The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday in the noon hour.
QUESTION: If you had to do it all over again, would you attend college or a trade school?
Talk about it.
a degree in underwater basketweaving is quite rewarding.
You can go to trade school for that I believe
Your belief is wrong AJR, what trade school offers this? Please enlighten us…
Trade school, you actually learn something and more than likely get a job, in the field you went to school for.
College. My career requires an undergrad and graduate degree. I don’t know what I’d do with a trade school diploma. I don’t have those skills.
Unless becoming lawyer or doctor four year college is a waste of money.
Was industrial electrician for better than 35 years, learned skills thru an employer training program which eventually became LMC (Los Medanos JC) ETEC program. Over the hill in Pittsburg.
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Two year program with students getting job offers from area companies just before graduation.
If in a Union compensation from $70,000 – $100,000 per year. An a financial worry free retirement.
@ORIGINAL G~
I agree. Both college and trade school(s) have the means of education for the field(s) one chooses.
Our daughter totally loves her new job in the operating room, … something I couldn’t do, …. so proud of her.
It’s not work if you enjoy your job, . . . . stayed 45 years.
College.
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But it depends on what degree is obtained.
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Excluding medical and law degrees, degrees in engineering, bio-sciences, and environmental sciences tend to be the most lucrative right out of college with a BS.
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Degrees in social sciences, psychology, sociology, history, and the like tend to require a masters or doctorate to be financially rewarding.
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Son took online courses in SAFETY from New Mexico JC.
Was shocked to hear high $ job offers. Ended up starting own company.
Kids graduating high school look into Safety field.
I wouldn’t change a thing. I didn’t go to a trade school, I had on the job training, and was in the trades for over 20 years as a machinist. I started out as a machinist helper at the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard in San Francisco, and in a couple of years, I worked my way up to journeyman. When business started to slow down, and they began laying people off, I found out that the shipyard was going to close. I then got a job at the Port of Oakland as a supervisor, working alongside US Customs. After four years, we lost our contract with Customs, and that’s when I decided to go back to school. I thought about it, and decided to get into nursing, because there will always be sick people, and that means job security.
Depending on what career a person is looking for, that person could benefit from either one, college or trade school. There’s only one caveat that I can think of, and that is to do your research before applying at a trade school. Too many trade and vocational schools, are scams.
Trade school hands down, the indoctrination taught at college is useless
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Too gross of a generalization. Not all colleges courses are “woke”.
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Learning styles vary from person to person. Some benefit from classroom/training courses prior to application of what is taught. OJT is not for everyone.
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And trades tend to be unionized…. they’re political interest groups like the IBEW or AFL-CIO who are headed by scums like Trumka, Schuler, and Cooper.
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I agree many college courses are worth while. I like to think by the time someone gets to college they can think indepentdently and not take everything a teacher or professor says as gospel.
Really because that is not at all what is happening. Civil discussion went by the wayside once safe spaces were created to protect those poor little ears from hearing things they don’t agree with.
There is nothing gross about the truth
Have you ever attended a University class?
Why yes I did AJR both at Sac State & St. Mary’s have you ever attended a trade school? I have done both…
I went to 2 quarters at Cal State Hayward, it was not for me. I went to a trade school and it was perfect! I wouldn’t change a thing!
I would suggest an aptitude test first and answer honestly. If you are not good at working with your hands but have smarts go to college, but pick your subject carefully. If you are good at working with your hands pick a lucrative trade and find a trade school or approach a company in that business. Even the union that represents a trade. Every trade has different levels of skills and pay. Figure it out and eventually shoot for the top. Because high schools closed shop classes no one bothers to try a trade they have no experience in so trades need good workers. They also need smart people.
