Technical College vs a 4 year college

[GoodSteward]

Texas's post about college got me thinking. So much time, money, and effort are put into college. Then you hear all these numbers about people not getting a job with their degree's, or getting jobs in different fields altogether. For some fields, you can't get away from a traditional 4+ year school such as Doctors and teachers. However, there is a lot of money to be made learning a trade quickly in a tech school as well, and there is often a closer tech school vs a college that is far off. To many, going to a tech school is usually considered "low end," but I don't see enough difference to justify it for most kids.

So I have some questions.

1. How many of you, or people you know, are sending/have sent your child to college for prestige, not for the actual need of a 4yr degree vs just sending them to a Tech College?

2. Did they pick their degree to justify that level of college, or did they want into that a field that required a 4-year degree? Basically, which came first? The Degree to be in a 4yr college, or the field to need a 4yr degree?

3. Did they go to a local college, or a far-off college? Was the location based on educational necessity or just preference? Basically, did you spend more because you liked it better, or because it was needed for the degree?.

4. I have a hard time comprehending the amount of money some of you have stated you've paid for your kids to go to college. Why did you pay it, and how much did it end up costing? (not looking for a justification, just curious).

5. Be honest with this one. Would you have been ok if your child really wanted to go to a Tech college to do what they really wanted, or would you have been embarrassed to tell people about it?

6. At this point, do you think it would have been a better investment to put what you spent on college into an investment fund for retirement, and picked a different career path?

Just curious about the opinions here. I'm not trying to judge anybody on anything. I hear a lot of stereotypes and with many of those on this forum being high wage earners I wanted to get your perspective since you are typically here because you are trying to live sensibly and responsibly (except for Texas...he likes saltwater aquariums and leasing.)

[bjl584]

I do think that colleges have become more focused on revenue and less on students. A lot of degrees are very broad and hence not marketable. Generally speaking, the more specialized you are, the better chance you will have obtaining high paying employment. Sometimes, a trade school is the best place to go depending on your field of interest. College can be valuable for certain career fields. Law, medical, computers, engineering. I know several people that have associates degrees from trade schools and are making 6 figure salaries. College and a 4 year degree are often sold to kids and parents alike, but it might not be the best option.

[FLA]

My son took a year off after high school to work to help pay to go to a technical college, a luthier school. It was a great program, he handcrafted two gorgeous guitars and learned to sink or swim 2,000 miles from home. But the jobs for luthiers are few and far between unless you are willing to relocate to LA or NYC, which DS was not. Despite our urgings, he did not look into their job placement rate.

After that he came home and is going to community college part time to be a geriatric social worker. He works full time and contributes to the cost of his schooling because he is not getting great grades and honestly, does not seem to be taking it seriously. He's not partying or anything but there's not much studying going on. To get a halfway decent job in social work, you need your Master's, plain and simple. I in no way see him in grad school or even a 4 yr school at this point. I wish he would pick a trade he is excited about and get right into that. I just don't think college is where he wants to be right now. My social work friends say he'll get a Bachelor's in SW and learn the hard way how crappy those jobs are and then he'll go back for his Master's.

His latest scheme is to graduate from community college and be a substance abuse counselor. this is absurd because he smokes pot, has strong opinions about that he'll share with anyone who will listen and the last thing he should be doing is trying to help other addicts. I'm sure they have to pass drug tests, too so how's he going to get around that?

He was the kind of kid who got As and Bs in High School without ever cracking a book. I wish I had realized earlier that college was not up his alley and gotten him into a votech program while in HS. We live in a school district where going to a good college is shoved down kids throats starting in 1st grade. You start to think it's the only option.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'd say 99% of people I know send their kid to college for no reason than to go. Would I be embarrassed if my kids went into trade? Nope. Not if they liked it. I would pay for it 100% and be proud and happy if they are contributing members of society. Especially if it mean they could retire early!!!!!

But on a serious note I want my kids to really consider what they want. Not just go to school even trade school to go to school. I am hoping they find out sooner than we did what mistakes we made.

