Why You Should Consider a Trade School

Staff Writer
Apr 27, 2022

Getting done with high school is a great moment for most students. But, after school’s out and the diploma has been framed and hung on the wall, plenty of newly-minted adults think, “Now what?”

College doesn’t have to be the automatic next step after high school. You have options. A trade school or accredited college like Joyce might be a lot better for you. If you already know what kind of career you want, then perhaps you don’t want to take a bunch of extra classes unrelated to your field. Why waste time (and money) on classes you won’t use, when you can get the education and expertise that’s right for you while preparing yourself for the career you want?

Consider Student Debt

At the end of a four-year program, you put on a graduation gown and mortarboard, walk across the stage, they hand you a diploma … and then you also get the bill.

Getting a bachelor’s, or master’s, or doctorate can also mean signing up for years and years of debt. According to The Simple Dollar, the average cost of a bachelor’s degree in the U.S. is $127,000. (That’s without taking interest into consideration.) And 70 percent of students take out loans to pay off that big chunk of change.

You’ll still have to deal with tuition for a trade school, but a two-year program is almost certainly going to cost you far less.

Get Your Degree Quickly

A bachelor’s degree is supposed to take four years to complete, yet oftentimes students spend even longer. Going back to The Simple Dollar again, 64 percent of college students took more than four years to graduate. That’s over four years of being out of the workforce, combined with limited resume building and networking. All the while, that debt is going up and up.

Joyce’s programs will get you out there in the world faster than a four-year college will. Our nursing program, for instance, can get you out in the field in about 20 months. Same with our occupational therapy assistant program. If you want to be a medical assistant or dental laboratory assistant, you can finish in a year. That means more time to get a salary, save money, and do the work you love.

Get a Degree That Fits Your Goals

Make no mistake, having a bachelor’s degree is still valuable, and plenty of jobs also demand a master’s or even doctorate. But there are also a ton of jobs out there that need the more specific and specialized education that only trade-oriented programs can give you.

Going to a professional school means you are pursuing your education in a focused way. Every last one of your classes will be concentrated on your goals. Every assignment serves a purpose in your career development. After a year or two at Joyce, you’ll be an expert in your field. You’ll know how to communicate with patients, how to conduct tests and experiments, how to manage staff — practical, immediately applicable skills. And you’ll do all that surrounded by a group of like-minded people who are on the same path as you. The people you crack the books with might even be your colleagues some day.

Related resource: 15 Highest Paying Nursing Jobs

Get a Future-Proof Job

We live in an age of extraordinary technology. Medical professionals have access to computer assisted design, cutting-edge analytics, and collaborative tech. The tests run by MAs in the future will use techniques and machinery that few people today are even aware of. Tomorrow’s DLTs will sculpt teeth with lasers and 3D printers.

Will those machines replace nurses or MAs? Never. Patients can’t receive adequate care from of-site workers or machines. The human touch is still essential, no matter how good communication technology or automation becomes. If anything, that new technology will make your future job better and more exciting, not more precarious. Studying to be an RN, MA, DLT, or OTA provides entry into a necessary, in-demand field that will be active for years to come.

If you’re thinking of beginning your studies with Joyce, learn more about our admissions process and financial aid.

And if you’re trying to figure out what to do post-college, we’d love to hear from you! Learn more.