Meet New-Collar Jobs: The High

I grew up believing a four-year degree was my only ticket to success. With a degree, I could land a stable job with an enviable salary and the kind of benefits worth bragging about. Without a degree, elevating my life would be damn-near impossible. So, imagine my surprise when I heard about a growing category of roles that could’ve spared me the late nights and student loans. Called “new-collar jobs,” this category prioritizes skills over academic credentials, with positions offering competitive compensation, fulfillment, and autonomy.

The world of work is rapidly changing, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting 60 percent of jobs won’t require a four-year degree by 2030. Clearly, the rules for career success are being rewritten, and new-collar jobs are allowing professionals with and without degrees to seamlessly make career pivots using their background, skills, and experience for the first time.

If you think this sounds too good to be true, trust me when I tell you I thought the same thing. But after conducting one of my deepest dives to date, I can confidently say new-collar jobs are the real deal. Ahead, everything to know about new-collar jobs, including what they are, why they’re on the rise, and their potential drawbacks. Plus, how to break into a new-collar career and determine if new-collar work is right for you.

“New-collar jobs” are roles that prioritize skills, experience, and training over traditional academic credentials. The term was coined by IBM’s former CEO Ginny Rometty in 2016 in response to the tech sector’s evolving need for workers with skills in data science, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, cybersecurity, and more. At the time, these skills were largely acquired through technical training rather than traditional academia, meaning many qualified workers would likely be passed up simply because they lacked a bachelor’s degree.

“A degree has been used as a shortcut for quality… but it’s not always the best measure for someone’s capability.”

New-collar jobs occupy a middle ground: they don’t require a four-year degree like white-collar roles, aren’t physically labor-intensive like blue-collar work, and differ from pink-collar positions in caregiving and service industries that center on clerical work, emotional labor, and interpersonal skills. Instead, new-collar jobs exist entirely in their own category, with roles primarily in the tech, healthcare, and marketing sectors. Employers use a skills-first approach for these roles, seeking candidates with practical experience, technical proficiencies, soft skills like problem-solving and communication, and a continuous learning mindset.

Why new-collar jobs are on the rise

To be blunt, hiring on academic credentials alone is not a smart strategy. It often results in a workplace skills gap that managers have to fill by wasting valuable time and resources training new talent. “A degree has been used as a shortcut for quality,” says LinkedIn’s Chief Economist Karin Kimbrough. “But it’s not always the best measure for someone’s capability, especially now that skills are evolving so quickly.”

This is something more and more employers are realizing. Case in point: a Cengage group survey revealed 59 percent of employers have hired new-collar talent over the last year, with three in five planning to develop skills-based hiring strategies. Likewise, the survey also found that academic degrees ranked fourth on the list of priorities for evaluating talent, falling behind previous work experience, apprenticeships, and credentials in a related field.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation at work is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s streamlined productivity and efficiency with repetitive, administrative tasks so well that many entry-level white-collar roles, like a data entry clerk or customer support specialist, are phasing out of existence. Traditionally, these roles were the ones young professionals would step into and build their careers upon, but their quick disappearance has unsurprisingly left many displaced.

“60 percent of jobs won’t require a four-year degree by 2030.”

On the other hand, AI and automation are also creating new roles. Some careers are so new, you can’t even get a degree for them yet. These new-collar roles blend technical skills with AI literacy and include positions such as AI literacy trainer, AI ethics specialist, health tech implementation specialist, and prompt engineer.

For most people, getting a four-year degree isn’t exactly an inexpensive venture, but it seemed worth it because it was a surefire way to find career success and financial stability. Now, though, the rapidly evolving workforce has many people questioning if getting a college degree is worth it when alternative pathways are available and a whole lot kinder to your wallet. “New-collar jobs offer an alternative that feels more practical for this moment,” Resume Genius career expert Eva Chan tells Forbes. “Instead of spending years and thousands of dollars on a degree, workers can build targeted skills, earn certifications, and move into roles that pay well and scale over time.”

Similarly, new-collar jobs also offer the career flexibility many working professionals now desire. In juxtaposition to their counterparts, these roles emphasize continuous learning and skill-building, allowing workers to switch industries and roles more easily as they expand their expertise. Plus, these jobs aren’t confined to traditional corporate ladders, so workers can choose whether they perform them as freelancers, part-time, or full-time staff members.

