Is it more hands-on? More time-effective? More cost-effective? What will the experience be like in comparison?
Also I’m not sure which forum to put this under so I made my best guess.
Are you contemplating trade school? I thought you were enrolling in a traditional college this fall. What trade(s) are you considering?
@austinmshauri I’m not enrolling in it, I’m just curious about it since it’s being recommended so much.
Who’s recommending trade school to you? If you’re not interested in a trade, I wouldn’t consider trade school. If you are interested, check your local cc. They usually offer that type of training. Their staff can explain what programs they offer and tell you how much each costs.
So a couple of things. Many (not all obviously) college experiences are residential – kids go off to the college and live in dorms, study, socialize, and think “big thoughts.” It’s the stuff you see in movies.
Most trades are taught locally – community college, business association, union, etc. There likely isn’t a residential component (although that is changing) and many will go with an “earn while you learn” model. So you’ll have class room time and on the job time, usually over several years. In many cases the employer will pay for the classes.
Why is it being recommended so much? Because, in many cases, the ROI on college is crap. Kids and parents coming out with 5 and 6 figure debt loads – impossible to pay back on any recent grads salary. If I could offer you an opportunity to earn $30,000 to $50,000 fresh out of high school, no debt, and learn a trade in which you can earn $100,000 plus (again with no debt), why wouldn’t you? Add the opportunity to one day start your own “shop” – what’s not to like?
Just be careful with those for-profit schools. They’ve been in the news the past couple of years for not great reasons. I don’t think this country as a whole does a good job with the whole trade school/apprentice thing, which is too bad because we need smart, capable people to take on trades that doesn’t require a 4-year degree, trades that can make them a very good living.
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I don’t think this country as a whole does a good job with the whole trade school/apprentice thing, which is too bad because we need smart, capable people to take on trades that doesn’t require a 4-year degree, trades that can make them a very good living. [\quote]
The problem is mainly the parents and the high schools with the “everyone has to go to college” attitude. That’s beginning to change though.
There really isn’t that much difference. I’ve seen plumbers and electricians make a great living. The idea is to do what you have a passion for and THAT is what will drive you to make more money at it. I knew an accountants who decided to give up his career to be a professional handyman.
My own dad started work straight out of high school in the auto industry and was trained as an electrician. He went to night school over seven years at the closest state U and got a BS in electrician engineering but never ended up using it because by that time he made more money in his “blue collar” job than he would have as an engineer. I think that trades are very undervalued in our increasingly suburbanite country. They are necessary and valuable careers and allow for owning your own business much more easily nowadays than the whole “get a college degree and a good job” mentality.