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I wish education wasn't so split between "academic" and "vocational" (for lack of better terms). In high school for my A levels I was able to take both Maths,

I wish education wasn't so split between "academic" and "vocational" (for lack of better terms). In high school for my A levels I was able to take both Maths, Physics and Politics (with an academic focus) and Metalworking and Photography (with a more practical hands-on focus). I loved this, and feel like this was incredibly useful to me later in life. But for some reason beyond school level you are mostly forced to choose between academics and hands-on work (at least in the UK). With the hands-on pathways being looked down on by much of society.

bjelkeman-again 2y ago
I went back to university to study environmental science. After that, years later, I ended up starting a company designing closed loop food production systems, (well, semi-closed). I designed and built it with friends, investors and colleagues. Very satisfying. (The fish farm has since the pictures been significantly upgraded.) https://cirkularodling.se/build-an-aquaponic-indoor-farm-part-3-build-log/ https://cirkularodling.se/build-an-aquaponic-indoor-farm-par...
lnsru 2y ago
It’s absolutely the same in Germany. Trade people against academics. Luckily as an electrical engineer I can pick both tracks simultaneously. Many people are less lucky. The funny thing that self employed plumber or electrician can live way better than salaried worker with university diploma.
ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
Because of reasons, my education was a vocational tech school. The fly-by-night type that sprang up in the 1980s, to suck at the teat of the GI Bill, and all those Vietnam vets (many of my classmates were vets). It's long gone, now, but it taught me to be a good worker. They had dress codes, fixed, workday-long hours, little vacation, and behavioral rules. By the time I graduated, I was able to immediately start working in a defense contractor's shop. When I went in, I was pretty much worthless to the workforce. I know of folks that credit the military for similar structure. There's a lot of things that I could have learned at Stanford or MIT (my parents wanted to send me there, but I insisted on paying my own way -see "reasons," above, and they probably would have passed on me anyway -"reasons"). Did OK.
Tanjreeve 2y ago
Is it looked down? It seems like a pretty relentless drumbeat from our media that everyone should be plumbers/electricians etc and not be going to university (except for the children of politicians and journalists who should continue going). Purely coincidentally the people with those loud voices would benefit from cheaper tradesmen, their kids would have less competition and politically would benefit from a less tertiary educated population.
veunes 2y ago
It's frustrating how vocational paths are often seen as "less than", when in reality, they're essential

bjelkeman-again 2y ago

I went back to university to study environmental science. After that, years later, I ended up starting a company designing closed loop food production systems, (well, semi-closed). I designed and built it with friends, investors and colleagues. Very satisfying. (The fish farm has since the pictures been significantly upgraded.) https://cirkularodling.se/build-an-aquaponic-indoor-farm-part-3-build-log/ https://cirkularodling.se/build-an-aquaponic-indoor-farm-par...

lnsru 2y ago

It’s absolutely the same in Germany. Trade people against academics. Luckily as an electrical engineer I can pick both tracks simultaneously. Many people are less lucky. The funny thing that self employed plumber or electrician can live way better than salaried worker with university diploma.

ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago

Because of reasons, my education was a vocational tech school. The fly-by-night type that sprang up in the 1980s, to suck at the teat of the GI Bill, and all those Vietnam vets (many of my classmates were vets). It's long gone, now, but it taught me to be a good worker. They had dress codes, fixed, workday-long hours, little vacation, and behavioral rules. By the time I graduated, I was able to immediately start working in a defense contractor's shop. When I went in, I was pretty much worthless to the workforce. I know of folks that credit the military for similar structure. There's a lot of things that I could have learned at Stanford or MIT (my parents wanted to send me there, but I insisted on paying my own way -see "reasons," above, and they probably would have passed on me anyway -"reasons"). Did OK.

Tanjreeve 2y ago

Is it looked down? It seems like a pretty relentless drumbeat from our media that everyone should be plumbers/electricians etc and not be going to university (except for the children of politicians and journalists who should continue going). Purely coincidentally the people with those loud voices would benefit from cheaper tradesmen, their kids would have less competition and politically would benefit from a less tertiary educated population.

veunes 2y ago

It's frustrating how vocational paths are often seen as "less than", when in reality, they're essential