High paying transportation jobs in Virginia with no degree

The best paid transportation occupations in Virginia that require no bachelor's degree — a high school diploma, a certificate, or an associate's degree is the typical entry. 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 Virginia run 1.1% above the national average (2024), so a Virginia salary is worth about 0.99× 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 Virginia.

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

Find transportation jobs in Virginia

OccupationMedian, Virginia · Employed

1Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels$87,610
Postsecondary nondegree award
$54,560 – $132,1602,270
2Ship Engineers$82,370
Postsecondary nondegree award
$47,420 – $150,3001,450
3First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors$62,130
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,250 – $92,94014,830
4Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$56,860
Postsecondary nondegree award
$38,180 – $77,04048,750
5Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity$52,940
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,430 – $76,1703,800
6Bus Drivers, School$50,190
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,830 – $67,06012,930
7Sailors and Marine Oilers$49,120
No formal educational credential
$32,660 – $60,6502,970
8Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$46,920
No formal educational credential
$37,250 – $62,26019,320
9Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$46,530
No formal educational credential
$28,120 – $61,0404,330
10Light Truck Drivers$42,450
High school diploma or equivalent
$28,740 – $63,77025,170
11Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$39,380
No formal educational credential
$31,050 – $53,70058,000
12Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$38,670
No formal educational credential
$29,810 – $54,1407,760
13Driver/Sales Workers$37,180
High school diploma or equivalent
$26,470 – $58,53010,780
14Stockers and Order Fillers$36,380
No formal educational credential
$29,470 – $48,62069,660
15Machine Feeders and Offbearers$36,290
No formal educational credential
$30,260 – $49,6001,340
16Packers and Packagers, Hand$35,000
No formal educational credential
$27,240 – $46,8807,790
17Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$34,450
No formal educational credential
$27,540 – $47,5008,860
18Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$30,350
No formal educational credential
$25,810 – $43,9504,060
19Parking Attendants$30,110
No formal educational credential
$25,810 – $38,1001,830

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

#	Occupation	MedianVirginia	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water VesselsPostsecondary nondegree award	$87,610	$54,560 – $132,160	2,270
2	Ship EngineersPostsecondary nondegree award	$82,370	$47,420 – $150,300	1,450
3	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling SupervisorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,130	$43,250 – $92,940	14,830
4	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$56,860	$38,180 – $77,040	48,750
5	Bus Drivers, Transit and IntercityHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,940	$39,430 – $76,170	3,800
6	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,190	$38,830 – $67,060	12,930
7	Sailors and Marine OilersNo formal educational credential	$49,120	$32,660 – $60,650	2,970
8	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$46,920	$37,250 – $62,260	19,320
9	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$46,530	$28,120 – $61,040	4,330
10	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,450	$28,740 – $63,770	25,170
11	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$39,380	$31,050 – $53,700	58,000
12	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$38,670	$29,810 – $54,140	7,760
13	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$37,180	$26,470 – $58,530	10,780
14	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$36,380	$29,470 – $48,620	69,660
15	Machine Feeders and OffbearersNo formal educational credential	$36,290	$30,260 – $49,600	1,340
16	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$35,000	$27,240 – $46,880	7,790
17	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$34,450	$27,540 – $47,500	8,860
18	Automotive and Watercraft Service AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$30,350	$25,810 – $43,950	4,060
19	Parking AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$30,110	$25,810 – $38,100	1,830

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

Metro areas in Virginia

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

By field in Virginia

Without a degree

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

High paying transportation jobs in Virginia with no degree

More for Virginia

Metro areas in Virginia

By field in Virginia

Without a degree

High paying transportation jobs in each state with no degree