Trade schools. Why are they looked down on?

This has been a great read.


Personally, after 5 yrs in the USAF I came home and went to school for aviation mechanic. After the school in NY cut bait and moved to Florida to avoid criminal prosecution, I ended up going to PCOT.. Penn. College of Technology in Williamsport Pa.

Ended up 1 class short of an Assoc. degree as my counselor didn't know all the rules.


Later in life.. when I met Jill..

I am 2 classes short of a Comp. Sci. degree because I missed a midterm test in "discreet mathematics" and wasn't allowed a make up test. For the record.. I've passed both calculus I and II prior to that class.


EDIT.. Not Calc II, it was physics and Calc I..
Apologies.


And I failed a database class that I had a 97 average in, because the final project worth half the grade HAD to be done on M$ Access.

I refused.. offered 3 other databases that I had installed on Linux systems.. nope.. OK.

I knew more about computers before stepping foot into the classroom.. all self taught.

Oh.. and my time going for an aviation degree included such critical classes as "Marriage and the Family", "technical writing", and co-ed indoor volleyball/outdoor archery.

Last 2 were fun though.


Yeah.. money well spent.

 

Trade school, the only way to go! In my humble opinion, it’s these guys that get their hands dirty doing a job! I have a lot of respect for them! IF you can’t get it done, then, who do you turn to? The guy who, will and can do it, plain and simple, labors, electricians, plumbers, boiler makers, hivac people, The list goes on! Keep after it guys and gals we NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU! To keep this nation running!!!

 

This. I don't know anyone who looks down on the trades. Maybe that is because we are so close to Bath and the shipyard. Welders can make some really nice coin (even those not working on the coast). Also, we have few large cities, and most "proper" cities would laugh at the small side of our 3 largest.

 

This is so dam true. Having been on both sides of the "fence", working in an office is not the dream job people think it is. The politics, co-workers, and "customers" can make it absolutely miserable. I wish I could say what I'm thinking at those moments, but you can't if you want to keep your job. I'm just sticking it out til I'm vested which is 1.5 more years for me. After that I'll likely go back to a hands on job. That is if my lottery plans fall through.

 

I wished my school offered this!!

 

It was determined before I was conceived, that I was going to college. End of discussion.
I got good grades all the way through high school but it sometimes seemed like I was struggling more than others in the college prep lane. When I got to college I really enjoyed girls and beer, but not the classes so much. Long story short, flunked out, couldn't find a job, and went in the Navy.
If someone had talked to me in depth about what I really wanted to do, I might have gone to a vocational school. I would have enjoyed myself more and wasted less time and money.

 

Agreed. No flat rate pay either.

 

Yes, but she is at the lower end of her earning potential. For now she works for the school system our children attend. Once they are older we have agreed to move to a consulting type position. And she only works 9 months a year so there’s that.

IDK there arnt many jobs that you can make 100 hours in a 40 hour week but you could also end up with 20. In the right spot it could be good but for the most part flat rate system is a way for owners to pass loss on the their employees and from what I have seen it isn’t currently working out great for a lot of the employers.

 

I always tell the youngins to look into becoming a Surveyor. There will never not be a need for them. Job site changes often. Work outside, often unsupervised. Can find work anywhere in the US. Well above median income.

 

My guess is, as proud parents you and your wife have probably spoken about his academic success. If he did well in AP math and science, college is the usual route so I can see why people who know him and your family would be surprised.

I am a high school science teacher and have taught all levels we offer. I have taught AP Env Sci for the past 5 years and if I had a student in that level do well, I’d be curious why they were not pursuing more academics. My AP course demands a lot of time and work outside of the class so you either have to love the subject or love the challenge of a college level course.

I am happy to hear that he received a lot of support from his teachers. There are a lot of us out there who don’t just push college as so many people think. I am still in touch with former students who’s careers range from the military, public works department, police, mechanics, landscapers, farmers, welders, hvac, plumbers, hair dressers, to highly academic careers where I couldn’t possibly understand the projects they are working on and I view them all the same so long as they are happy, successful, contributors to society.
Best of luck to your son.

 

Yep that’s been floating around for a while and it demeans going to college just as much some people demean trades. There are a lot of great degrees to be earned that are useful, fulfilling, and pay well. Parents and student have to have a plan and a want for college to be the correct avenue. If parents force a kid to go or the kid has no clue why they are going or what they want to do, it will just be one long expensive party.

 

The year was 1968 and I had been in college for 2 and a half years. I had nothing going for a major and I hated school. I quit and joined the army (it was that or get drafted) and was directed to the longest MOS school I could find. I ended up in electronics and it was the best move I made. I retired from a career as a broadcast engineer.

 

Some great insight here. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I have a feeling trade schools will become more popular as time moves forward. My thoughts on that: The insane cost of college. Graduates have a degree and a mountain of debt. The lack of people in the trades now. Ever try calling someone to do work?

My wife and I went to college; we actually met there. It worked out well for us because we got out debt free. Granted, we graduated awhile back and costs were somewhat reasonable at the time. Things are different these days. I think there should be a focus on reducing the cost of a degree vs. finding ways to wipe out debt or future debt.

 

There are several ways at looking at that. My daughter just graduated with a B.S. a major and 2 minors. School was $58k a year. She worked hard in high school to place in the top 10, could have gone to U Maine for free but they had nothing to offer for her goals, she was awarded a scholarship at $45k a year for 4 years. Brings it down to $13k a year for 4 years, not horrendous. She took out a couple fed loans and 1 private loan. The private loan is paid off already, before she even graduated actually, the fed loans will be paid hopefully this winter sometime. If you put the effort into it and go to school for something useful college can be very affordable. Too many degrees now that are useless. Now her next step will be costly, med school can put you $200k + in the hole easily.

 

Exactly….. you get out what you put in and apply for. If you don’t know the difference between a boy and girl college isn’t the place to study that for $100k of debt.

 

Yep, work hard in and out of the classroom, be smart about your school and degree and you won’t have a ton of debt. More high schoolers need to hear this messge.

 

I didn't even start college until 14 years after I had graduated HS. At that point I was working for a company that would pay for 1 class, plus books, per semester if you got an A. 75% of cost if you got a B, and I think 50% for a C. Of course you had to be in an approved certificate or degree program. They also capped at a certain $$ amount each year.

I went to a small college for my associates. they had 8 week semesters (accelerated), and were cheaper than any of the universities (plus, they were close to work and had night classes). I usually took 2 classes per semester, paying for 1 class myself. I was working full time and putting in at least 2 shifts of overtime each week. After graduating with my associates, I went to a University and did the same thing.

Took me 7 years to get my degree, but I had no debt. It wasn't uncommon for manufacturing employers to pay for classes even back then (90s). I think it is even more common today where those businesses outside of manufacturing are offering the same.

 

Both the Mrs. and I are college edumucated. And both our children are smart. However, I routinely tell them the pros and cons of college and trade school. In answer to the thread title, the major cons of a trade: Possibility of long hours and overtime (could be a good thing), often times one has to travel to different sites (could be a good thing), often working in extreme conditions - no air conditioning or heating as you build those things. Some of these could be positive, but for some could be negative.

I work in a lab. When a colleague likes to complain, I reflect that my hours are not lost due to rain/snow/mud; when it is 95 degrees out or -40, it is 69 degrees in my lab I have worked in service industries, on an ag farm, and in retail.