They tell you all the time that college is the only option.
They tell you you will only will be successful if you go to college.
They tell you that you won’t go anywhere if you go to a trade school. They tell you that you won’t have any good jobs.
Little do they know, skilled jobs like welding, hydro-technician, electrician, and many more areas have a high need for more people. People are afraid to go to trade schools because their family, teachers, or even guidance counselor talked badly about trade schools. There is a high need for welders and other tradespeople night now, but because trade schools are sometimes talked about poorly or sometimes not at all, many people don't want to follow their dreams.
Trade schools are extremely important. We need to stop shaming kids about going to a trade school to build their future.
Not everybody wants to go to college. Not everybody wants to be a businessperson or in the medical field. Some people just want to be able to make cool things out of metal, or be an electrician; some want to work on dams to help the fishways. What people do not know is that most trade school jobs pay more than if you went to college.
College is important too, but more schools should talk about trade schools just as they do college. People go to college for six years and end up being thousands dollars of debt while people who go to a trade school aren’t in debt and end up being just as well off and happy as someone who went to college.
Some people I know have a dream of going to a trade school to be a welder but they got talked out of it. You can be just as successful as someone who went to college. Trade schools are just as good. Everyone, but mainly schools, need to stop shaming trade schools and start being more accepting to kids who dream of learning a trade.
Kristy Sullivan is a senior at Richmond High School.
