What is the answer for you: college or trade school?
College and trade school offer a lot for different people, depending on what they are looking for.
College is very good, but it can be very pricey, Business Insider says. “Public four-year in-state tuition at: $11,610 for the 2024–2025 school year, Public four-year out-of-state: $30,780 for the 2024–2025 school year, Public two-year in-district: $4,050 for the 2024–2025 school year, Private nonprofit four-year: $43,350 for the 2024–2025 school year” with those being the cost for just one year. However, a lot of fields of work need a college degree and most of the higher paying jobs require you to have a college degree. According to recent data, the average salary for someone with a bachelor’s degree is around $52,000 per year; that may seem a little low, but for context not all jobs pay well out of college and aren’t worth the debt unless you really love that career. On the other hand, you have finance managers with a national average salary of $102,857 per year which is a drastic difference. Finance managers aren’t even the highest paying job you can get with a bachelor’s degree.
With trade school, the average annual salary for graduates in the United States is $67,149, but salaries can vary widely with the highest paying being elevator installation and repair with the median annual salary of nearly $100,000. Genesis Career says, “The average cost of trade school being between $5,000 and $15,000, depending on the specific program and its length, with some programs like HVAC or automotive technology potentially reaching up to $30,000 in cost.” In most cases, being cheaper than college and with higher starting wages, but people with college degrees have a higher top end salary also being promoted easier and normally qualifying for more money.
We need to be more open to different paths because both can be good. It is all based on what career you want to go after. Both can lead to good careers, and there seems to be a stigma about not going to college, but it’s not for everyone.
At the end of the day, picking what is right for you is the most important thing if it’s college or trade school. Be confident in your choice.