I tend to agree with Ricardo. There is no right or wrong, nor is one better than the other. My parents taught me there is no shame in honest work, some people get quite snobbish about trade schools, but we all need plumber’s and electricians. In Denmark and I believe most of Europe you could get several good education without going to college. If you wanted to be an electrician you would sign a 4 year contract with company, could be small, big or medium. You would get paid as an apprentice, and learn on the job, but also had go to school, either at night or several courses for a few weeks over the 4 years. The same for a carpenter, machinist and others, then after 4 years, you could stay with the company, move on or even start your own business, but then you earned decent money. Use to have the same for retail and secretary. Kind is overdoing it for retail, except you learned all aspects of the business, how to keep books etc. Most secretaries from smaller countries would have to be sufficient in at least 2 languages, definitely English, and either German or French.
@RICARDOH ~ Good Post!
Thanks Roz I think the education depts closing shops was the biggest mistake they ever made. I have a friend in San Francisco who is instrumental in getting one auto shop in one high school in the City. They have great equipment and instruction. The guys and or girls taking it will easily find a job if they want one.
Joined the military right out of High School and learned a trade that way. Picked up a College Degree while serving to boot.
I’m inclined towards trade schools now. People do almost just as well as full college graduates. A lot of what they teach in college is worthless and only indoctrination. And moving forward it’s going to be vital to have plumbers, electricians mechanics… not educated idiots I don’t even know how to survive everyday life.
I got a degree in gender studies. And underwater basket weaving.
It only cost me $100,000. But now I can’t get a job!
That’s ok Biden will pay for it and be on welfare for ever.
POOR ME!!
…..what?
Pretty clear AJR, a little slow today?
You mean you didn’t get sandal making also?
Now days or long time ago? Now days – degrees are worthless because they’ve lowered the standards so much so everybody passes. Maybe for physician Dr’s & pharmacists …… trade schools are valuable only if the student applies themself – if taken half-heartedly (like I see many do now) it’s worthless too
Didn’t go to a trade school because I learned on the job. To help advancements I got involved with a non-union national organization in my line of work. People used to ask me what college I went to and were usually shocked when I would say I haven’t been to one yet. Always thought it funny that others thought you could only get not intelligent jobs if you hadn’t gone to college. Finally did community college when near retirement because I just wanted to do it.
Either, based on your interests and personal definition of success. Regardless, do three things:
1-Hang around with successful people
2-Chase people who are better at a given skill, and you will improve exponentially
3-Put in your time. This is the hardest one!
Later in life, send your folks a check if they financed your education. I’m still waiting for mine.
I went to college, got a degree, couldn’t find suitable work, then went to a trade school and always had work until I retired.
I don’t regret going to college, but I did lose 4 years of working and making money.
Joined the Marines in 1987 … got both … they sent me to engineer mechanic school … and later to Syracuse University … but given the PCBS in today’s military and the influence of the military industrial complex, I would not encourage anyone to join. Really sad to see what damage has been done to my beloved Corps. Sigh.
Some people are a better fit for college and others for the trades. On either track, I would recommend going for something where you eventually get a license. Those types of jobs usually can’t be outsourced to India, China, or whatever meaning job security for you. On the trade school route, either go to a community college such as DVC or Los Medanos or get trained via a union. The community college route is relatively low cost plus you get exposed to a wide mix of students, which is important if you are single and looking. With a union you get paid to work while also attending the classes. Do not to a private trade school. Nearly all of them, if not all of them, are scams in my mind. They are in business to make money off of you.
College.
There were no trade schools for my major.
But, if I had the chance to do it all over I would have taken a job in the public sector. Probably working at a local city office.
I didn’t go to a Trade School, but I did learn a trade early in my career, took some community college courses related to my chosen trade, and made a good living for many years before retiring with a decent pension. I managed to raise a family, own multiple homes, and always have everything I needed. And I was never unemployed for even a single day. Looking back, I would do it the same way again.
Paramedic school at a JC. Kept me employed for 31 years and paid well. Cost $2500.00 bucks which I paid back first year.
Just watched Fail State, a documentary about predatory for-profit colleges. When choosing between college and trade school, students should consider different factors. It’s an individual choice. Going to college is becoming less attainable due to constant tuition/fee increases (Remember, yesterday, CSUEB came out saying that they plan to increase tuition).
