First of all, I need to make a couple of corrections and 1 addition from my previous post. I misspelled the Masters champions’ name. It’s Scheffler, not Sheffler (I should have known this). And after his win at Augusta, he had won 3 of his last 4 tournaments, not 4 of 5 (although he had four 2024 wins total at the time). However (and not surprisingly), he just won again this past weekend. So now, 4 of 5 is accurate (and amazing). And speaking of amazing, LPGA golfer Nelly Korda just won the first women’s major tournament. She has won the last 5 events in which she has played (take that, Scottie). While I’m not sure that this level of dominance is good for the sport, both of these players are playing golf at an insane level.
Now, on to the main topic (another unplanned one). I just read an article on the April 22 online version of NPR (let’s not get into NPR’s issues; this article is not political or biased, IMO) which stated that there was in 2023 a 16% increase in the number of young people opting for vocational/technical/professional schooling and/or training over traditional 4-year college. They interviewed several individuals in the article, and each of them seemed satisfied if not happy with their choice.
My initial response to this article was, “This is great news!” There is a substantial need for these types of skilled technicians and professionals, such as welders, HVAC technicians, electricians (to fix the grid, of course), and dental hygienists, to name a few. Some of you may know that in much of Europe, students are evaluated by the government as they are completing what we would refer to as high school. People with the highest ratings are invited to attend traditional universities (for free or very low cost, BTW); those who do not qualify are offered vocational/technical/professional education or apprenticeships as career training. There may be some who qualify for neither; their options are to repeat schooling and retest or to find other more less skilled employment. Many of these more vo-tech professions, which were looked down upon by many US high school graduates in the past, are gaining favor with them nowadays, as these careers pay decent to very good wages, and most come with medical and retirement benefits. And many offer career advancement or even the opportunity of starting a business of their own. If nothing else, this path should give young people more hope of achieving financial independence than they may have had in the recent past. Sounds great, yes?
Well, I have a couple of concerns after reading the article. The first one is that all of the individuals presented in the article stated that they initially chose the vo-tech pathway because of the prohibitive cost of traditional college and the fear of significant debt if making that choice. While in a way I applaud them for making a financially sound decision, it’s disappointing to me that the decision was largely if not entirely a financial one. I was hoping that at least one of the people profiled in the article had said something like (and I’m paraphrasing here), ” You know, I wasn’t sure that a traditional college education was right for me at the time I graduated from high school, and I found some interesting career options at the local vo-tech college, so I went there and received some interesting and valuable training in (insert skill), and I was able to get a good paying job right away. I enjoy the work, it pays better than I expected, and I have pretty good benefits. And I can always go to college in the future if I think it can help my career.” Of course, a quote of this length would never make it verbatim into an online article, but you get the point.
Let’s face it, the traditional college setting isn’t for everyone, and I think there are lots of folks attending 4-year colleges and universities that probably don’t belong there. Also, these days, having a Batchelor’s degree doesn’t guarantee one employment post-graduation. Frankly, it never did entirely, but it was certainly more likely to lead to a positive outcome 30 years ago than it is today. And I applaud the Biden Administration for removing the requirement of a Batchelor’s degree for thousands of Federal government positions. That policy gives even more people the chance to secure a good-paying job with benefits. But that being said, I am disappointed that many young people are going the vo-tech route because they can’t afford the alternative.
This leads me to a second related point, that being the need for college graduates in many fields, in particular STEM (science/technology/engineering/math in case you didn’t know), public health, and nursing (I don’t think the last 2 count as STEM, though they are not easy pursuits). Interestingly, according to the National Science Board, there has been a significant increase in the number of students majoring in STEM in the 21st century (the study covered 2000 – 2019). Despite this, there has been a gradual but much slower increase in the amount of STEM degrees issued; this being the case because the graduation rate of STEM majors is only about 40%. Additionally, the demand for individuals with STEM degrees continues to increase, with an expected 9% increase in demand between now and 2028 (per the National Labor Relations Board). But given the challenges we face (AI, strengthening the grid, trying to combat global warming, feeding the planet), the need for top talent in the STEM fields is greater than ever.
Now let me be clear about something; though it may work for some countries, I’m not advocating that we adopt the European system and have the government decide who goes to college and who can’t. Vo-tech careers aren’t only for people who aren’t “good enough” to get into a traditional college; some of them require considerable skill. As far as I’m concerned, if the smartest person on the planet wants to be a car repair technician or a Physician’s Assistant, then he/she should go for it. As I said earlier, traditional college isn’t for everyone, and of course you can always choose to get technical training now and attend college later if that’s your preference. So I applaud and appreciate those who have decided to forego a 4-year degree and pursue a career as a skilled technical or professional person. We need more of them, and the US needs to expand the number of vo-tech schools and apprenticeships to meet the demand. And these careers provide interesting and challenging work, in addition to good wages and benefits. But it is unfortunate that due to the cost of higher education in the US, many young adults see vo-tech as their only viable option to financial security, and some of them could be excelling in a traditional college setting if cost weren’t a barrier. We as a country need to address that. Maybe I’ll give my thoughts on this one in a future post, but I think I’ve written enough for now.
#Vocational/technical/professional development
#STEM
#National Science Board
#National Labor Relations Board
Disentangling the mess 