College or Vocational Education: What's Best for You?

The first sentence in a recently published article Resources squandered on college education "Most college students do not belong in college" was an eye-opener. The article went on to suggest that "It's time to drop the college-for-all crusade" and that the majority of new jobs in America in the next decade will not require a college degree.  

What really was attention-getting was the statement that "we have a six-digit number of college educated janitors in the U.S." and "one-third of a million waiters and waitresses have college degrees". This is pretty sad, considering the average cost of a college education these days is around $30,000.

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A recent Bloomberg Business article pointed out that jobs for tradespeople often pay more than those requiring a college degree. The article further stated there aren't enough qualified workers to fill many of the job openings in the trades. Many of the skills that are needed to fill jobs today are not even taught in colleges or universities. 

Too often, high school students who do not want to go to college, unemployed people and displaced workers are unaware of training programs that can teach them a trade. It's time for a shift in mentality by educators, career guidance counselors and job placement officers. They need to be made aware that vocational education can often lead to better paying jobs than many college degrees can offer and that there are jobs available for those who have the proper vocational training.

Several months ago, we began a 'news' feature on the ASPA website posting links to human interest stories about people in the screen printing, embroidery, graphics and sign businesses.  A good number of these articles are success stories about printers, apparel decorators, and sign makers who are self employed and have done for very well for themselves. These 'success' stories are not uncommon.  Many of these people in the printing and decorating trades are earning a very good living, enjoying job security and proud that they have become a success in life. 

Vocational training, whether it is to learn how to become a welder, carpenter, or screen printer is something that needs to be expanded today. American Screen Printing Association is doing its part to help that expansion. ASPA Institute is the first school to offer a totally online training course where anyone, anywhere in the world can earn a Diploma in T-shirt screen printing. We are the only training provider to offer 'one-on-one' hands-on training at an ASPA certified, screen printing shop to learn screen printing with experienced, professional screen printers in a real print shop. 

If you think college is just not right for you and prefer to 'work with your hands' in a creative field, consider screen printing. ASPA Institute can help you get on a career path that may be perfect for you.

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