What’s the quickest way to get out of poverty without a degree?

Not enough people understand this. Such an important point. Kids are great, and many people want a family. Economically, however, kids are dead weight Besides the expense, the only #1 thing you can offer an employer is your time and availability. You can't really offer either of you have kids without childcare.

Sales of any kind. I have people in my org who literally went from homelessness to six figures in a year. If you have some experience in dentistry, apply to every single company that sells dentist equipment. You’ve got relevant experience and will be able to ramp up quickly.

This 100% OP. The time is going to pass anyways. Might as well set yourself up for success for your future self. It’s all super dependent on your location. Usually can’t go wrong with nursing or a skilled trade though.

Have you thought about dental hygiene? Usually a 2 year program, and if you're already an assistant you'll have a step up. Some practices will even help you pay for the program if you commit to working with them for a few years after completing. I'd try to get a dental assisting job (if you don't currently have one) and talk to the hygienists, see if you'd like the job, and talk to your boss to see if they have any sort of tuition reimbursement option for further education.

This 100%. We had kids before we fully were established. To be fair we were doing pretty well then but we didn’t own our homes or established in our careers so when we lost our home and jobs we were screwed and had a new baby at the same time. We’ve been crawling out of that ever since.

Idk if this is the advice you’re looking for. Waiting tables or bartending can bring easy quick money. Especially if you’re in a HCOL area.

If your goal is to get out of poverty as quickly as possible, I'd focus on careers with a strong ROI rather than just the shortest program. LPN, surgical tech, radiology tech, respiratory therapy, and even some skilled trades (electrician, HVAC, plumbing) can all provide solid incomes without a four-year degree. The "best" option depends on what's in demand where you live. Before enrolling, look up the actual starting pay and job openings in your area. A 12-month program isn't a bargain if it leads to a saturated market. Since you already have a dental certification, also see if there are higher-paying specialties or certifications you can build on before starting over completely.

OP, can you better define your #’s for what you consider being out of poverty? I did 35 years in Healthcare. I’m very familiar with surgical scrub techs, LPNS, RN’s, diagnostic X-ray techs, Nuclear medicine techs, MRI, CT, ultrasound, RT(T)’s, and RTT’s etc. Surgical scrub tech is still in the poverty level, in my opinion, as well as LPN’s. Some of the other ones are out of poverty, but not really all that $$, but a few others are. Most importantly realize that you don’t just run down to the local community college and sign up for these programs. There is typically a host of college level prerequisite classes, and then an application to the program, and IF chosen for an interview to the school program, then you may sit in a interview, and compete for 7-12 class spots, amongst 60+ applicants.

I was a DA for about 3 years and hated it 😭 I quit on the spot during my lunch and never came back. I had no backup, I was just done with the toxic environment lol. (Don’t do that, not a good idea) a few weeks later I found this program where they have different tacks such as business, software development, IT, banking, etc. I knew I wanted to go into tech and I applied and got in the first try (I guess people have waited a while trying to get in) it was 7 months total and I got an internship at a mental health company and got offered a position once I finished my internship!! I’m now an IT specialist and I work from home!! I love this job so much. There’s so many programs that people don’t know about and I love helping people find them! Lmk if you’re interested I can help you look which ones they offer in your state :)

I bet you could get a job as a dental assistant. The one thing that you must not do if you want to escape poverty is have a child especially if you are female. Someone suggested long haul trucking. Cant do that with a kid. So many opportunities as a parent will depend on your ability to get reliable and affordable child care. You can have children after escaping poverty if you are so inclined.

Just don't get pregnant whatever you do

No kids, no pets, no debt until you get into a solid career path. Then kids and pets might be OK but still avoid debt.

You can apply to long haul trucking companies that pay for your CDL. You'll probably have to sign a one year contract. Welding. Keep building your skills and certifications. Local hospitals may provide in house certifications for techs.

Military

i would say try and get into sales as an sdr and work your way up

When my wife and I met, we were both broke (we actually met as roommates). She was suffering from a chronic health issue that left her energy level too unstable to hold down a full-time job. I was reeling from the loss of a business, a divorce a few years prior, and the Great Recession. I did not have a degree. I remember applying for a $ 15-an-hour job and not getting it. I decided to go back to school. I'd been in the military, so I was able to do that with the GI Bill. I earned a bachelor's degree in information technology in 1.5 years (I already had some college credits). While I was doing that, I also taught myself to code. One year after getting my degree, I landed a job that got us out of poverty. I'll never forget the first paycheck from that job. We had been *broke*. It felt like we could finally take a deep breath.

Get an office job. Learn everything you can. Every 1-3 years use yohr new skills to jump to a new job with a better title & higher pay. When you jump to somewhere corporate (like a health insurance company) know they pay more than you think they will if coming from a smaller/local organization. Always be agreeable, always make sure people love to work with you and have high confidence in your performance. You never know where your next job offer is coming from. Keep your mind open and flexible. Think about the "big picture" of the industry you're in, not just the little part of it you're working in and identify roles/skills within that space you can work towards I found that I learned a lot more at smaller "mom & pop" type places and then took those skills to bigger companies. Think front desk, prior auth, medical billing, credentialing for a single PCP, then take the "higher level skill" (credentialing) and move to a credentialing only role at a hospital. Good luck! Its incredibly hard but if you keep grinding, you will get there

My advice for someone your age is not concern yourself with the absolute quickest path. You're going to have to work for another 43 years. Why not get a four-year degree in nursing instead of a one-year certificate in something? You'll literally earn an extra million dollar in your life for those three extra years (that are going to go by anyway).

Dont get pregnant or get someone pregnant tell married. Get a trade Welding Commercial truck driver Bus driver Join a trade union Electrician Steel workers etc Some of these jobs can be threatened by automation “drones” but not reliably for decades can’t sue or blame a robot for what the other car did.

Apprenticeship programs: YearUp, perscholas, WIOA (state funded)

You have dental training, if you are artisticly inclined start looking at making inplants and dentures. Those are still hand crafted for the most part and they make a good living. And I'm talking about real dentures, not the ones in the infomercial on YouTube.