Also, colleges seem to no longer be a place to exchange ideas but rather seem to be a place that if students don’t agree with established ideas, they run the risk of getting cancelled. Colleges seem to also be an extension of high school, or below, where no student is left behind. Colleges seem to no longer be a place where students hone their skills and get a sense of what working in their chosen field will be like, many students get a sense of it once they have graduated and many regret it so they re-enroll to get a different degree and go further into debt. Colleges seem to push students to do internships, but who can afford to work for no or little pay with the hopes of getting hired or be a job that gets added to the resume?
More and more people are choosing to forge their own path and get creative because a college degree is not a guarantee. There are millionaires and billionaires with no college degree.
I’s drop out if grammar school in the 8ties to work at Popeyes best desison of my lyfe
It would depend on what I wanted to do for a living if I had the chance to do things over again.
The work I enjoyed the most was also the hardest and most physical work I ever did, and was also the hardest to make a good living at. To do it over again now, I’d probably go to a trade school.
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There’s a bigger problem with a college degree versus no college degree, and that is politics and representation. Looking at the current, 118th Congress, of the 435 voting members of the House of Representatives, 413 have an Associates degree or higher degree, 1 has a professional certification/registeted nursing diploma, while 21 have no college degree. In the Senate, all 100 Senators have an Associates degree or higher, 99 Senators have a Bachelor’s degree or higher. The question is, are Americans that lack a college degree not running for Congress, or are American voters voting for candidates with a college degree over those without a college degree? Fewer than 50% of Americans have an Associates degree or higher degree, yet 95% of the members serving in the House of Representatives have a college degree and 100% of members of the Senate have a college degree. It could be that part of the problem in Congress is that we’re not being represented by our peers.
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I imagine just about 100% of those appointed to a position in the Executive branch and their administrative staff also have an Associates degree or higher degree.
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We know that 100% of those serving on the Supreme Court have college degrees, yet being a lawyer isn’t even a requirement to serve on the Supreme Court. Frankly, having one or two non-lawyers on the Supreme Court would probably be a healthy thing for the Court and the Republic.
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Then we have the forth branch of government, the Administrative Branch, where the percentage of those with a college degree is much higher than the percentage of Americans with a college degree.
@BLACK KNIGHT – The mental wiring that enables people to do well at running for political office, debating, negotiating, working with others and a staff, understanding budgets, finances, etc. also translate well to success at college. It’s no surprise that people holding elected offices also tend to have college degrees.
Also, we elect people to represent us, not to be like us. I vote for people that seem to share my personal values and I hope will be effective in advocating those values in the technical*, judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government. I vote for them because I believe they can do a better job than me at the stuff needed within government level organizations or bodies.
* by technical branch I mean those elected offices where it seems the person also should have a good understanding of some technical field. For example, a superintendent of education should have a good, and hopefully deep, understanding of education. The same applies to those on drinking water and wastewater oversight boards, etc.
WC RESIDENT,
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I guess you vote differently than me. I have a rule when voting, I don’t vote for lawyers, with the exception of District Attorney, Attorney General, Judges (which I usually vote against), and Vice President (if I have no other option).
I was always better with the brain than my hands so I went to college. I was a music major in performance the first year but the university decided by my second year that the performance degree wasn’t worth much and convinced us to pursue an education degree as a backup. I actually had already taught music lessons before college. I wanted to learn more about composition and arranging which was my forte anyway.
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I would have liked more science and math in high school but SAT scores were high in that area and lower in social studies so they gave me more of those classes than what I wanted. Guess they wanted me to be a politician.
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Computers at the time took up a building and were mainly punch cards. Meh. It was not until the early 80s that I took up my interest again in electronics and got into computers. About a year after teaching myself those skills local colleges inquired if I my be available to teach some computer courses. Actually I did teach some classes at a local computer club. Many peers in the field were also self taught because college computer classes were way behind the times.
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Trade school? Well for me I knew I was a terrible carpenter but not to bad at electrical wiring and plumbing. And with YouTube videos one can find how easy it is to do your own plumbing.