[rennigade]

But on a serious note I want my kids to really consider what they want. Not just go to school even trade school to go to school. I am hoping they find out sooner than we did what mistakes we made.

Which is another major issue. Having an 18 year old make a decision on what they want to do the rest of their lives. Sure they can take the general courses for a year or two...ok great. Now they're 20...and have to decide what they may possibly want to do the rest of their lives.

Oh and that decision you make at around 20 could potentially cost you $70k or up...depending on who is footing the bill.

I know a lot of people who made career changes later in life...or had to go to schooling longer because they decided to change their minds.

[Captain Save]

I do think that colleges have become more focused on revenue and less on students. A lot of degrees are very broad and hence not marketable. Generally speaking, the more specialized you are, the better chance you will have obtaining high paying employment. Sometimes, a trade school is the best place to go depending on your field of interest. College can be valuable for certain career fields. Law, medical, computers, engineering. I know several people that have associates degrees from trade schools and are making 6 figure salaries. College and a 4 year degree are often sold to kids and parents alike, but it might not be the best option.

The problem is that college was a differentiator. Now that everybody goes to college, there is a big pool to chose from and a college degree doesn't mean much .. it's the equivalent of what a high school degree used to be.

Now we as a society can continue to play that game and now have a master's degree be differentiator.. or we can go back to learning how to earn on our own.

Even if you want to work a 9-5 for the rest of your life.. you should at least find a way to earn on your own or have an out just in case. If you have the means to earn on your own , you have more leverage with your 9-5.

Leverage is power.

[Captain Save]

I'd say 99% of people I know send their kid to college for no reason than to go. Would I be embarrassed if my kids went into trade? Nope. Not if they liked it. I would pay for it 100% and be proud and happy if they are contributing members of society. Especially if it mean they could retire early!!!!!

But on a serious note I want my kids to really consider what they want. Not just go to school even trade school to go to school. I am hoping they find out sooner than we did what mistakes we made.

23k a year of debt for 4 years

vs 50k a year salary while learning the trade..

how long will it take the person losing 23k a year to catch up to the guy who's been earning an increasing salary since age 18.

most kids are going to college which meeans, that there are plenty of opportunities to work for a bigger trade company.. or run your own. That's pretty much what I see accross all types of trades.

A plumber who has a growing company here , harasses me every time he sees me asking if I know any plumbers looking for a job.

A couple of weeks ago, he had an event called "hiring night"

[disneysteve]

So I have some questions.

1. How many of you, or people you know, are sending/have sent your child to college for prestige, not for the actual need of a 4yr degree vs just sending them to a Tech College?

Our kid didn't go to college for prestige.

2. Did they pick their degree to justify that level of college, or did they want into that a field that required a 4-year degree? Basically, which came first? The Degree to be in a 4yr college, or the field to need a 4yr degree?

I'm not exactly sure how to answer this. No, she wasn't pursuing a specific field that requires a certain degree, but we certainly expect that ultimately she will end up in a job that requires her to have a degree.

3. Did they go to a local college, or a far-off college? Was the location based on educational necessity or just preference? Basically, did you spend more because you liked it better, or because it was needed for the degree?.

She went to a school that met pretty much all of the criteria both she and we had for a college including things like size of the school, location of the school, cost, quality of program, etc. Could we have spent less? Sure. But you can't choose a college based on price alone. The school she attended wasn't the cheapest or the most expensive of the ones she considered. It was the one that was the best fit all around.

4. I have a hard time comprehending the amount of money some of you have stated you've paid for your kids to go to college. Why did you pay it, and how much did it end up costing? (not looking for a justification, just curious).

Our out of pocket cost was in the 125K range.

5. Be honest with this one. Would you have been ok if your child really wanted to go to a Tech college to do what they really wanted, or would you have been embarrassed to tell people about it?

I would be 100% okay with her going into a trade if that's what she was interested in and skilled at doing. I would never have pushed college on her in that case. But college gives a broad education that can lead into virtually any sort of job. Trade school prepares you to work in a very specific field. So knowing what you want to do at age 18 is not that important for college but it's extremely important for trade school. I know many, many people who went to a trade school and have never worked a single day in the trade they got certified for. Either that or they may have done so very briefly before moving on to a different field, often needing to go back for additional education as a result. Trade school is great if you know what you want to do. It's not really of any value if you aren't sure.

