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I wonder how educators are handling this. When I was set to graduate high school a decade ago we spent a portion of our home room hour planning our collegiate f

I wonder how educators are handling this. When I was set to graduate high school a decade ago we spent a portion of our home room hour planning our collegiate futures. I think I may have been the exception -- where my advisor stressed that we had to do something. Too often I hear that, "college is the only option." I personally never experienced that, but I wonder if educators are stressing that 4 year universities aren't the only option, just one of the many options. I think, with the lack of skilled workers, people can do really well with a vocational degree in a trade. Then again, that type of work is much more physically demanding than my job as a software engineer.

zjaffee 9y ago
People neglect to realize that a master plumber can make just as much as a software engineer should they have the skillset to be on the right kind of projects.
- cantankerous 9y ago
  FWIW: It's probably easier to become a software engineer than it is to become a master plumber.
  - aaavl2821 9y ago
    For some people. Others just can't get their heads around programming Though point taken about how hard it can be to get certified for some of those trades
- lotsofpulp 9y ago
  But quality of life is much higher for the software engineer, so assuming it's just as easy to be both, pay would need to be much higher for the plumber to incentivize people to do it.
  - damontal 9y ago
    Is it? I had some plumbers doing work in my house last year. They were pretty happy guys. Playing music on the radio, singing while they were at work. Meanwhile i'm here sitting at a desk all day.
    - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
      The primary difference is the time it takes your salary to ramp up before it plateaus. Far fewer plumbers will not be making six figures (real world money, not StupidValley monopoly bucks) after five years or so in the workforce. That said, the work environment might be worth the money IMO.
    - lotsofpulp 9y ago
      A huge potential loss is in the marriage market, where being a plumber isn't as marketable as doctor/engineer/lawyer/financier. Also, big loss is wear and tear on your body from manual work, higher risks due to driving all the time, variable hours due to emergency nature of work, and finally, it doesn't scale well. Plumbers are well compensated, but is it enough to give up the chance to earn much more in businesses that scale up much easier?
cantankerous 9y ago
I never experienced the "only option" talk, either. My high school put forth alternative vocational tracks pretty often. Also the military, among other things. This was in the early 2000's. I'm skeptical that educators force this as the "only way" as much as it's a culturally ingrained thing now. People hear it, even if it goes unspoken.
nsriv 9y ago
In upstate Western NY there's definitely a big push towards offering kids the option of vocational school. Kids I work with generally have their minds made up about it by 11th grade, but there are two interesting phenomena. Many students don't want to study for exams, and so make the choice to go vocational out of laziness, being unaware of the professional certification regime. I also see many students whose parents want them to go vocational, but they've been sold on the college experience so relentlessly that they will go anyways.
Diederich 9y ago
My son just started Mountain View High School here in Silicon Valley, not too far away from the Googleplex. I'll simply say that in all of the relevant words I've read from that school, nowhere was there any allowance for NOT going for some kind of college. It was kind of spooky.
- ashark 9y ago
  To a significant degree, you're mainly buying precisely that culture of "you're (we're, i.e. the students themselves reinforce the culture, which is vital) gonna prep for the SAT, do well in school, and so on, because you (we) are going to college, period, and... oh, you're not applying there, are you? No no no, my grandpa's name is on a building at [more presigious school], apply there, I'll talk to a couple people. Oh, and come volunteer at [charity] with me a couple weekends, looks great, my mom's on the board and can get you something that looks more important on an application than what most people do there. Do you have an internship for the Summer? We'll talk to my dad next time you're over playing xbox, probably can hook you up" when you pay (through housing costs) for top-end public schools, or mid-tier-and-higher private schools.

zjaffee 9y ago

People neglect to realize that a master plumber can make just as much as a software engineer should they have the skillset to be on the right kind of projects.

cantankerous 9y ago
FWIW: It's probably easier to become a software engineer than it is to become a master plumber.
- aaavl2821 9y ago
  For some people. Others just can't get their heads around programming Though point taken about how hard it can be to get certified for some of those trades
lotsofpulp 9y ago
But quality of life is much higher for the software engineer, so assuming it's just as easy to be both, pay would need to be much higher for the plumber to incentivize people to do it.
- damontal 9y ago
  Is it? I had some plumbers doing work in my house last year. They were pretty happy guys. Playing music on the radio, singing while they were at work. Meanwhile i'm here sitting at a desk all day.
  - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
    The primary difference is the time it takes your salary to ramp up before it plateaus. Far fewer plumbers will not be making six figures (real world money, not StupidValley monopoly bucks) after five years or so in the workforce. That said, the work environment might be worth the money IMO.
  - lotsofpulp 9y ago
    A huge potential loss is in the marriage market, where being a plumber isn't as marketable as doctor/engineer/lawyer/financier. Also, big loss is wear and tear on your body from manual work, higher risks due to driving all the time, variable hours due to emergency nature of work, and finally, it doesn't scale well. Plumbers are well compensated, but is it enough to give up the chance to earn much more in businesses that scale up much easier?

cantankerous 9y ago

I never experienced the "only option" talk, either. My high school put forth alternative vocational tracks pretty often. Also the military, among other things. This was in the early 2000's. I'm skeptical that educators force this as the "only way" as much as it's a culturally ingrained thing now. People hear it, even if it goes unspoken.

nsriv 9y ago

In upstate Western NY there's definitely a big push towards offering kids the option of vocational school. Kids I work with generally have their minds made up about it by 11th grade, but there are two interesting phenomena. Many students don't want to study for exams, and so make the choice to go vocational out of laziness, being unaware of the professional certification regime. I also see many students whose parents want them to go vocational, but they've been sold on the college experience so relentlessly that they will go anyways.

Diederich 9y ago

My son just started Mountain View High School here in Silicon Valley, not too far away from the Googleplex. I'll simply say that in all of the relevant words I've read from that school, nowhere was there any allowance for NOT going for some kind of college. It was kind of spooky.

ashark 9y ago
To a significant degree, you're mainly buying precisely that culture of "you're (we're, i.e. the students themselves reinforce the culture, which is vital) gonna prep for the SAT, do well in school, and so on, because you (we) are going to college, period, and... oh, you're not applying there, are you? No no no, my grandpa's name is on a building at [more presigious school], apply there, I'll talk to a couple people. Oh, and come volunteer at [charity] with me a couple weekends, looks great, my mom's on the board and can get you something that looks more important on an application than what most people do there. Do you have an internship for the Summer? We'll talk to my dad next time you're over playing xbox, probably can hook you up" when you pay (through housing costs) for top-end public schools, or mid-tier-and-higher private schools.