Life After High School: Alternatives to College

The days of thinking a university degree is the only way to become successful are numbered. Here’s what you need to know about some of the alternatives there are to a traditional college degree and the student loan debt that often accompanies it.

Why You Might Be Looking for Alternative Career Paths

You may be wondering whether going to a university aligns with what you actually want from your career. The good news is you may have other options. However, figuring out which of those options is right for you takes some soul-searching. Some reasons why you may be looking at an alternative career path include:

• Not having the financial means to attend college and not wanting to start life in debt to make it happen
• Not being interested in the classes you took in high school
• Not wanting a career that most college programs support
• Having a concrete plan of action that doesn’t require a bachelor’s degree
• Being unsure of what you want to do and not wanting to pay tuition while you figure that out
• Dreading the very idea of going to college

Questions to Ask Yourself

Many high school graduates feel pressured to attend a traditional college due to social or familial pressure. However, no matter who else may be influencing or playing a role in the decisions you make, there’s only one person who can decide what you do with your career: you.
If you’re considering looking for alternatives to university education, reflect and ask yourself some questions:

• Do you like being in the classroom, or do you prefer to learn by doing?
• Does college make sense for you financially?
• Do you know what you like to do enough that you’d make a career out of it?
• What type of lifestyle do you envision for yourself down the line?
• Does the career you want the most require a degree?
• What are your strengths and interests?
• What do you stand to gain or lose from taking a different path?

And these are just the first few questions to ask. You may end up asking even more upon reflection or figuring out the first steps you need to take by exploring these options.

However, you also don’t need to have an answer for every single one of them immediately. After all, if you’re like most high school graduates, you may be freshly out of a situation where you had to ask permission to go to the bathroom. Take your time with each question, and don’t feel like you have to have all the answers immediately.

What You Can Do Instead

1. Explore Trade Programs

If you like working with your hands or don’t want to feel chained to a desk in a cubicle farm, this may be your best alternative to a 4-year college. The trades, such as plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, mechanical work, and other types of skilled labor, always have some level of demand.

Many community colleges and trade union locals provide certified courses that require a fraction of the time needed to get a traditional degree. They allow you to pick up hands-on, applicable experience while offering careers that pay living wages and provide unmatched job security.

2. Start an Apprenticeship

Apprenticeships are a prized way to pick up a skilled trade or become certified and start a lucrative career on the right foot. Many apprenticeship programs across multiple industries and fields also pay their apprentices to learn their trade.
You’ll get steady, real-time experience for your path of choice, and your employer will benefit from your productivity as you learn—everybody wins!

3. Get Certifications from Community College

Where traditional four-year universities have seen declining enrollment numbers over the last several years, community and technical colleges have thrived—as have their students.

Local community colleges across the world provide an accessible, affordable way to forge a career path in everything from over-the-road trucking to dentistry or nursing. By design, they also provide many opportunities and career paths that universities do not.

While the amount of time and steps you’ll need to become certified depend on the program, most take less than two years by design and cost less than similar programs would in a university setting.

4. Join the Military

Not only does enlisting allow you to serve your country and gain valuable experience—it also allows you to take invaluable trade or education certification programs. The United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP) and the Department of Defense SkillBridge are just two of the programs available to learn skilled trades while you’re on active duty.
Some of the training programs available with this path include:

• Audio-video repair
• Computer programming
• Cooking and baking
• Cyber defense analysis
• Graphic design
• Medical admissions
• Medical lab technician
• Paralegal
• Phlebotomy
• Working dog handling

Many of these skill-based programs also offer other opportunities and certifications that will be valuable assets when and if you ever reenter the civilian workforce.

5. Work with a Career Coach

Even if you’re still torn on which path to take—whether it involves trade school, community college, or entering the workforce immediately after high school—a career coach can guide you toward the path that may be best for you.

These professionals are dedicated to helping you find a career path that you’ll enjoy, whether you’re just starting life out of high school or looking to make a mid-career change. They know which questions to ask that will help you think about what you truly want to do with your professional life and guide you toward the resources you need to get there.

How SkillUp Can Help You

SkillUp is all about helping people from all walks of life find the career they want and connecting them with the training programs they need to get there. Our goal is to help you find full-time work on your terms in the career field you want.
Using SkillUp as a free resource, you’ll find:

• Information on career paths that don’t necessarily require a four-year degree
• Training programs that are both near you and available online from anywhere
• Job openings relating to the training you’ve received
• A work styles quiz to help you understand what lets you thrive at work
• Career coaches who want to help you succeed