It can be challenging to get a job when you don’t have any work experience. It seems like all positions require at least some experience. Luckily, this is a misconception; a person can get a few jobs without experience.
Some of the best jobs for a 21-year-old with no experience include becoming a real estate agent, administrative assistant, customer service specialist, server, transcriptionist, or sales agent. While all these jobs require training, an individual can enter them without prior experience.
Read on to learn more about these jobs and a few more. We’ll talk about what each position offers and why it would be a great fit for someone without experience.
1. Real Estate Agent
- Salary: $40 per hour.
- Workload: 93% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 1,007 real estate agent jobs are available on
Real estate agents are built for people interaction. This job is an excellent option for a self-starter who knows where they want to go in life but aren’t quite sure how to get there.
Real estate agents work with people who want to buy a new house or sell an old one. They help each buyer or seller through the process and match them with the perfect home.
Real estate is one of the most well-known fields for high-quality training. No matter where you start, most real estate brokerages will guide you from step one to success. You can start this career with absolutely no experience as long as you are willing to learn.
There are often additional fees involved with becoming a real estate agent, however, so it may be best to start with an additional position before moving forward into this career choice.
2. Administrative Assistant
- Salary: $16 per hour.
- Workload: 66% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 638 administrative assistant jobs are available on
Administrative assistants work under someone else and assist with various tasks. These tasks often include paperwork, phone calls, and more.
Typically working as an administrative assistant requires no experience – even if the job description occasionally indicates otherwise.
Twenty-one years old is young. You are at the prime age for learning, and as such, it’s the perfect opportunity to pick up on skills you may not have had before. Once you gain some experience as an administrative assistant, you can move forward to bigger and better jobs.
3. Customer Service Specialist
- Salary: $18 per hour.
- Workload: 93% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 287 customer service specialist jobs are available on
Customer service specialists work with individual customers, or sometimes businesses, to answer any questions the customers may have about a product or another business they’re in partnership with.
These are the people you call when your phone isn’t working or when you can’t log into an account.
Almost all customer service specialists receive highly organized training, scripts, and more to guide them on their way. This is the ideal opportunity for someone with no experience to gather people skills in a safe environment.
4. Restaurant Server
- Salary: $16 per hour.
- Workload: 92% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 158 restaurant server jobs are available on
Restaurant servers take orders, make drinks, and run food to various tables. This position involves running from table to table to discover what they need. Some of the work also concentrates on conversing with customers.
While there’s a bit of a learning curve for this position, it’s pretty easy to pick up on overall. The primary learning stands in moving quickly. This type of position isn’t a good option for someone who prefers a slower environment.
It’s perfect for the person with no experience, however. Restaurants typically provide in-depth training, and the skills are very easy to pick up on.
5. Transcriber
- Salary: $22 per hour.
- Workload: 100% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 11 transcriber jobs are available on
Transcriptionists listen to audio or video files and write down what they hear. Only two major skills are needed for this type of position – typing, and listening. Even with no experience in the job market, most people learn these skills in school at a young age.
This type of job is perfect for a young person with no experience because they can move at their own pace with learning. As with any other position, certain skills must be obtained but starting out, you can move at your own pace. Not having someone standing over your shoulder during the learning process makes a big difference.
6. Sales Agent
- Average Salary: $53,000 per year.
- Workload: 93% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 675 sales agent jobs are available on
Sales agents work with a company, or sometimes on their own, to sell various products or services to the people that need them most. This makes a huge difference in the lives of many people.
This kind of opportunity is ideal for a young person without experience because it provides excellent training in most cases. If you can come on board with the right company, you’ll receive training from the ground up. In addition, you’ll be able to grow with the company rapidly with little cap on what you can make.
7. Dishwasher
- Salary: $15 per hour.
- Workload: 76% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 251 dishwasher jobs are available on
Dishwashers typically work in various restaurants – from fast food to fine dining. They work primarily in the back of the restaurant but sometimes assist in bussing tables.
