That may have been the case in previous decades but what once seemed like a simple formula is not quite that simple anymore.
It didn't take very long for colleges to recognize the profit potential inherent in that cultural idea. Soon, the marketing strategies of promoting oneself as the best place to go for such and such degree became as commonplace for advertisements for common household goods. A few ivy league schools have enough prestige to attract students, but most have to advertise.
Regardless of what tactics were used, things like the complexities, socio-economic shifts, inflation, and just sheer supply and demand eventually led to the rise of now exorbitant tuition rates. Strangely, even with the average cost of college programs rising steadily year after year, it took quite a while for the general public to start questioning the value of certain schools and programs. Really, it was not until the markets were so saturated with overqualified, multi-level advanced degree holders struggling to find a real job while working at places like Starbucks that the conversational tone started to shift.
Much of the origins of questioning the rate of return on investment for some college programs came only after it became more and more common to hear about another advanced degree holder with troubling amounts of student loan debt. Though there are certainly more factors to the issue than what has been mentioned here, what has happened is that many people are now reconsidering the value of four years in relation to traditional trade schools.
So, the question became (and remains current), “Are we neglecting the worth and potential of trade schools?
That’s a good question, but perhaps beginning by clarifying just what a trade school is and what they have to offer in differentiation to a traditional four-year college may be a better place to start.
What Are Trade Schools?
Trade schools, also traditionally known as technical schools, are places that tend to focus on preparing students for careers that tend to lean into the technical skill sets. Often involving things like automotive, construction, arts, or any variety of manual labor-based careers. Some of the programs offered at trade schools also involve eventual apprenticeships which offer a level of hands-on learning that is lost at traditional colleges.
Most four-year colleges require and maintain the standard that each incoming undergraduate student has to go through core level classes like math, science, and english — even though they just did all that in high school. Those core classes need to be met before going onto the specialized classes that eventually lead into chosen majors like a graduate degree in finance.
In contrast, trade schools focus only on what is necessary to train and prepare students for success in a chosen career path. Additionally, some of those apprenticeships may even hold the opportunity for students to work in the trade they are studying for while going to school for it. A drastic difference between most scholastic based programming. When money becomes a factor, that is a refreshing idea.
There are technical colleges, and community colleges, and a bit of everything in between. There really are few standardized requirements for trade schools and program length or class selections can vary from place to place. Some of this is due to the fact that trade schools can operate in the private, public, for-profit and non-profit sectors. Being that there are so many choices, it is important for prospective students to consider the pros and cons of both paths and weigh the steps against the desired outcome. Money is not the only factor.
Post graduation job placement statistics, course loads, length of programming, and reputability are all factors that should be seriously researched before enrolling into any school, four-year or otherwise.
Weighing Some Pros and Cons
Pro: A Faster Education
Simply put, trade schools require a much shorter demand of time for schooling. Where traditional schools can take four years or more to complete a bachelor's degree, trade schools can sometimes be completed in as little as a few months. Additionally, those same trade schools are set up and desire to see students quickly placed in jobs after program completion.
Thus, the rate of job placement is substantially more predictable than with a four-year degree. In fact, some trade schools make a point of advertising their job placement rates as a way to attract student attention.
Pro: Affordability
As was previously mentioned, trade schools tend to have less of a requirement for time to finish programming. More focused curriculum, less amenities— like multi-million dollar gymnasiums, student centers, and sports venues— means that trade schools spend much more time on refining programming and properly training students than it does providing that “college experience”.
That lapse in fuller life experience is no small factor when it comes to choosing where to go to school, but when weighing that experience next to the cost of the two differing schools’ programs, trade schools will almost always win out. Most trade schools average around $30,000 for the whole program whereas a four-year college can cost that much for just one year.
Con: Limited Financial Aid
For a variety of reasons, trade schools tend not to be able to offer as much financial aid for students. In contrast, traditional schools have access to a variety of financial aid like grants, FAFSA loans, and a host of internal and external scholarships.
Con: Few Programs
Whereas four-year colleges have a huge list of programs to choose from, trade schools tend to focus on a very specific set of career paths. Jobs in construction, HVAC, electrical and plumbing, or medical assistance as just a few examples of what are common to trade schools. If certain courses can’t be found in the area, it may severely limit the availability to find the right school.
