Consider another option to college

Kristin Gooding, Editor in Chief

GISD has been pushing college since elementary school with countless college days and college nights in high school. It often feels like alternatives to college such as vocational school are overlooked. 

Vocational schools are career-focused and teach a wide variety of specializations for a specific occupation such as auto repair, cosmetology, culinary arts, pharmacy technician, etc. 

Vocational schools take only two years of training rather than the typical four-years of college. They also cost a lot less. According to U.S. News and World Report,  a typical bachelor’s degree costs $154,000 while a trade school degree costs $33,000.

A common misconception about vocational school is that you can’t be financially stable and successful in the world since you didn’t go to a typical four-year college, but that isn’t the case. 

According to Entrepreneur.com, “After 10 years, a worker with a one-year certificate made a median of only $1,347/year less than a worker with a bachelor’s degree.”

Many college graduates are unemployed but vocational school graduates usually have a job waiting for the by the time they graduate. 

Entreprenuer.com also says that 23 percent of students choose to go to college because it’s expected of them. That 23 percent might have been better suited at a vocational school, but due to the stigma built up that you have to go to a college to be successful, those 23 percent may have been set up for failure. 

Your path after high school depends on your preferences and what you want to do with your life.  Vocational school isn’t for everyone, but it’s important to know that you have other options besides a traditional college degree.