by Ayla Ward
With enrollment up by around 20% at trade schools during the past couple of years, many people are obviously figuring out that vocational education is a good option for them. But is it the best option for you? Making this decision necessitates weighing the pluses and minuses of using vocational school programs as the vehicle to get to your eventual career goal.
In this article, we will go over some of the advantages and disadvantages of trade colleges, as well as how effective a trade school certificate or degree is at giving you entry into specific professions.
What are the Benefits of Vocational Colleges?
In recent years, a number of notable researchers have compared the comparative achievement enjoyed by vocational school graduates in their jobs against their industry competitors. Their results consistently agreed that vocationally-trained professional people were not only paid more than their university-schooled counterparts immediately after graduating, but went on to at least equal them in both position and salary throughout their careers. While these findings do differ to some extent depending on the industry involved, the basic conclusion is still the same - trade school degrees and certifications definitely provide those who earn them an edge over the competition.
This section compares what the author views to be the most-important benefits that vocational colleges hold over traditional colleges and universities.
Hands-On Learning vs. Theory
Those students who learn better by working on things than by researching the idea behind them are the ones who generally excel in trade college programs. The standard trade school course teaches students their skills by requiring them to perform the tasks that are required in their profession, instead of asking them to read about them in a book.
Begin Your Career Sooner
Trade school programs are typically two years or less in length, meaning that you will be working in your career and earning a decent income in less than half the time it would take if you went to a conventional university.
Help with Getting a Job
When their students graduate, almost all vocational schools make a serious effort to immediately place them in jobs. Even though you will hear a lot of disagreement over the exact success of professional schools in placing their students compared to their advertised rates (most trade schools claim success rates nearing 90%), the Department of Education published a revealing analysis on the subject in 2006.
Per its report, the department determined that 97% of vocational school students were employed inside six months of graduation, and an impressive 80% of them were working in the field they had trained in. The surprising implication of these conclusions is that trade schools overall are just as successful at creating successful professional people as are conventional universities - a strong endorsement for vocational education indeed.
Lower Academic Admission Requirements
For those people who either had trouble academically in high school, or who didn't graduate at all, earning admission to a trade college is far easier than a traditional university. The majority of fully-licensed and accredited vocational schools do have a minimum requirement that applicants have either a high school diploma or some type of equivalency (e.g. GED), but some programs will accept students by considering things like work experience and employer recommendations as well.
The Drawbacks of Vocational Schools
In the same way there are major benefits that vocational schooling holds over conventional universities, there are also several important drawbacks. It is the author's viewpoint that the issues dealt with below represent the biggest disadvantages to vocational schooling.
Cost of Tuition
Due to the fact the majority of trade schools run on a "for-profit" basis, their fees are usually higher than those at four-year schools. The exact cost, needless to say, will vary dependent upon the school involved, but training for certain professions may cost as much as $40,000 for the two-year program. Fortunately, the variety of scholarships and grants available for vocational education has traditionally surpassed the number of recipients, so financial assistance is definitely accessible to those who qualify.
Competition for Jobs
One of the complaints against vocational schools is that they tend to flood specific industries with too many skilled graduates, who end up competing against one another and drive wages down. Irrespective of whether or not this situation applies to your field of study, it's something that any prospective vocational school pupil should consider before getting into a vocational education program.
Level of Instruction
This is something that varies greatly from school to school and instructor to instructor, but certain vocational schools do carry a reputation for hiring teachers who are not the greatest at, well, teaching. This reputation is generally influenced by the belief that colleges hire instructors who are highly regarded for their vocational skills, without taking into consideration their abilities as a teacher. It's worth reiterating that this is a generalization that is occasionally made about trade schools, and that fully-accredited institutions are required to only hire those educators who are able to meet their state Department of Education's quality standards.
Narrowly Focused Teaching
For some trade school students, vocational education's focus on teaching only those competencies applicable to their career is a positive, but for others it is viewed as a negative. The thinking behind this viewpoint is that, in the event you ever choose to change professions and move into a new field, your vocational training and education will be so specialized in one area that you might be viewed as unqualified to do something else.
Is Vocational Education Your Best Option?
The aforementioned disadvantages and advantages of vocational education are only several of the factors that you need to consider prior to enrolling in a vocational college. It's also advised that you do as much research as possible into your career goal, and decide if a trade college education is considered to be the best means to get your foot in the door. You will likely discover that, while some professional career paths favor those with vocational school degrees, others are more receptive to those who have paid their dues working in the industry as an apprentice or earned a standard four-year degree.
Ultimately, trade schools can certainly prepare you for an exciting, successful career in a wide range of industries. That said, deciding if signing up for a vocational program is your best strategy for reaching your goals demands having a defined view of where you're trying to go, and what it is going take in order to get there.
Interested in finding out more about <a href="http://tinyurl.com/3gd3cx6">trade school programs</a>?, then be sure to visit Ayla Ward's site on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/42l3a49">vocational schools in California</a> and other issues related to vocational education!
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New Unique Article!
Title: Deciding If Vocational Education Is For You
Author: Ayla Ward
Email: mattbromley2010@gmail.com
Keywords: vocational schools,trade schools,vocational education,college degrees,professional training,training,jobs,alternative education,adult education,career training,education,schools,college,career,reference
Word Count: 1077
Category: College
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