Personal Experience?

[Colin]

So I am slated to graduate high school come June '06, and a big part of the year is applying to post-secondary (College/University) schools and the like. One of the most likely options on my list at present is to go to the local college (tradeschool) and try to get my ELT (out of the options available, electrician, carpenter or mechanic are the most appealing).

Now, I had noticed various peoples comments in this thread http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=14889 and it seems there are more than a few tradesmen on these boards. One thing we are encouraged to do is talk to people in the careers we're looking at (big surprise, eh?), so I was wondering what various peoples experiences, thoguhts, opinions and the like are on the trades versus a post-secondary education with a degree at the end (although I could pursue a degree as well, after, but that's neither here nor there).

So I'd be thankful for anyones input (whether you've had experience with the trades or not), I'm really at a mental standstill, and decisions are going to be needed in the coming months.

Thanks
-Mike

Maybe you are more of a motivated guy than I was at your age, but when I finished high school I actually just hoped into the workforce and partied the days away. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't start taking any post secondary classes until my mid 20's. The one thing I have noticed is that it is good to get a fall back in life. If you went and got your ticket, you always have a career that you are trained to do. If 10 years down the road you decide that you want to do something different, you still have that first career to fall back on. A good example of this is a friend of mine. He took hi BCIT courses and did his apprenticeship to become an electrician. After 3-4 years he decided he would rather become a linesman for BC Hydro so he completed that and is loving it.

Too often our society frowns on blue collar workers. So much so that we have a major shortage of them now. Every kid wants to be the top exec in the fancy office not the guy building the office. The people I know in trades are now actually making as much if not more than the people I know in white collar jobs.

Here in BC we are going to be extremely short of trades people in the coming years, so it is a really good field to go into. Our trade schools (like BCIT) are really practical.

So if later in life you want to go to a college, you already have the practical training for a good job, allowing you to focus on learning what you want to learn, not what you think you have to learn to prepare for your future. I have known too many people that have stayed in university for as long as possible (I graduated 11 years ago and still have friends in University....and no they are not going for their doctorite). So after 2-4 years of worktime and classtime for a trade, you will still be young enough (and able to enter as a mature student) to attend a university program.

Just my two cents

Good luck in your choices.

[bubba]

All these college guys are enough to give an uneducated old truck driver an inferiority complex. My advice is take a year or two off and try a few different things even if they don't pay well at the entry level. If nothing else it give you a sense of what you don't like to do. My observation is by high school graduation most kids are overloaded with studying and can use the time away from the classroom to get a little balance. That said, a year or two is about the limit if you want to continue your education because much more than that and you tend to lose your study habits. Use that time off from school to find your passion. If you really love to do something chances are you can find someone to pay you for what you know and do. You have a whole lifetime ahead of you and you can count on changing your career at least a few times so stay open to possibilities. Pick up a bit of as many skills as you can, it's never wasted. As an example, I spent most of my life driving a truck, but I know how to wire a house, plumb it, do rough and finish carpentry, raise a garden, and many other practical things, even make clothes. I've used all those skills at one time or another even if for my own satisfaction rather than as a job. The guys have given you alot of more specific advice, I'm just giving you a general view from my observations and experience. Best of luck, take your time and enjoy the ride.

[Colin]

All these college guys are enough to give an uneducated old truck driver an inferiority complex. My advice is take a year or two off and try a few different things even if they don't pay well at the entry level. If nothing else it give you a sense of what you don't like to do. My observation is by high school graduation most kids are overloaded with studying and can use the time away from the classroom to get a little balance. That said, a year or two is about the limit if you want to continue your education because much more than that and you tend to lose your study habits. Use that time off from school to find your passion. If you really love to do something chances are you can find someone to pay you for what you know and do. You have a whole lifetime ahead of you and you can count on changing your career at least a few times so stay open to possibilities. Pick up a bit of as many skills as you can, it's never wasted. As an example, I spent most of my life driving a truck, but I know how to wire a house, plumb it, do rough and finish carpentry, raise a garden, and many other practical things, even make clothes. I've used all those skills at one time or another even if for my own satisfaction rather than as a job. The guys have given you alot of more specific advice, I'm just giving you a general view from my observations and experience. Best of luck, take your time and enjoy the ride.

