Amanda wants to go to beauty school and dreams of working in a big city salon, but her parents are so determined to have their daughter go to a four year university that they push her to go study a "real" career.
Last month, Nate looked at technical schools in the area because he enjoys hands-on work instead of sitting in a classroom all day, but his teachers tell him that the only way to make a decent income is to earn, at minimum, a BA, so he hasn't looked at technical schools since.
Josh loves cars and knows more about working on them than most adults do, but his parents explained that he won't make a lot of money as a mechanic, so they had him pursue other options instead.
Since when did choosing a career involve everyone else except the person who would actually be working in that career?
The popular argument is always centered around money, and people have this false belief that the only way to have a future income with great benefits is to go spend hundreds of thousands of dollars at a four year university. However, jobs that trade schools train their students for are either quite comparable in salaries to those with a four-year degree, or have even higher salaries. But if choosing your future career is based solely on income, you're making a mistake. When you love your job enough to work for the next 60 years of your life, income and benefits are just icing on the cake. And even though adults love to preach that money pays the bills, you'll figure out how to make the financial part happen. Just make sure you're happy first.
Four-year universities aren't always for every high school student either. Community colleges and trade schools are some of the best options for those who don't have the money for an university or don't want to spend another four years in school. In fact, these schools train students for the jobs that are actually necessary for everyday life. Let's go back to Josh. His knowledge of cars is something you don't find very often, especially in the younger generations. He and other students like him could really benefit society because not only are cars extremely important to most people, but they will always need maintenance work and repairs done.
If we push students like Josh to go to an university instead of following their passion, I hope you know how to fix your engine when your car breaks down because mechanics will slowly disappear. I hope you don't plan on giving your loved ones a beautiful service when they pass away because funeral service directors will be busy earning that BA you told them was so important. I hope you can build your own house all by yourself because construction managers won't be around anymore, and I hope you don't plan on flying anytime soon because aviation mechanics will be sitting in a classroom discussing literature at that amazing university you told them to go to. A Master's in Education, a Ph.D in Psychology, and a Bachelor's in Biology won't help any of these situations, but a certificate or Associate's degree from a trade school or community college will. Not to mention the fact that jobs for those who come from trade schools are easier to find than for someone who has a BA or higher. There's a reason why auto shops are almost on every street and forensic laboratories are not.
If you want to go to a four-year school, by all means go right ahead. But if you're a student who feels pressured to go to an university because everyone says it's the only option, don't listen to them. You'll waste a lot of time and money to earn a degree you didn't want in the first place. Please tune everyone else out (your parents, teachers, and friends) and go get the job that you want. Go be the electrician, the beautician, the welder, the dental hygienist. Be the brick mason, the truck driver, the plumber, the mechanic. Plan for the future that you want to live for, because the options are limitless, but the decision is yours.
