General Discussion

Intriguing post J2. Depends on the person IMO. My son knew from the time he was in 5th grade he wanted no part of college. He also knew from 9th grade on that he wanted to be a welder. So he enrolled at our local trade school in the Grand Rapids (MI) area called Kent Career Tech Center. He was doing great there when one day during his Sr. year a local HR person from a commercial construction firm came in and asked his Instructor for the 3 best students he had. My son was one of them and got an interview. He got the job and that was 6 months ago. He just turned 19 and is making close to $30 per hour with great benefits and a company truck. He is happy as a clam. They are busy and have approached him about becoming a crew leader: mission accomplished, right?

Not so fast.....

My daughter has had the opposite experience, upon graduating from college last May. She couldn't find anything in her major so she took a waitress job in Petoskey for the summer. Back home now and still has no full time job but is working a series of gig jobs and thinking seriously of starting her own small business. In the meantime her anxiety and mood swings haven't been fun to deal with. She thought a college degree ensured her a full time job with a company, and it sure doesn't these days. Her Mom (my wife) worked at the school paper and was hired by the Grand Rapids Press out of Michigan State U. and has been there the last 33 years. I have job hopped and finally landed in Education but it's been brutal at times. So everyone forges their own path to some degree and who's to say what's best: college or trade school? As I said, it's largely dependent on the individual.