High Annual Salary: Blue Collar Jobs

For workers who would rather wear steel-tipped boots instead of a three-piece suit, the salary outlook doesn't have to be low; some blue-collar jobs have a surprisingly high salary range. These high paying jobs don't require a college degree, but often do involve specialized training. So if you like to get your hands dirty, you can still earn a high annual salary.

Certain mechanics, equipment operators and installers are actually earning a larger annual salary than the typical American. According to the Census Bureau, the U.S. median income is $43,318. With that in mind, Forbes.com says that the average salary for the top ten blue-collar jobs is a little above $27 per hour. By calculating hourly wage to annual salary, we find the following: if a blue-collar worker makes $27 an hour, works 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, then his or her annual salary is in the area of $56,160, which is 30% above the average Joe.

Is your salary on schedule with blue-collar workers? Clock in with our salary calculator.

Hourly Wage: Santa Claus

One of the more unique jobs out there is working as a Santa Claus. The job requirements include a sizeable tummy, a real beard (fake ones are out) and a convincing “ho-ho-ho.” While it may sound like holiday heresy to mention "Santa" and "salary" in the same breath, you might be surprised to learn that Santas can earn a high hourly wage for bringing joy to little kids and big kids alike.

A beginning Santa can earn an hourly wage of $100, while veteran Santas can earn an average wage of $175 to $200 per hour. The really big pay rate comes on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; that's when these Kris Kringles can earn wages of $175 to $200 for their first hour of work, and $100 to $300 for every hour after that.

If a Santa works 40 days during the holiday season, he can ring in the New Year with $8,000 to $10,000 in total wages. The big money is reportedly in private and corporate events, that’s where Santa’s wishes come true. Of course there are some expenses, namely, the red suit, boots and belt which can put Santa out $500 to $1000 bucks. However, earning $10,000 in a little more than month is good money, especially for retirees.

Is your salary a holiday gift or a nightmare?  Find out with our Santa, err, salary calculator.

Salary Range: Low Start, High Finish

In the marketplace, there are the jobs that start off at the bottom and stay there, but there are also opportunities that start at the bottom and reap great rewards later (no, we're not talking about the lottery!). One of those vocational opportunities is working as a stockbroker, which is the centerpiece of the holiday film The Pursuit of Happyness.

Unlike the typical good date movies that open during the holidays, Will Smith plays a homeless man (with son in tow) who takes a job as an intern at Dean Witter with hopes of working his way up to a stockbroker gig. That’s pretty much how it works in the real world too. Surprisingly, there is no diploma or degree required to be a stockbroker, you can be a Harvard grad or a high school drop-out (although, I suspect a college degree doesn’t hurt).

As in The Pursuit of Happyness, most future stockbrokers start off in an internship training program (which usually doesn't pay or pays little); then they must pass several licensing exams. After that gauntlet, most rookie stockbrokers don’t survive because the job is commission based. For those who do, the average salary for a stockbroker in New York is $91,130. And top performers can earn a high-end annual salary of $160,914! That’s going from homeless to some serious stockbroker respect!

How does your salary compare to the market? Crunch the numbers with our salary calculator.

Wage Rate: Tipping Bartenders to Casino Dealers

I have an ethically challenged friend who practices “second generation tipping.” He takes a tip off someone else’s table and puts it on his. His rational is, “I get good service, the waiter gets his tip; everyone wins.” To understand where his logic is flawed, I turned to the PayScale Salary Report Database.

Many employees depend on tips for much of their income. In fact, the minimum wage an employer must pay drops below $2.50/hour in 15 states for workers earning tips. The restaurant customer is more the employer of a waiter than the person who hired him.

All this tip data was so interesting, we included it in a larger article of tipping for the holidays on the PayScale website. I'll highlight a few of the interesting facts here about who relies on tips to make ends meet.

How does your salary fare, with or without tips?  Find out with our salary calculator.