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Is a college education the only answer to a bright future?
I'm beginning to wonder if college is always the right path for one to take.
And so should all high school graduates who are not sure what their goals are in life. Let's take a look at the numbers.
The average cost for a four-year college degree that includes tuition, housing, parking, books and various fees can cost as much as $120,000-plus for a bachelor's degree, $70.000-plus for a master's degree and $150,000.00-plus for a PhD or EdD. (Source: SoFi Loan Financing.com)
That's a grand total of $340,000-plus for three academic degrees. Imagine the cost for professional degrees such as a JD, MD, DDS, etc. In fact, I spoke to a resident doctor at a nearby hospital who owes more than $400,000 in college loans at this point during his training.
At a local restaurant which I frequent, there are five waiters and waitresses with college degrees that are making more money on tips than they would make working in their degree fields.
Benefits of work in trades
Now let's consider the trades where many are getting paid for their "on the-job" training. Below are the annual average incomes of experienced tradesmen which I found in the various unions' salary statistics:
• Gas and Oil Field workers: $300,000
• Teamsters (e.g., truckers): $200,000
• Coal miners: $106,000-plus
• Sheetmetal workers: $103,000-plus
• Electricians, plumbers and iron workers: $100,000-plus
• Heating and cooling workers: $100,000-plus
• Welders: $98,000-plus
• Roofers and carpenters: $95,000-plus
These are fairly impressive salary numbers which don't include overtime. They also have fringe benefits such as health care, optical, dental, retirement plans, etc. But the most important benefit: You don't owe the federal government thousands upon thousands of dollars in student loans.
Tuition in the past
Oldtimers like myself were blessed with reasonable college tuition rates which made it much more financially feasible to acquire bachelor, master, and doctorate degrees.
When I attended the University of Pittsburgh in the 1960s to earn both a BS and master's degree, the tuition was $750 per year. Today, the school's yearly tuition is $21,926 for in-state students and $41,430 for out-of-state students.
What about housing, etc.? Well, I worked at the Pittsburgh Jones & Laughlin Steel plant during the summer months.
My salary there paid for all of the extra expenses I had at Pitt each year.
Another blessing.
Even in the late 1980s when I earned my doctorate in education (a four-year program) at West Virginia University, the annual tuition was $1,000. Now it is $11,412.00 for in-state students and $29,538.00 for out-of-state students.
Since all my graduate classes were at night, I was able to teach full time and commute from Wheeling to Morgantown during the evening hours.
Yes, I was very blessed.
Top tradesman advantages
And folks, here's the three biggest selling points regarding a career in the various trades:
• Such workers are in demand
• They receive cost-free, on-the-job training
• There are no student loans to pay back
Very few college or university career-centered employment offices can offer graduating students such entry level jobs, which include outstanding fringe benefits.
College horror stories
I had a friend whose daughter, an exceptionally bright student, received a yearly $10,000-a-year scholarship to a fine university. At first, he was so excited for her. Then he learned that the cost at that educational institution was far more than $40,000 a year.
Unfortunately, many academic scholarships have not been able to keep up with the accelerated growth of tuition rates. A thousand-dollar scholarship once had some bite to it, but now it's just a small drop in the "school expense" bucket.
On another occasion, I was talking to a gentleman at a local fitness center who had a master's degree in mathematics. He had a student-loan debt of $101,000 and was presently unemployed. His college job-placement center was unable to assist him. That's a financially scary situation.
Yet former college graduates, like this unfortunate individual, receive fliers from their colleges each year asking them for various forms of donations, such as including the institution of high learning in their final estate planning. What gall. What estate? It's so ironic.
If you are blessed with well-to-do parents, money is of no concern. But that is not the case for the vast majority of students who aspire to attend college.
With that being said, if your son or daughter is unsure of his or her future plans in contributing to society, considering the trades is a viable option.
What do they have to lose? Nothing. What do they have to gain? Everything. It's truly a win-win proposition. As the old saying goes, "Everybody needs a plumber." Can one say the same for those who graduate with college degrees in philosophy, sociology or history?
(Welker, EdD, is a freelance op-ed columnist who enjoys writing articles on sports, education and any topic that piques his interest. He can be contacted by e-mail at mattalkwv@hotmail.com.)