High paying production jobs in Columbia, MO with no experience

The best paid production occupations in Columbia, MO 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 Columbia, MO run 10.6% below the national average (2024), so a Columbia, MO salary is worth about 1.12× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

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

Find production jobs in Columbia, MO

OccupationMedian, Columbia, MO · Employed

1Production Workers, All Other$53,510
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,260 – $78,070300
2Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$53,370
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,700 – $64,97050
3Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$52,810
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,710 – $67,010260
4Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$52,700
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,250 – $59,020200
5Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$51,080
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,290 – $51,82040
6Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$50,270
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,600 – $80,49090
7Machinists$50,120
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,480 – $80,820240
8Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$48,310
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,630 – $49,570190
9Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$48,070
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,600 – $54,980430
10Printing Press Operators$45,170
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,660 – $70,99050
11Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters$45,070
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,180 – $60,00050
12Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$43,790
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,020 – $47,840590
13Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$42,050
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,270 – $50,52080
14Helpers--Production Workers$40,550
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,140 – $50,13060
15Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$35,870
No formal educational credential
$28,600 – $38,750160
16Butchers and Meat Cutters$34,170
No formal educational credential
$29,840 – $50,27090
17Bakers$31,690
No formal educational credential
$28,600 – $40,760160

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

#	Occupation	MedianColumbia, MO	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Production Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$53,510	$35,260 – $78,070	300
2	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$53,370	$29,700 – $64,970	50
3	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,810	$36,710 – $67,010	260
4	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,700	$40,250 – $59,020	200
5	Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,080	$37,290 – $51,820	40
6	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,270	$41,600 – $80,490	90
7	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,120	$39,480 – $80,820	240
8	Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,310	$38,630 – $49,570	190
9	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,070	$38,600 – $54,980	430
10	Printing Press OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,170	$31,660 – $70,990	50
11	Cabinetmakers and Bench CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,070	$35,180 – $60,000	50
12	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,790	$35,020 – $47,840	590
13	Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,050	$37,270 – $50,520	80
14	Helpers--Production WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$40,550	$31,140 – $50,130	60
15	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$35,870	$28,600 – $38,750	160
16	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$34,170	$29,840 – $50,270	90
17	BakersNo formal educational credential	$31,690	$28,600 – $40,760	160

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Columbia, MO. 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.

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

High paying production jobs in Columbia, MO with no experience

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