High paying transportation jobs in Illinois with no experience

The best paid transportation occupations in Illinois 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 Illinois run 0.0% below the national average (2024), so a Illinois salary is worth about 1.00× 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 Illinois.

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

Find transportation jobs in Illinois

OccupationMedian, Illinois · Employed

1Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters$79,820
High school diploma or equivalent
$63,290 – $134,4402,790
2Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$75,050
No formal educational credential
$38,790 – $88,6404,910
3Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity$65,200
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,270 – $85,9908,650
4Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$60,320
Postsecondary nondegree award
$39,710 – $86,30084,200
5Bus Drivers, School$49,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,310 – $62,56021,230
6Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$47,720
No formal educational credential
$37,990 – $63,14029,450
7Light Truck Drivers$47,380
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,130 – $91,36047,190
8Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$40,550
No formal educational credential
$31,780 – $55,840195,390
9Driver/Sales Workers$38,960
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,200 – $65,68013,680
10Stockers and Order Fillers$37,680
No formal educational credential
$31,460 – $49,040109,240
11Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$37,590
No formal educational credential
$32,740 – $58,4307,840
12Parking Attendants$36,730
No formal educational credential
$31,260 – $53,3605,320
13Packers and Packagers, Hand$36,090
No formal educational credential
$31,240 – $46,57023,270
14Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$36,010
No formal educational credential
$31,200 – $49,3601,940
15Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$35,930
No formal educational credential
$31,200 – $55,99016,350

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

#	Occupation	MedianIllinois	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Railroad Conductors and YardmastersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$79,820	$63,290 – $134,440	2,790
2	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$75,050	$38,790 – $88,640	4,910
3	Bus Drivers, Transit and IntercityHigh school diploma or equivalent	$65,200	$47,270 – $85,990	8,650
4	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$60,320	$39,710 – $86,300	84,200
5	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,090	$38,310 – $62,560	21,230
6	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$47,720	$37,990 – $63,140	29,450
7	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,380	$33,130 – $91,360	47,190
8	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$40,550	$31,780 – $55,840	195,390
9	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,960	$31,200 – $65,680	13,680
10	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$37,680	$31,460 – $49,040	109,240
11	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$37,590	$32,740 – $58,430	7,840
12	Parking AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$36,730	$31,260 – $53,360	5,320
13	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$36,090	$31,240 – $46,570	23,270
14	Automotive and Watercraft Service AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$36,010	$31,200 – $49,360	1,940
15	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$35,930	$31,200 – $55,990	16,350

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

Metro areas in Illinois

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

By field in Illinois

Without a degree

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

High paying transportation jobs in Illinois with no experience

More for Illinois

Metro areas in Illinois

By field in Illinois

Without a degree

High paying transportation jobs in each state with no experience