As College Debt Soars, Many Young People Turn To Technical Training

Imagine borrowing $50,000 for a four-year degree in a subject you love, like sociology or philosophy. If you like what you're studying enough, price is no object. Sure, your friends might make the tiresome jokes about what you'll be saying most in your first new job out of school: "Would you like fries with that?" and "Paper or plastic?" But they don't derail you from your dream: You're studying what you love.

Once you graduate, though, your debt situation is no laughing matter.

As more and more students pursue bachelor's degrees, the market of entry-level, four-year degree holders is increasingly flooded. It can be difficult enough to find an entry-level job with a humanities degree in even the largest job markets in the country. Add to this the burden of tight competition among many entry-level jobs, and the plight of the bachelor-degree holder in debt seems quite dire.

The college bound typically don't give thought to technical or hands-on careers. The newspapers tell them that steel is dead; automobile manufacture is dying; or everything is outsourced nowadays. Their parents might have negative stigmas towards "the working class," laborers who, though they might earn handsome incomes, work with their hands instead of in a posh office. And, if they make good grades and show aptitude in school, they're pushed into college, not technical training.

And, that's a shame.

There still exist a great number of hands-on careers that cannot be outsourced - and, since the labor help they require cannot be downsized if the need is there, demand for these careers remain steady, or even, increase. Some examples of these technical careers include computer and electronics repair; culinary arts, electrical technologies; and refrigeration and HVAC repair and maintenance. Training for these kinds of careers is quick and affordable: Students either take short courses at specialized technical training schools, or they learn from more experienced workers on the job.

Careers in heating, cooling, and electrical technologies, especially, show major vacancies. Because the demand is so great, and the number of qualified workers is so low, the salaries in these industries are on the rise. In some cases, students can pay off their technical schooling during their first year on the job. By beginning their adult working careers earning livable wages, and entering the workforce unencumbered by major debt, students are able to begin their lives on the kind of solid financial footing that will enable them to build a lifetime of healthy finances.

Indebtedness to financial lenders leaves many college graduates unable to pursue their dreams. Many are forced to take jobs that a high school graduate can just as easily do, such as food service or grocery store staff; retail sales; or clerical work. Many of these jobs offer no vacation time, no benefits, and few or no opportunities for advancement. Should an entry-level college graduate holding down one of these positions need to take time off for illness, family matters, or other issues, they can lose wages, or even be terminated. Then, their debt continues to mount.

The technical and hands-on careers in highest demand, however, start out with hourly wages comparable to those in food service, retail, and even entry-level design and publishing jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the wages of entry-level HVAC technicians, for example, at above $10 per hour. According to Forbes, the average hands-on career wage is 27 dollars per hour, which leads to an annual income of over $50,000. This figure edges the annual average American salary of $43,000 by 7 grand or more.

Compare these facts to how college graduates might fare. Many colleges have well-heeled public relations departments offering seemingly impressive statistics about the average college graduate's earnings versus the average high school graduate's wages. However, these statistics can be misleading. "Average" salaries do not account for the sometimes dismally low wages of entry-level office or service sector careers; and nowhere in any college's statistics are the fates of college dropouts - who may owe immense sums of money to a college, but will leave the institution with no degree - accounted for.

According to Web site www.collegegrad.com, in the summer of 2004, nearly 1 out of every 5 college graduates was employed in a job that required no formal education whatsoever. The economy is in decline as the end of the decade looms - and, a higher percentage of 18-30 year olds have entered or are completing college - so college graduates might fare even worse further down the line. Meanwhile, newly-certified electricians, heating and cooling technicians, and computer and electronics repair persons make similar wages, without burdensome loans to pay off.

As the need for skilled hands-on workers and technicians, particularly in mechanical and electrical fields, rises, so will the earnings. Meanwhile, as the American dollar falls, college tuition soars, and a higher proportion of degree-holding individuals floods the US workforce each year, students who've turned to hands-on and technical careers will find their choices to be even wiser, in hindsight.