Should You Attend a Trade School Or A College?

When teenage kids graduate from high school the first thing they often ask themselves is what are they going to do next. Do they try to enroll in colleges, or trade schools, or start to look for a job right away. Once the thrill of getting out of the first school system wears off, some are a little worried about where their career path is going to take them.

Now there are great things about both trade schools as well as colleges. It is said that going into higher education allows you to earn at least twice as much as just going and getting a job. You are more likely to land that dream job you've always wanted. Here are some pros and cons to both of these directions.

The real difference between trade schools and colleges are time. College is usually a four year institution. In some cases, while there are classes that are about what you want to get into as a career, others may really not have anything to do with it. College can be considered a step up from high school, there are still clicks that people fall into, the jock, the outcast, the cheerleaders, etc, and some of the same problems you experienced in high school you may also have here.

Tuition is generally high, and while there are many student loans and grants, four years is a long time to be borrowing money with no real guarantee you will get that dream job once you graduate. Many students enroll in college seeking on field, and then decide on something else half way through. As a full time student, you often don't have time to juggle classes, working to just make ends meet, and still have some kind of social life.

Trade Schools are much different. While some may think of them as lower class colleges, in truth they can help you on your career path much faster and easier than going to college. A lot of people who graduate from vocational schools earn just as much if not more than a college graduate. Instead of having a bunch of courses that have nothing to do with the kind of job you're looking for, you are specifically trained in the area or field that you are going to get into.

 

Trade Schools are also much shorter than college, and you usually have a associate degree in two years or less. By taking only classes that are geared towards the career you want, you spend more time doing what you need to do in order to land that job. You also get a more hands on approach to learning, and get not only class room assignments, but are also required to work in the field, as an intern or apprentice. This means that if you want to be a welder, your hands on training would be going into metal shops that are on campus, or at an annex, and learning what a welding torch is, how to use it properly, etc. Many vocational training programs also help you find the job you're looking for, instead of just dumping you out into the real world when you graduate. Some of the cons are that you don't have as much social interaction with other students, and that this is not a 'party' type institution.