Redefining Success With Vocational Training

The cost of living is growing faster than wages can keep up. People are struggling to make ends meet, even when they have done all of the things they were told would give them the best chance at survival. The cost of a college education is also through the roof, and many college graduates find themselves starting off in life with a crushing debt load. Sometimes it may seem as though there’s no good way to get started in life with everything being so far out of reach, but maybe it’s time to redefine success.

Sadly, college isn’t affordable to everyone, and going into debt for education is almost always going to be a bad idea. Unless you have the means to address your student loan debt first and foremost – whether that is by working two jobs and living in your parents’ basement after graduation until it is completely eradicated or you plan to work three jobs while living on your own – that debt is going to be with you a lot longer than you think, and minimum payments are going to keep it with you longer.

While going to college has been touted as the best way to ‘become successful’ working three jobs and living in a studio apartment with a roommate probably doesn’t feel much like success. It’s time to redefine success.

Most people think of success as being able to afford to live on their own and have a family if they want one, so getting to that point without the burden of debt should be the new definition of success. As it turns out, there are more paths to successful careers that don’t involve crippling debt than you know about.

Vocational training can get you started on the right path long before you would even be finished with college, and with significantly less cost associated with the training. Plumbers, HVAC specialists, and metal workers are always in high demand, especially as the baby boomer generation begins to retire. Other vocations, such as healthcare technicians, electricians, roofers, and other contractors are always in high demand and can get you on track to earn nearly the same as someone with a four-year college degree, without the crushing student loan debt.

Tuition for an average vocational program is about a quarter that of a traditional four-year college program, and the average debt load associated with this type of education is about a third that of traditional college. Yes, there is still debt, but job security is significantly higher for most trades. The average salary is lower to start, but after ten years the pay difference between those with a four-year degree and those with trade is just over a thousand dollars a year.

Trade school might be the best way to ensure you always have a career, and it can even help you work your way through college without debt if you still want to go afterward. Learn more about the benefits of vocational training and why you should redefine success from the infographic below.