Trade schools seeing more enrollment surges as college idea dies

The idea of going to college, and having the old 'college experience,' has essentially been part of the American dream for about a century. It is a great time to make lifelong friends, and really find out exactly what career path you wish to take. But in recent years, especially with the rise of social media and interest rates on student loans, that idea has started dwindling more and more.

Now, people are opting instead for trade schools over the usual four-year college experience. A Pew Research Center poll showed recently that 40 percent of US adults say that a four-year degree is unnecessary for a well-paying job. For some jobs, obviously, that is wrong. But there is a bit of truth to that stance.

Jim Dutton of TRH's Texas Home Improvement Show says the biggest draw to them has been the vastly lower costs.

"You get out quicker, start earning money quicker...and the truth is...you are earning just as much, if not more, than college grads," he says.

At some places, like the Pinellas Technical College in Clearwater, Florida, they have seen the average age of their students drop down to about 22 years old and have seen all of their programs filled to capacity. Some of that growth is surely due to the pandemic, as many started seeking more sustainable jobs.

But social media has its role in this surge, too.

"When students are looking for news, that is where they get it...and they hear from friends that have graduated that they cannot find jobs out of college," he says. "Coming out of trade schools though, there is a line of people waiting to hire you."

The new generation of worker is less than committed across the board. Many of this new generation of employees are entitled, lazy, and just do not have the work ethic of other generations.

However, with trade schools, even that trend is a bit different.

"They are more inclined to be on time and show up every day...because they have gone through the work and paid to learn this trade, as opposed to those who are working from the bottom," says Dutton.

In the end, too, we might not be going back to the old 'college experience' days.

"It is a place they can get great jobs, not have huge debt, and it is something we have been missing a long time...we have been so focused on sending people to college, we have let trades slip," he says.