Trade or College

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>I've been thinking about this decision ever since I joined freshman year. It's my second year at college now and here's my stance. Currently I have no plans on going to graduate school and if I stay in college, I only plan on getting a bachelors degree (whose value is being watered down, a lot of the good jobs usually only go to people with masters or P.hd). I have no major I'm interested in currently and I have a 3.2 gpa. I'm also worried about what happens after I graduate since I'm sure a lot people know that college graduates are getting hit hard by unemployment.</p>

<p>However if I go into a electrician trade, here are the benefits. I would start at a starting salary of around $40,000 a year, job security (At least I think) isn't much of a problem since the country is lacking people in the trades industry and most apprenticeships are combined with paid on the job training. An average electrician makes $40,018 - $63,527 (got this from payscale) which is more than enough money to be able to live for one person. And not only that, I can only always choose to go back to college once I make a decent living with the trade (I know I'm making it sound easier than it is but bear with me).</p>

<p>Personally I'm leaning of dropping out since I'd rather not spend 2-3 years deciding on a major when I could already be getting money. So anyways on to the question. Stay in a college or get into a trade?</p>

2

<p>I think that it’s entirely up to you, but here is some food for thought: </p>

<p>1) As an electrician, you will have training in a job field that is usually in some demand, but you will only be trained to do one thing. If the housing market is slow, that’s going to eat into your prospects quite a bit (not all electricians work on people’s houses, but many are involved in the construction field), and similarly if the market in your area is slow. Also, you may find you don’t really like being an electrician day in and day out (do you have any experience with this kind of work or other kinds of trades?), but that’s going to be the only thing you’re trained to do. </p>

<p>Yes, you can go back to school, but it’s hard to find the money and the motivation to do so when you’re older and only have one year of college education. </p>

<p>2) If you think the value of a bachelor’s degree is being watered down, then you should try life without a bachelor degree. Many advanced jobs want people with advanced degrees, but almost all entry level professional jobs are going to ask for a bachelor’s degree. It may be that more people are going to college in the US now (a good thing, IMO), but that doesn’t mean that your degree is not worthwhile. What matters is what YOU do with it. </p>

<p>3) If you’re worried abou getting a job after graduation with the unemployment issues, now is the time to start combating that. You need to start taking internships, visiting your career center, and figuring out where people are hiring and what you need to get hired. Despite the unemployment problems, lots of college grads are finding good jobs these days, but the ones that have the easiest time are the ones that are the most prepared. THe ones that understood their field, and planned accordingly with good internships, good grades, and most of all, a good professional network to place them in the job. </p>

<p>If you were to say, “I really want ot be an electrician. I’ve always enoyed working with my hands, don’t want to have an office job, and would rather work in a trade. I know people who are in the field, I’ve researched it, I think this is what I want” I might have said you should go for it! Maybe you still should. There isn’t anything wrong with being an electrician vs. being a college graduate. But it sounds like you haven’t really thought this through, and may be acting out of a combination of fear and the boredom that comes with the Sophomore Slump. In two years, when you graduate, the economic picture is going to look differently, and you may be happy you didn’t leap too fast. Think it over.</p>