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Learning trades, making $$$

Advanced Manufacturing Students working on CNC machine

The trends are changing!!!! In the article below, see why students choose two-year institutions over the tradition 4-year degree! 

Teens Turn To Trades To Turn A Dollar

Today’s trend-setting teens are ditching the debt load of a four-year college degree in favor of learning trades and earning technical degrees. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, they’re questioning the expense of a college education, as well as the earnings advantage that it traditionally granted. In an economy with unemployment at record lows, jobs in the trades are once again in high demand, and command premium wages.

States across the country are spurring this trend: last year, 49 of them enacted 241 policies to support career and technical education, the preferred terms for “vocational education” or “trade school.” Even though young adults are increasingly well-educated, nearly half still aren’t attaining a college certificate or degree. And about a third of college grads end up taking a job that doesn’t require a college diploma. Even a tech career doesn’t require a bachelor’s degree, as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg famously demonstrated. Young adults can gain tech skills through coding academies, apprenticeships and online courses.

This phenomenon also dovetails with another trend: Gen Z is an extremely entrepreneurial generation. Why invest four years in a college education, to apply for a job at a big company, to eventually try to go off on your own? It’s a much quicker and cost-effective path to get the skills you need in a matter of months, and then apply them to your own business, whether that’s developing an app, overhauling a diesel engine, or highlighting someone’s hair. Especially when it’s easier than ever to promote a business and connect with customers via social media.

Read the rest of the article here...

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