Trade School Vs College: Choosing The Right Career Path For You

Deciding between trade school and college may be one of the most pivotal educational choices you make in your lifetime.

Each option has its own advantages and will qualify you for different career options.

For some professions, college is more or less mandatory. For example, a bachelor’s degree is needed for the majority of white-collar jobs. However, by the same token, many trades require specific training and hard skills that won’t come from any 4-year degree.

This guide breaks out the differences between college and trade school, the advantages of each, and other factors to help you decide the right career path for you.

Key Takeaways:

• Trade schools prepare students to enter the workforce immediately after graduation for a specific job type that focuses on hard skills.

• Colleges offer students academic degrees that focus on both soft and hard skills.

• When choosing the right career for you, you should take a career assessment test, consider your strengths and weaknesses, and research your options.

Trade School vs. College

1. What is trade school? Trade schools prepare students to enter the workforce immediately after graduation for a specific job type. Students receive hard skills training for careers in health care, manufacturing, technology, construction and other in-demand fields.

   Trade schools typically do not offer liberal arts classes, instead giving students more hands on experience in their future fields. For example, an ultrasound tech student would attend classes related to understanding the trade, along with clinical hours to master the hands on skills needed to do the job. However, they are extremely unlikely to study Greek Mythology or other materials that aren’t relevant to their future job.

   Upon completion trade school students may receive a diploma after completing their program, or an industry-relevant certificate.

2. What is college? Colleges offer students academic degrees that focus on both soft and hard skills. While college students choose an area of study, or major, students will study a diverse array of subjects for nearly half of their education.

   Students graduate after an average of four years with majors in fields like business, communications, education, liberal arts, natural sciences and computer sciences. Upon completion, students receive their Bachelor’s degree. Some college graduates choose to further their education by pursuing advanced degrees beyond a bachelor’s degree.

The Difference Between Trade School And College

1. Trade School:

   • Shorter completion time: On average, trade school takes less time to complete than a four-year colleges. The majority of programs top out at 2 years, with many certificates such as HVAC being even shorter. This can help you enter the workforce sooner and start earning.

   • Lower cost on average: On average, trade schools are far more affordable than four-year institutions. You are far more likely to graduate with little to no debt.

   • Simple admissions process: Trade schools don’t require a lengthy admissions process. This means you can be admitted to a trade school on short notice and with less hoops to jump through.

   • Career-specific training: Trade schools prepare you to enter a specific field and teach you all the hands on skills you need to be career ready.

2. College:

   • Degree Completion: College graduates earn bachelor’s degrees. Many white collar jobs require now require a bachelor’s degree to get your foot in the door, opening up an array of options.

   • General Education: College graduates earn more general knowledge than trade school attendees, in addition to developing soft skills.

   • More educational options: Rather than preparing you for one career like trade school, colleges give students a more varied education that allows them more options upon completion. For example, if you study web development but decide you hate coding, you will have general knowledge that is applicable for other careers.

   • Opportunities for continued education: To achieve a master’s, doctorate, or other professional degree, you need a bachelor’s to build on.

Cost Difference Of Trade School VS College

One of the biggest downfalls of college education is the amount of debt that students get into for attending school, regardless of whether they complete their degree or not. On average, college students accrue an average debt of $28,950.

While certain high paying majors can handle this amount of debt, or even more, some weaker pay fields of study will leave graduates grappling to pay back their educational debt.

On the other hand, trade school is often far cheaper. Average tuition fees range from about $3,600 to $14,500 per year, with public institutions and shorter programs being far more affordable than a 4 year degree.

According to the Simple Dollar, the average trade school graduate with debt owes under $10,000.

Earning Difference Of Trade School VS College: Which Pays More

Ultimately, there is no clear answer to whether an individual trade school graduate will out earn an individual with a traditional 4-year degree.

While college graduates earn more on average, some more lucrative trades do pay more than certain college degrees. For example, the average teacher earns just $46,618. Meanwhile, the average plumber earns a more impressive $56,696 annually. To truly gauge your earning potential you will need to dive into specific careers, rather than just generalities.

In addition, these numbers do not consider loans. According to the Federal Reserve, the average graduate with student loan debt pays $393 per month in student loan debt. Because a trade school certification costs far less than a bachelor’s degree, trade workers will spend far less of their income repaying debt- which may help close the gap.

Choosing The Right Career For You

Ultimately, your biggest deciding factor will likely be what job you envision for yourself— and the education and skills you need to obtain it. Trade school and college can both set up their graduates for career success, but the jobs they prepare their grads for are different.

While some are fortunate and know from a young age they have a passion for carpentry and science, for the majority it takes a bit more time and thought to decide “what they want to be when they grow up.” Below are some helpful tips for exploring career options:

1. Take A Career Assessment Test: A career assessment is a test that asks numerous questions about your preferences and aversions, to determine careers that fit your needs. Common career assessments include:

   • 123 Career Test: This popular aptitude test can help you gain insight into the careers that best fit your personality by uncovering the kind of work environments and occupations suit you best.

   • O*NET Interests Profiler: My Next Move’s O*NET Interest Profiler is administered by the United States Department of Labor. Users take a 60-question interest inventory that yields a profile of interest tendencies, including six areas: Realistic, Investigative, Social, Enterprising, Conventional, and Artistic.

   • CareerOneStop Interest Assessment: This 30 quick question online test gives you a list of careers worth exploring.

   • Skills Matcher:The Department of Labor has developed this resource to enable users to assess the skills they want to incorporate into their careers. You will rate basic skills like reading, writing, speaking, scientific reasoning, and critical thinking, as well as more specialized social, technical, analytical, computer, problem-solving, and resource management skills.

   • Truity: Truity offers a variety of tests you can use to explore your personality career interests. There’s a free short report on the results, and there’s a fee to unlock the full report if you want more information.

   • CareerExplorer: CareerExplorer is a free platform for users to assess their interests, personality types, abilities, career values, and preferred work and social environments in order to find matches that will lead to satisfying careers.

   • CareerOneStop Work Values Matcher: Answer questions about different aspects of a job or workplace to help you find your ideal work environment.

   • Keirsey Temperament Sorter: This test helps you to understand your personality type, including Artisan, Guardian, Rational, or Idealist, along with possible career matches.

   • Human Metrics: Answer 64 questions to rate you on both scales. The results explain to you how each piece relates to your personality type.

   You can read more about career assessments here.

2. Consider Your Strengths And Weaknesses: Do you enjoy working with your hands? Or perhaps your idea of a lovely day is spent reading a biography? While you are entirely capable of mastering new skills, many find luck in playing to existing strengths and interests. Take the time to consider what you excel at and how that might translate to a future career.

3. Research Career Options: Take some of the appealing careers uncovered by the career tests, or that have always intrigued you, and do some research. Zippia can help you learn future career trajectories, job responsibilities, and average salary, among other key factors.

4. What Do You Need Out Of A Job?: Ask yourself key questions such as- what kind of schedule do you need?, What type of salary do you need?, and other questions that will influence your future career choice. This thought process can narrow down your options by crossing out some otherwise interesting jobs you research may not meet all your needs.

Final Thoughts

While the numbers and outlines above provide helpful guidance, they should not be the only thing you consider when deciding between trade school and college.

You will spend about eight hours per day at work and job satisfaction also matters. Choosing a career due only to the hefty salary or short amount of time it will take to achieve, can lead to waking up everyday and going to a job you hate.

At the end of the day, only you can determine what factors will make a job a good fit for you.

Trade school and college are both excellent options to start your career, it is simply a matter of finding the right option for you.

Author

Kathy Morris

Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.