Students who want to learn a trade in less time than it takes to earn a bachelor’s degree, and in some cases for less money, can look to technical schools and vocational programs at community colleges for the training they need to start a career.
Vocational programs offer skills training and certification in specific career fields such as car repair or welding. The programs are offered by four-year colleges, community colleges and stand-alone institutions. Prospective students will need to weigh several options to find the best type of institution for them.
Luciano Riviera, 21, would work on his car: changing the oil, fixing the brakes and any other repairs he could do in his driveway. He went to Vaughn College in New York to study aeronautics after graduating from high school. After attending the institution for a semester, Riviera realized that a traditional college experience wasn’t for him. He dropped out and worked for a furniture moving company for two years before he decided to complete at 13-month automotive technician certification program at Lincoln Tech nical Institute.
The language used to describe technical schools and the specific programs they offer vary by institution and state. Vocational programs include a wide variety of fields from health care and the skilled trades like those in the manufacturing industry. Some trades are high-earning and in high demand.
[Discover how students can start vocational training in high school.]
Community colleges, or technical schools that have articulation agreements with local community colleges, are a good option for students who want to earn a degree now or in the future, experts say. For example, in Colorado, students can earn a certificate from a technical school and finish the classes they need to complete a degree at the Community College of Denver, says Chris Budden, dean of the center for career and technical education at the college.
Students may earn certifications more quickly at technical schools since those institutions aren’t likely to follow a traditional academic calendar or have issues with class availability.
“There’s no break for the summer because the students that come to us want to start earning an income as quickly as possible. You start in one month and if it’s a 12-month program, you finish 12 months later,” says Scott Shaw, president and CEO of Lincoln Educational Services, a for-profit vocational school system that includes Lincoln Technical Institute.
Specialty schools that only focus on a few disciplines may have more resources, in terms of equipment and personnel, and can offer a more job-focused approach than community colleges, which tend to offer a wide variety of degree programs, experts say.
Unlike degree-seeking programs, technical schools aren’t likely to require traditional classroom study in core subjects like math or English. Instead, students are likely to learn applied math that is specific to their trade, experts say.
Students may find a similar approach at community colleges that offer what are known as stackable credentials. For example, at the Community College of Denver, students working toward an Associate of Applied Science can take general education courses at different points in the degree program.
“It’s not like we require them to take a bunch of psychology, sociology, English and that kind of thing upfront. We start them right off with the courses in the program in which they want to have a career,” says Budden.
[Find scholarships for vocational and trade students.]
Good vocational programs are accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency, get input from industry leaders regularly about the skills students need to be successful in the workplace, replicate the environment and standards students will experience in the field and have qualified instructors and up-to-date equipment to prepare students for today’s work environment, says Bob Kessler, campus president at Universal Technical Institute in Exton, Pennsylvania. The for-profit institution prepares students for careers in the transportation industry.
He encourages prospective students to also look at institutions that can help students meet personal needs, like housing and financial aid.
Prospective students should talk to current students to get a feel for what’s really happening at the institution, experts say.
Ask about job placement rates and find out where most students go to work after graduation, experts say. Under the Department of Education’s gainful employment rule, vocational programs at for-profit colleges and nondegree seeking programs at community colleges have to disclose information on the average debt level of students in the program, job placement rates, graduation rates, average income and program-level default rates, among other items.
[Learn how students can use the new gainful employment rule to evaluate technical schools. ]
Riviera, a technician at Mercedes-Benz in New York says that the school was instrumental in helping him land his position.
“The career services at Lincoln Tech are excellent as far as helping you out and finding a job, and not only a job, one that is close to you,” he says.
A private technical school is likely to be more expensive than a community college, but you can use traditional methods of paying for school, such as scholarships, student loans and federal student aid, to pay tuition as you can with a community college. Schools may also offer payment plans.
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Explore Career Programs at Trade Schools, Community Colleges originally appeared on usnews.com
Correction 02/04/16: A previous version of this article misstated Bob Kessler’s title.
