Graduation: What to Do in Trade School After Graduation
After graduating from highschool, young adults have an immense amount of opportunities from college, to sports, and heading straight into the workforce. However, there is one other major option that constantly gets overlooked. That option is trade school. In this graduation essay the concept and benefit of trade school is discussed.
Trade school is often overlooked because of it being seen as “inferior” because the majority of people who think of trade school immediately reject the idea because the only things they associate with are plumbers and electricians when in fact, there are many more pros than cons.
Trade school surprisingly has many advantages over college. One advantage is that most trade schools have a ton of different starting dates so you don’t have to wait for a new semester to start like you do in college. Because the start dates vary, room and board usually are not provided, which saves about $26,590 alone for one year. That may seem like a huge money saver, but it's insignificant when compared to the overall costs. The website “The Simple Dollar” states that, “Research conducted by the Idaho Department of Labor found that the average bachelor’s degree in the United States costs $127,000, while the average trade school degree costs $33,000”. That shaves off $94,000 which can then be used to support yourself while in trade school.
Money can be a huge obstacle in college. However, there is a larger obstacle in store that can be avoided if you go to trade school. Recently, I've been looking at colleges to go to after I graduate from high school. One of the main factors that I've been taking into account is the time it takes to get a degree. To get a masters degree, it takes about eight years, while a degree in a trade school usually takes 10 months to 2 years to complete, and your school also becomes your job, so you are not wasting your time. You are literally getting paid in school for doing your school work while in college, working on the same days you have school will often leave students exhausted just to support themselves on a daily basis.
Trade school is obviously easier on the wallet, takes less time, and though the options are “less desirable”, those jobs are needed and in high demand while still paying quite a bit of money. Even though it doesn't pay as much as a doctor or lawyer, there is little to no student debt compared to college, which most students avoid as Tyler Holdener said, “I’ve started my career and I don’t have any debt at all”. In all, to conclude one of the when I graduate from high school essays: trade school is still as viable an option as college.
