Column: The Focused Student: For some students, schooling in the trades is better than pursuing a college degree
Not every person will be happy in a career requiring a college education. We tend to think of college as a “must” these days, but there are alternative routes to careers that yield satisfaction and financial success while leveraging the particular skills and inclinations of a student. In the next two months I will be discussing alternate pathways that lead to careers where a college degree is not a requirement.
College has benefits besides being a job ticket, but some students are better off pursuing a non-degree career and then returning to academe when they are ready to enjoy all its benefits.
There are often alternate careers in a field, accessible via certificate programs or on-the-job training. For example, there are many medical careers that don’t require an MD or RN. With intensive, focused training a student can become an EMT or paramedic. You don’t have to be a vet to work around animals— there are vet techs, animal trainers and caretaker positions at zoos. Construction, sound technician, first responder (police, fire), auto mechanic, construction — we tend to focus on the top rung of a solid ladder of positions.
There are many occupations that require no formal education beyond high school, but that doesn’t mean no further learning takes place. People in construction need math, managers and civil servants write reports, equine caretakers and paramedics need to know science. The difference is that the knowledge required is specific and focused, and can often be acquired on the job or in relatively short-term training programs.
Over the years I have met many people with unique and interesting jobs. In fact, I recently met a man who is an animal trapper. He’s the person who traps that possum under your house or the mountain lion terrorizing the neighborhood and returns them to the wild. Another friend deals in precious and semiprecious stones, traveling worldwide to acquire gems for his clients.
These people have something in common. They pursued their passion, rather than a degree. They get enormous satisfaction and pleasure from doing what they do, which is more than many people can say who have a college degree and a job they don’t love. And I’ve often seen that when people are happy doing what they do, as they mature they choose to go back to school or take online courses for the sheer joy of learning more. That’s higher education at its best.
One of the biggest roadblocks students face when considering alternatives is the social pressure to go to college. It is a misconception that the only way to earn a good living and lead a happy life is to pursue a college degree. In fact, college was not originally intended as vocational school. It was supposed to help individuals become more rounded and sophisticated about a wide range of topics, none of which had much to do with pursuing a career. By making college a “must,” we deny many students the opportunity of doing what they would be really good at and happy doing.
As parents, we owe our students an opportunity to consider all their paths to education, vocation and adulthood. Sometimes that path will lead to college, at other times it will go in other directions. As a parent, what you say and the direction you give will play a major role in the choice your child makes. The options should be equally valued and encouraged. I’d much rather my child be a happy technician than an unhappy PhD.
ROBERT FRANK is the executive director of the Hillside School and Learning Center in La Cañada. He holds a master’s of science degree in special education and has more than 40 years of teaching experience. His column appears on the last Thursday of each month. He can be reached at frank@hillsideforsuccess.org.
