- The average cost of a trade education is around $33,000, while acquiring a bachelor’s degree has been pegged at $127,000. What’s more, in many cases a trade education can be had for free through formal and informal apprenticeship training programs.
- Around 40% of college students drop out before obtaining a degree, often wasting tens of thousands of dollars paying for education that will never pay off.
- More than one-third of college graduates are underemployed in jobs that don’t require a college degree.
- Almost two-thirds of college graduates take longer than four years to complete a bachelor’s degree, increasing their debt.
- Most trade work cannot be automated, and none of it can be shipped overseas.
- Demand for skilled trade workers is at an all-time high. A recent survey found 75% of trade contractors finding it difficult to find qualified workers.
- While most professions have a severe gender pay gap, the U.S. Labor Dept. finds that in the skilled trades women earn around 97% that of men.
- Nearly half of skilled trade workers end up owning their own business or becoming partners in a business.
- Skilled tradespeople are rising in prestige, while the perceived value of college has gone down. A Gallup survey published last July that showed only 36% of Americans expressed confidence in the value of a college education, down from 57% as recently as 2015.
- If you enjoy what you do for a living, you’ll never work a day in your life. That observation holds true for most trade workers. If you enjoy working with tools and seeing useful results of your labor, the trades are for you. Learn more at explorethetrades.org!