If you live in the U.S., you already know what most people want for their children: a university education followed by a high-paying white-collar job. The decision to earn a four-year academic degree has also traditionally been encouraged by the high school that the students attend, as most are focused on academics and getting students ready for college.

Unfortunately, adults generally don’t prepare good students for anything other than college.
That is an unfortunate mistake, because the career path of a four-year degree is not for everyone. This is something that teachers have long known. In 20/20 hindsight, so do parents and students themselves. But economists are now weighing in as well because millions of good-paying jobs are opening up in the trades. And some pay better than what the average college graduate makes.

The reality is that it is possible for just about anyone to get a particular skill in a particular field and make more than a college graduate. According to www.salary.com, the salary range for an automotive mechanic is between $34,102 and $44,764, and while that may seem less than the salary for a fair number of jobs that require a college degree, starting salary also doesn’t take into account what’s possible once someone gains experience and credentials. According to NADA, a master technician can earn $69,703. A service advisor can earn $62,333. Down the road, in as little as five years, a six-figure salary is completely achievable.

So why has the PR for trade careers not been as glowing as that of college graduates?

Part of the problem is that “averages lie.” Also, according to Anthony Carnevale, the director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, the averages often quoted with salaries of those in skilled trades, when compared with college graduates, tend to lump people who work at RadioShack or Target in with master carpenters and electricians. That skews the numbers.

Sometimes, of course, getting a college degree makes sense. But it isn’t the automatic right choice that so many people think it is. According to Carnevale, “The baby-boom workers are retiring and leaving lots of openings for millennials, many of which are in the trades.”

Student debt is widely referenced as this generation’s top financial concern. Tuition costs, especially during the last decade, have increased to the point where most students have a hard time paying off the loans they had to take out if they wanted to get a university degree.

Pushing students in the direction of something they aren’t 100% committed to, don’t want or can’t afford is not just short-sighted; it is wasteful. A better alternative is to encourage students to use the last couple of years of high school as a time to explore the skilled trades. Using the time this way increases the options students have after graduation. No one is hurt by learning how to work at something that is purely practical. If they want to return to a university later in life, they can. In addition, many workers later in life start their own businesses within the field, using their knowledge and experience to create more jobs for others. In the meantime, they have real-world skills that can make going back to school much easier when and if that becomes something they want for themselves.

When weighing a career in the trades as opposed to four-year college career path, too many people have overlooked the obvious: trade school costs less, takes less time and can be the foundation for a good, well-paid career. Those who take up a trade can work for someone else or start a company. It’s a stable career path.