience

More for Alaska

Metro areas in Alaska

By field in Alaska

Without a degree

High paying production jobs in each state with no experience