This type of position is relatively solitary and would be a phenomenal option for someone who is more introverted and prefers to work alone.
It’s great for someone fresh to work because the tasks are relatively repetitive. There’s hardly any learning curve, and the individual can start making money immediately.
8. Proofreader
- Average Salary: From $5 to $50 per hour.
- Workload: 100% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 62 proofreader jobs are available on
Proofreaders are similar to editors in looking over various pieces of writing. The primary difference is that proofreaders typically read the piece to see how it sounds rather than looking at all the details and making edits.
This type of position may initially be a bit difficult to break into, but once you’ve gained a position, thousands of opportunities open up to you.
The best part of this job is that it requires no prior experience to get involved. You’ll be set to go as long as you have an eye for detail and enjoy reading.
9. Bartender
- Salary: $14 per hour.
- Workload: 73% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 1,466 bartender jobs are available on
If you’re a big fan of people and fun, bartending is the perfect job to start out with. You have to be at least 21 in most cases to become a bartender, and most bars prefer younger people.
If you love the world of alcohol, there are tons to discover while working as a bartender. While this position does have a larger learning curve upfront – primarily concerning making the drinks, there’s a lot you can do with it once you get the hang of it.
This job typically provides precise and in-depth training that makes it perfect for a person just starting out with a job.
10. Firefighter
- Average Salary: $65,898 per year.
- Workload: 93% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 841 firefighter jobs are available on
Firefighting may be the ideal place to start if you’re a fan of adventure. Firefighters obviously put out fires, but they also work in partnership with EMTs to ensure everyone remains as safe as possible in an emergency.
Usually, you’ll need to start out as a volunteer firefighter and work your way into a paid position. However, this is perfect for someone without experience because you can initially feel relaxed while working. There's not as much pressure to perform.
Because firefighters perform such an important job, they typically have someone holding their hand throughout the process. This makes a big difference when you don’t have any experience. In addition, you’ll learn tons of valuable skills that will carry you on to the next position.
11. Daycare Worker
- Salary: $16 per hour.
- Workload: 100% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 17 daycare worker jobs are available on
Daycare workers typically work with young children – from infants to about four years old, depending on the daycare. They’ll spend their days teaching the children, feeding them, and changing diapers.
The only requirements for working in daycare are typically a willingness to learn, a love for children, and a clean background check. In most cases, you will be required to take additional courses and training, but you can begin the job without experience.
This type of position is perfect for someone who has no experience because of its relaxed environment. The job is easy to learn, and you have a lot of potential to move forward into better positions later.
12. Cab Driver
- Salary: $15 per hour.
- Workload: 93% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 284 cab driver jobs are available on
Working as a cab driver is an excellent option for someone who lives in a larger city. Cities almost always have cab drivers that chauffeur people from place to place.
While you may need to obtain some additional certifications upfront, you don’t need any more experience than simply being able to drive a vehicle in most cases.
This job is a great fit for someone who doesn’t have any experience in the job world because it allows them to choose their own schedule for the most part and learn at their own pace. In addition, this position has only a small learning curve – making it perfect for someone with minimal experience.
13. Entry Level Software Developer
- Average Salary: $120,000 a year.
- Workload: 100% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 39 entry-level software developer jobs are available on
While this job may not be the first to come to mind for someone with no experience, tons of tech companies will train you from the ground up in a position. It makes a huge difference when you can start at a position that will build you up into better opportunities, especially if you’re starting with no experience.
Entry-level software developers typically come on with a tech company that will train them on the basics and moves them into more difficult environments. There is more of a learning curve with this type of position.
In most cases, you’ll need to learn multiple programming languages, be able to pay attention to detail, and have lots of spare time available for practice.
However, once you get the basic idea of what to do, it just keeps getting easier, and there are a ton of expansion opportunities in a position like this.
More Jobs for 21-Year-Olds
This list was non-exhaustive. If you are still in college, I recommend the following article: