While it might not be the case for everyone, college is the next step after high school for most students. Most don’t even think of any other options, but maybe they should. While a traditional college is definitely what society sees as the “normal path,” it may be a better idea to take a look at a different option: trade school.
Depending on many factors, trade school can be a great route for recent or not-so-recent high school graduates. Trade school offers benefits that college doesn’t, and may be a good option for recent or not-so-recent high school graduates.
Being able to “Start a career right out of high school without going into debt,” was one big benefit for senior Evan Roundcount, who plans on going to trade school with K&W Electric after graduating from high school. “It’s somewhere I can make money right out of high school instead of having to pay for college.”
Money is a big advantage of trade school over traditional college. Trade school allows you to make money while learning, which allows a student to start paying off their loans earlier or avoid them altogether. Trade schools also have many options open for people. While the schooling trade schools offer is very job-specific, there are a lot of different jobs that trade schools offer.
“I applied to a lot of the local apprenticeships and talked to the people there to see what the best fit for me would be,” said Roundcount. “I applied the classes I took throughout high school and I applied that to wiring I did at my house to decide I wanted to go into electrical.”
Although many job options are available with trade schools, one thing stays similar for all trades – low costs. Not only does trade school take less time to complete, but it also costs considerably less than a traditional college.
According to Thebestschools.org in an article posted in 2023, the average trade school requires students to pay $33,000, whereas graduate schools pay an average of $84,000 throughout their four years. With all the benefits that trade school offers, it really comes down to what fits your interests.
“There are a lot of different options in trade school.” said Rountcount, “If it is something you enjoy outside of school, then you should give it a try.”
