I can&#x27;t speak specifically to walking in off the street with <i>no</i> diploma&#x2F;education at all, but I&#x27;ll share this.<p>25-30 years ago some of my friends could fairly easily get line jobs at Ford&#x2F;GM&#x2F;etc with just a HS diploma.  Of course, from what we were told, it wasn&#x27;t as easy as <i>way</i> back in the 50s, but it was still a possibility in the 80s, and some of my friends did.  In addition to direct work, there was a moderately large ecosystem of auto suppliers to work for, and many of them would still hire with a HS diploma.<p>Friends of mine were starting in 1990&#x2F;91 at $17&#x2F;hr with some benefits and usually some overtime available.  Min wage, at that time, was... IIRC, $3.35&#x2F;hr.  So.. 5x min wage with just a HS diploma was possible.  That&#x27;s not to say it&#x27;s not possible <i>now</i>, but I don&#x27;t think there&#x27;s many <i>employment</i> situations like that (certainly much fewer than 50 years ago).  You&#x27;d probably need to be self-employed to pull in $35-$50&#x2F;hr with just a HS diploma these days, and you&#x27;re then having to cover your own insurance and perks and whatnot.<p>Hope that helps.