6. At this point, do you think it would have been a better investment to put what you spent on college into an investment fund for retirement, and picked a different career path?

Me personally? Not at all. I wanted to be a doctor since I was in 4th grade. I'm sure I could have done something else with my life and made a lot more money in the process as medicine isn't all that lucrative compared to lots of other options. But this is what I wanted to do so I have no regrets.

[Thrif-t]

Well my 2 girls went to college because they needed the degree to work, nursing and engineering. They both got scholarships, one lives at home and commutes to the school 20 min away; the other goes to a university an hour away. They both pay around the same amount yearly, due to the differences in scholarships. We saved one year of tuition for each kid in a 529 plan and they work and take some federal subsidized loans to pay the balance.

My DS17, I don't know what the heck to do with him! He's planning on going to college, even taking some college classes now while in high school, but he's not 100% on what he wants to do. I'd be fine if he wanted to go into a trade, but even that he doesn't seem interested in anything particular. All he wants is to own his own company and make a lot of money but that's all the specifics he knows. I'm hoping he'll mature a little more in this next year and start really thinking about what he wants to do with his life, but in reality I don't hold out much hope for that.

I just want him to do something he likes and have good benefits. I'm not concerned with a big income, you can always adjust your standard of living to your pay as long as you're making a living wage.

[moneybags]

My DS17, I don't know what the heck to do with him! He's planning on going to college, even taking some college classes now while in high school, but he's not 100% on what he wants to do. I'd be fine if he wanted to go into a trade, but even that he doesn't seem interested in anything particular. All he wants is to own his own company and make a lot of money but that's all the specifics he knows. I'm hoping he'll mature a little more in this next year and start really thinking about what he wants to do with his life, but in reality I don't hold out much hope for that.

I just want him to do something he likes and have good benefits. I'm not concerned with a big income, you can always adjust your standard of living to your pay as long as you're making a living wage.

They have a degree in entrepreneurship now, how about that?

My opinion is that kids don't have to know what they are going to study, they can figure it out in college. My daughter changed her major 3 times, graduated in 4 years and is currently in grad school.

[TexasHusker]

Folks look at college differently.

For my son, he had been intent on being a commercial pilot since he could walk, and the aviation school at Oklahoma State is among the best. All set right? Wrong. He found out he's got color blindness last September, so he won't be a pilot. A dream gone.

For some occupations - accounting, nursing, etc. - college is a vocational school of sorts. For most, however, it is not a vocational school. That's a common misnomer.

Universities are places of higher learning. Where one goes to learn to think critically. Often, a suitable occupation follows, but perhaps not.

My son is going "off" to college so that he can spread his wings and become a man. I want him surrounded by kids from different places, professors with different ideas, and a myriad of potential occupations and pursuits. I want him to eat different foods, go to big time football games, and expand his mind. Learn to live on his own while learning to live with others. Make lifelong friends. Maybe even find a suitable wife. Find a career.

Will he do all these things? Nah. But he's going to cross a bunch of these off, and will be a better man for it.

That's worth $100K to me.

[disneysteve]

Folks look at college differently.

Universities are places of higher learning. Where one goes to learn to think critically. Often, a suitable occupation follows, but perhaps not.

My son is going "off" to college so that he can spread his wings and become a man. I want him surrounded by kids from different places, professors with different ideas, and a myriad of potential occupations and pursuits. I want him to eat different foods, go to big time football games, and expand his mind. Learn to live on his own while learning to live with others. Make lifelong friends. Maybe even find a suitable wife. Find a career.

Will he do all these things? Nah. But he's going to cross a bunch of these off, and will be a better man for it.

That's worth $100K to me.

I couldn't agree with this more.

College is a very valuable life experience that goes far beyond what is studied in the classroom. It exposes you to all sorts of people and ideas and things that you might never be exposed to outside of the college environment. It forces you to do things outside of your comfort zone. It pushes you in ways that you can never predict in advance. You may discover interests and skills that you never knew you had. That may lead to a job, or not. It may lead to a hobby. Or it may just introduce you to a bunch of people you never would have come in contact with otherwise.