Lastly, the remote and hybrid work expansion is further contributing to the rise of new-collar work. Skills matter more than anything else when you’re working from behind a screen and primarily communicating with colleagues digitally. This has not only inadvertently accelerated skills-based hiring but also created demand for workers who can effectively work independently in tech-enabled environments. More importantly, this allows recruiters to tap into a broader talent pool and allows job seekers to apply to more roles; the former lets recruiters consider nontraditional candidates more deeply, while the latter removes geographic barriers that would prevent job seekers from applying.

Similarly, remote and hybrid positions typically emphasize the attributes of new-collar jobs. This includes proficiency with digital collaboration tools like Slack and Google Docs, problem-solving skills, the ability to think independently, and on-the-job training. Of course, this doesn’t mean that all new-collar jobs are hybrid or remote; however, these are the types of jobs that utilize these work models more often than not.

Are there downsides to new-collar jobs?

Even though new-collar jobs boast benefits, they are not without downsides. The biggest pitfall of this type of work is that it doesn’t always offer clear professional growth (in the traditional sense, that is). Some companies require degrees for top positions, and many employers still prioritize hiring workers with a bachelor’s degree. This could mean that if you’re without one, upward mobility can become limited. This isn’t true for all companies, but it is for some. A college degree is often viewed as a “universal credential,” as it transfers to any industry and job position and looks good on a resume. This isn’t going away anytime soon.

Likewise, the gig economy isn’t for the faint of heart. While the field offers flexibility, it is less likely to provide job security, a steady income, or good benefits. Also, if you perform new-collar work as a self-employed contractor or freelancer, you’ll have to continuously upskill on your own. This might look like paying for skills courses frequently, since they won’t be provided by an employer. With that said, every job has its drawbacks. No role is perfect, which is why it’s important to recognize the pros and cons of a field and position before committing to it.

Although tech, IT, healthcare, marketing, and cybersecurity are some of the top fields for new-collar jobs, there are endless opportunities available in this category. Here are some common examples of new-collar jobs:

How to break into a new-collar career

If you’re looking to break into a new-collar career, start by identifying the job you want, and use that to build and attain the credentials needed to get it. Determine which skills you already have from your previous work experience and build upon them, and acquire new ones pertinent to the job and field you want to break into. You can do this by enrolling in short-term training, such as certifications, online courses, and so forth.

While you’re at it, build a portfolio that showcases your work and conveys what you’re capable of to prospective employers; include materials like writing clips, troubleshooting logs, test cases, mock marketing campaigns, and so forth. Freelancing, enrolling in an apprenticeship, or volunteering for industry-related events can give you hands-on training, experience, and tangible work for your portfolio, too.

As with any career move, be sure to conduct informational interviews and network consistently. The former will guide you along your new-collar journey, while the latter will build supportive contacts and referrals you can use down the line.

How to determine if new-collar jobs are right for you

New-collar jobs might offer seemingly endless career possibilities, but there are select groups for whom these roles are best suited. Gen Z professionals are among this cohort because these jobs offer their non-negotiables of work-life balance and flexible work models, along with financial independence without significant student debt. Likewise, the remote and hybrid nature of new-collar work also makes it ideal for job seekers who are located in areas with limited job markets and caregivers who are looking to balance caring for a family with a sustainable income.

Additionally, these roles are also a good fit for burnt-out professionals and prospective career switchers. (Millennials, I’m looking at you!). These groups will be able to leverage their soft skills and professional experience while pivoting to a new role—all without the dread of starting over. A teacher can become a technical writer, an administrative assistant can become an IT support specialist, and a retail manager can become a project manager.

Ultimately, whether a new-collar job is right for you comes down to personal circumstance and what works best for you, your lifestyle, and your career goals. Not everyone will be suited for this work, and that’s OK! When it comes down to it, being committed to evolving with the workforce, building new skills, and networking will set you up for success, regardless of the career path you choose.

Arianna is a freelance writer and journalist, and the self-proclaimed hot and dirty martini queen. At The Everygirl, Arianna uses her authenticity and relatability to empower, inspire, and motivate women everywhere. Whether she’s writing about sex and relationships, career and finance, beauty and fashion, wellness, or home and living, Arianna’s passion shines through in all her work.