hen you start your senior year of high school, they practically shove college down your throat. They tell you to get scholarships, give you advice on your application, and do their best to prepare you for further education. But is college really the only option? The short answer is no! A lot of people decided to attend a trade school instead of going to college. So, how do you know which is right for you? Fret not, my little academics, we’ve got you covered.
Today, we’re exploring the differences between college and trade school, and how you can figure out which is best for you by looking into a few different things, like the following:
- The Pros + Cons of College
- The Pros + Cons of Trade School
- Career Paths After College
- And Career Paths After Trade School
So, without further ado, let’s make a decision!
College: The Pros + Cons
In order to get a full understanding of what college can provide for you, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of attending college.
The Pros
Networking
Going to college builds a network of relationships you can use for the rest of your life. Your classmates can become professional relationships and references you can rely on once you graduate. Knowing the right people can help you land your dream job or even just get you in the door for an interview!
Career Options
Colleges allow you to explore different careers and fields of study before pursuing a career. While a lot of college students find gen-eds to be annoying and unnecessary, they do give you the opportunity to explore other fields of study if you’re unsure about what you want to do.
A Fancy Shmancy Degree
Of course, simply having a degree can increase your personal stock value when it comes to applying for jobs in the future. Some employers see degrees as a demonstration of your mental capacity and work ethic. And a degree almost acts as a stamp of approval that you know your stuff and are qualified.
The Cons
$$$
College is expensive, and unless you’re lucky enough to get a full ride, you’ll likely be saddled with debt. The fees and tuition costs can be monumental, and the costs only continue to rise. So, while you may not have to pay these off immediately, you will have to pay them eventually and continue with them for a long while after the fact.
The Dropout Rate
Unfortunately, the dropout rate for college students is pretty high. Almost half of students working towards a four-year degree decide to drop out, and even more community college students choose to do the same. Students drop out for many reasons, including:
- Financial Difficulties
- Mental Health
- Family Issues
- Academic Struggles
- And Work Obligations
Of course, there are even more reasons for a person to drop out, but these tend to be the main reasons someone may drop out of college. Discovering that college isn’t for you can leave you confused and in debt for something you chose not to pursue.
Trade School: The Pros + Cons
Now that we know more about the pros and cons of college, we can look into the pros and cons of going to trade school!
The Pros
Hands-On Training
Trade school gives students the opportunity to develop real-life skills that will be beneficial to their future careers. These often come in the form of apprenticeships and one-on-one training with a seasoned professional in your field.
Smaller Class Sizes
Most colleges can have lectures built for 200+ people, and this can often lead to a lack of attention for struggling students. Lectures like these often don’t lend time for one-on-one help or even give students the chance to pose questions during the lecture itself. Trade schools, however, often have smaller class sizes that allow students to interact with faculty more closely, allow for them to ask more questions, and receive more one-on-one attention.
Reliable Job Industry
While the job market ebbs and flows, trade professions seem to always be in demand. Many trade school fields, like plumbing, resist fluctuations in the economy that impact most other industries.
The Cons
Limited Career Growth
While the trade professions seem to withstand fluctuations in the economy, the professions themselves don’t allow for a ton of growth once you land the job. The skills taught in trade schools are often difficult to apply to other careers, which makes it hard to move careers or get another job in the event of a layoff or something similar.
Class Competition
Because you’ll graduate with your class, the job market can become flooded with individuals who possess the same skills and education. And, because a lot of the skills aren’t super transferable, this can leave you stuck or having to take more classes in order to grow your skill set, which means spending more of your money and your time on preparing for a career instead of having one.
College Career Paths
College offers a lot of different paths you could decide to pursue. Of course, the fields you can go into depend on your field of study, but here are three careers that require a four-year degree to get into:
- Engineer: There are many different types of engineering you can get into with a four-year degree. Engineers typically make around seventy thousand dollars yearly as a starting salary, and the job market has a predicted growth of 9%. However, in order to land jobs in the engineering field, you pretty much have to have prior experience and/or internships.
- Human Resource Manager: HRM focuses on maximizing employee performance and contributing to the company's overall success. It involves a range of activities from recruitment and hiring to training, compensation, and employee relations. Salaries usually start at thirty to forty thousand dollars and the job market has a growth rate of about 6%.
- Marketing Assistant: Marketing assistants usually assist marketing managers with daily assignments and projects like community engagement, public relations, and social media posts. Starting salaries are usually somewhere around fifty-five thousand and the job market’s growth rate is about 8%.
Trade School Career Paths
Trade schools offer a bit less diversity in their career options than colleges do, but they still have a variety of different careers you can be a part of. Here are three different career options for trade school graduates:
- Electrician: Electricians install, maintain, and repair electrical power, communications, lighting, and control systems in homes, businesses, and factories. Starting salaries are usually around fifty thousand dollars, and the job market has a growth rate of about 11%.
- Plumber: Plumbers mainly focus on installing, maintaining, and repairing plumbing systems in residential, commercial, and industrial settings. Plumbers make about thirty thousand dollars annually, and the job market has a growth rate of about 6%
- Carpenter: Carpenters build, install, and repair wooden structures and fixtures. They usually make around fifty thousand dollars yearly, and the job market has a growth rate of about 4%
It All Comes Down to You…
Ultimately, it comes down to you and your preferences. If you don’t have a love for academia or can’t see yourself welding and sawing, then your choice may be pretty cut and dry. However, if you really don’t have a preference, start with a few of our pros and cons and decide what's most important to you. No matter what you decide to do, you’re sure to do a great job and succeed in life!