[Captain Save]

I couldn't agree with this more.

College is a very valuable life experience that goes far beyond what is studied in the classroom. It exposes you to all sorts of people and ideas and things that you might never be exposed to outside of the college environment. It forces you to do things outside of your comfort zone. It pushes you in ways that you can never predict in advance. You may discover interests and skills that you never knew you had. That may lead to a job, or not. It may lead to a hobby. Or it may just introduce you to a bunch of people you never would have come in contact with otherwise.

That is true. There is more to college than books. I went to college and was living in a dorm for 4 years outside of my home. I had freedom with not much responsibility, those were great years. I met some great people and learned a lot and it was worth it for me for 2 reasons.

1. I was always drilled with that school is everything, college was non negotiable and as a youngster, I saw nothing wrong with that. Because of that I was never prepared to do anything else but go to go college

2. Fortunately for me.. I only came out of it with a 15k debt. And for someone who had no guidance at 18 .. that's a small price to pay. Beats going to work a dead end retail job with no vision on what to do with my life. The ROI was definitely worth it.

Now let's take a look at my high school. It was clearly not a great high school. Most kids were not your typical college candidate. The guidance counselor would talk to these kids and something to effect.. "well i Know college is not for you but maybe you can get an associate's degree" and get a job that way.

Because she was drilled with that same formulaic thinking, she could not think outside the box and try to "guide" these kids in a better direction.

Those kids were not fortunate to get out of their comfort zone and get to experience what I did. They commuted to school and to them it was just a matter of taking classes, just a glorified high school". They took out loans, and worked odd end jobs to pay for a portion of it.

If they only had to pay half of the tuition. was the ROI worth it?
---

I don't consider myself a college basher.. I understand why you do.. my mother and girlfriend see me in the same light. I continue to "pound the table" on college because we have been taught to blindly pursue college at all costs...

I don't have a problem with college but more with the "college at all cost" mindset.. this is what has been driving up demand at colleges, and the demand has been driving up the cost of tuition. And now we want "free" college.


As far as my kids go.. they will be prepared to be able to make a choice when they get to that point. They would have to be flexible. there will have to be a clear benefit especially if I'm paying for it. Now if she wants it so bad that she can earn enough to pay for it. Even better.

[disneysteve]

I continue to "pound the table" on college because we have been taught to blindly pursue college at all costs...

I don't have a problem with college but more with the "college at all cost" mindset.. this is what has been driving up demand at colleges, and the demand has been driving up the cost of tuition. And now we want "free" college.

I agree completely. Sorry if I ever suggested otherwise.

College is not for everyone. Trade/technical schools are valuable resources. Sure we need doctors and lawyers and teachers and engineers but we also need plumbers and mechanics and utility workers and landscapers and dental hygienists and more.

My job is a perfect example. I'm a physician in an Urgent Care. I work with 3 staff members - 2 ambulatory techs and a radiology tech. Those are all trade school certifications. They don't require a 4-year degree.

So yes, people need to consider all of their options and choose the one that is best for them, not just blindly go to college and hope for the best.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Prior to graduating college I went the technical route in plumbing. The plumber's union offered an apprenticeship where they the pay started at $7/hr in 1989 with incremental raises. In addition the apprenticeship required 5 years of schooling held at a community college. School days were Tuesdays (after work at 5:00 pm), Thursdays (after work at 5:00 pm), and every Saturday (9:00 am thru noon). After 5 years of schooling and 5 years of working as an apprentice we could take the licensure exam to become a licensed plumber. The 5 years of working had to meet a certain number of hours and if you fell short of the required number of hours that 5 years could have easily turned into 6 or 7 years of working experience in order to meet the work qualification. Most apprentices would fall into the 6 or 7 years of work experience through no fault of their own (including myself) due to seasonal layoffs upon completion of a job and waiting for the next job to start. However upon attaining journeyman status my top wage was $40/hour which is not bad for not having a college degree but it is hard work.