Blog

College dropout rates are higher than you think. The number of students who haven’t completed the courses require to graduate are higher than you might believe, as well. If there’s any good news to this scenario, it’s that both dropout and non-completion rates are improving. Still, the National...

If you’re in high school right now, you’ll have to work until you’re 67 years old before  being fully entitled to your Social Security retirement benefits. It means you’ll be working for 50 years or maybe even more. Deciding on a career and your next level of education has never been more important...

Yes, you are supposed to love what you do for a living. You’re going to spend about eight hours a day doing it, so it makes sense to be sure you’ve made a wise choice. Is every minute of a good job going to be enjoyable? That’s an unrealistic expectation. Most of the time, though, […]

It’s both interesting and frustrating. When it comes to language, seldom is there just one and only one word to describe something. It’s why some of us say we have a job, while others say it’s a career, and yet a different group might refer to it as a vocation. These three terms generally mean...

Many social pressures compel people to go to college whether they want to or not, whether they can afford to or not. This wasn’t always the case. Prior to World War II, less than 5% of American adults held a college degree. Only jobs at the highest professional levels required one. A big change occurred...

In my last blog, I pointed out that in many cases no experience is necessary for people looking at a trade career. Many employers, trade service firms in particular, place a higher value on personality than past experience. As long as you have a mechanical aptitude, they can train you in a relatively...

Many people who enter the trades go in through the back door. By that I mean they had no intention of looking for a job in the trades, but a job found them. How does that happen? Well, there is a severe shortage of skilled trade workers and that causes many employers to develop their […]

Many people in the trades express admiration for the trade apprenticeship programs in Germany and some other European countries. As this article points out, whereas in Germany some 60% of young people train as apprentices in various skilled trades, the comparable number in America is only 5%. That’s...

It’s college’s “ugly stepsister.” Many students don’t even consider trade schools as a next-step after high school. Even parents register concerns due to completely misplaced ideas and stereotypes about career opportunities after completion. The truth is that trade schools are ideal for some...