Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTGerelyn TerzoSun, July 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM GMT+2 5 min readQuick ReadShipbuilding jobs pay around $100,000 without a college degree, and the U.S. needs roughly 300,000 workers as JPMorgan pumps $24 million into training programs.Social Security bases benefits on your 35 highest-earning years, so replacing low or zero-income years with $100,000 trade wages can raise monthly checks by somewhere between $200 and $400.Delaying Social Security claims while working grows benefits roughly 8% per year between FRA and 70, making early panic-claiming the costliest mistake.Are you ahead, or behind on retirement? SmartAsset's free tool can match you with a financial advisor in minutes to help you answer that today. Each advisor has been carefully vetted, and must act in your best interests. Don't waste another minute; learn more here.Picture a 54-year-old who spent 25 years in a corporate office, got the layoff call this spring, and is watching his severance calendar tick down. He is too young to retire, too experienced to be cheap, and has been ghosted by half the recruiters on LinkedIn.Sach336699 / Shutterstock.comThen he reads that JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon is pushing hard on American shipbuilding, that the country needs roughly 300,000 workers in the trade, that these jobs can pay around $100,000 without a college degree, and that JPMorgan is putting about $24 million into training programs in Philadelphia. Suddenly a welding certificate looks less like a step down and more like a lifeline.You can find versions of this guy all over the internet: former IT manager asking whether a union apprenticeship at 55 is crazy, ex-marketing director wondering if his knees can handle a shipyard. The financial dynamics are more compelling than most people realize, because a strong late-career trade income can permanently lift his Social Security check on top of covering the monthly bills._________________________________What's Your Number...?Here's a question most people 5y from retirement can't answer: at your current savings rate, how much do you need, and how long will it actually last? A good advisor can put a date on that in a single meeting. SmartAsset's free quiz matches you with up to three fiduciary advisors serving your area, so you can get YOUR retirement number now (sponsor)__________________________________________Why the Highest 35 Years Rule Is the Whole Ballgame HereSocial Security calculates your benefit from a wage-indexed average of your 35 highest-earning years. If you worked fewer than 35 years, the Social Security Administration (SSA) plugs in zeros for the missing years. If you had lean periods, say a stretch of self-employment that flopped or gap years raising kids, those low numbers drag the benefit down.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info