Sounds like a good idea, but unfortuantely it is an outdated one these days Bubba. I know, I did just that. The rate of university students in BC is huge nowadays. BC has also become a climate where you need a degree or trade to get any good job these days. The provincial governement has not made it very appealing to just enter the job market. I worked crappy manual labor jobs for 10 years before I started taking classes again. Learning a trade (a very short amount of time) will give you something to hold onto while you are learning what you enjoy doing and the means to pursue that dream.

What is the rule of thumb now? People will change their careers at least 3 times in their working life"? If that is the case it is better to have a safety net.

[GlassMan]

Well, I guess I'll throw in my two cents here.

I went to University straight out of High School because the only things I had ever considered wanting to do at that time required degrees. When I first showed up at Yale I thought I'd go into economics, but that quickly changed to History. I would up doing Medieval European Economic History with a secondary focus on Art History. I was extremely satisfied with my time at school and wouldn't have traded it for the world.

Following my bachelors I went straight on for doctoral study. And in regards to the comments people have made about PhD candidates often loosing sight of the rest of the world, I resembled that remark!

However I totally lost the desire to become an academic after seeing the lives of my faculty adviser and his fellow department members at Harvard. They were the biggest bunch of stuck-up snobs with bad attitudes that I'd ever met. I hated it. :x

So I left and went into what I guess qualifies as a trade - firefighting. However, even in that profession my good solid liberal arts education (with lots of other disciplines studies besides my major including sciences, mathematics, foreign languages, etc.) served me very well and I rapidly became one of the most relied upon members of the department.

And now I make stained glass, another profession that required an apprenticeship. But all my studies continue to help me because I am much better able to communicate with my customers and guide them through the design process than many of my competitors. I also understand the basic science behind what we do much better which helps me make improvements others have not even considered.

If you have even the slightest inkling of taking up a profession that requires University, I say go for it. Even if you wind up in a trade later, that education will still be helpful for you in the long run.

BTW, I have a friend who graduated with me from Yale and he now works as a carpenter! He's extremely satisfied with his life and doesn't regret having gotten a degree.

[Jerry]

Hey Jewddha *sounds sorta like a Beatles song). Here is another suggestion for a trade if you choose not to go to college. "Air conditioning and refridgeration mechanic" With the latest requirements of certification to handle refridgerants, those guys can nearly name their own salary. The downside to that trade is that they are often up in an attic during the hottest times of the year.

[bubba]

Sounds like a good idea, but unfortuantely it is an outdated one these days Bubba. I know, I did just that.

Colin, it's a case of what goes around comes around. Doing that was considered obsolete in the US too, but what with the economic situation it's back in favor again.When I was growing up the rule was a rich man goes to college and a poor man goes to work. I left high school in my junior year to go to work.

[Colin]

Colin, it's a case of what goes around comes around. Doing that was considered obsolete in the US too, but what with the economic situation it's back in favor again.When I was growing up the rule was a rich man goes to college and a poor man goes to work. I left high school in my junior year to go to work.

The main difference there, is that here in BC we are in the middle of an economic boom. You almost need a degree before you apply working at Subway these days. One of the other issues in BC is that a large group of the population has gone on to post secondary education and upped the standard. I met with numerous roadblocks due to my lack of formal education when I first tried to get out of the shipping/receiving business. With the increase in university students and degrees hitting the workforce, the major cities in BC have really taking a nose down approach at blue collar workers in the past decade. We are just now starting to see that these people will soon be in short supply, and now the government and industry is putting alot of effort into training tradespeople. As it stands right now (especially with the Olympics coming in 4+ years) if you have a trade ticket you can almost name your price.

Canada also differs from the US in that our post secondary education may be funded differently. BC has some of the higher tuition fees right now, but they have not been raised in some time. With the number of post secondary facilities in BC (universities, trade schools, colleges) it is within almost everyone's grasp to obtain further education. I was one of the few people I know that did not go back to school right away. However I have taken several business courses since and may actually go back to school part time in the near future. In my mind education is not a human right (after all how many people don't have the opportunity to get a basic education), but it is a privelige I hope to take further advantage off in my life.

Slightly off topic, but my oldest nephew (on my wife's side) is a US citizen. When he applied to go to University in the US instead of Canada, one of the things that suprised us all was that when he signed for a student loan, part of the deal was that he was consenting to a draft should there every be one. Whether this is an isolated example or not, I am not sure.