I won't knock a traditional college education, for several reasons. Peoples is different, and everyone chooses their own path. I'm all in favor of that freedom of choice.
In addition, I have friends who teach in such settings, and they are good people, doing what they believe in.
Now, the *financial* ruin a traditional college education can bring, THAT I can knock. Once the Gubermint got involved in college loans, it all went to hell. The downward skid of value Vs. price is directly and inversely proportional to the number of school loans backed by taxpayer loan guarantees.
To put it in small words.... once college administrators found they had a steady influx of students who had ever increasing loan money, they jacked up the price and expanded their miniature third-world kingdoms.
That is just one of the reasons I really believe in what I do. Instructing in a technical school. Car-College if you will.
Yes, my students take on a debt. Most of them, anyway. Yes, most of it is backed by Gubermint loan guarantees. That is no different than for us than traditional academic joints.
What is different.... our graduates are actually in high demand. Compensation Vs. loan amount allows our graduates to pay off their loans in just a few years if they wish.
On top of that, a considerable portion of our graduates see their student loans paid for them by employers who are thrilled to finally be getting trained employees to fill their long standing empty rosters. Employers fight over our better graduates, to the students benefit.
In addition, due to an age old stigma enforced on for-profit technical schools, we are held to much higher standards than a traditional school when it comes to being part of a loan guarantee program. Our accreditation comes not with strings, but veritable hawsers.
We must have completion rates that traditional colleges can only dream of... if they cared at all. Our students must demonstrate their employability as graduates by actually getting verifiable jobs in our industry. 88% of our graduating students are going directly into the industry we trained them for.
Our students are held to VERY strict attendance guidelines, and must be in class 90% of the time, or better. No skipping classes and still passing. That fail is built into our system, as some students find to their chagrin.
Most of all, I enjoy changing lives for the better. Last week I had a student tell me he finally talked to his father after years of estrangement, because now he was doing something good with his life he was proud of.
Last week I had a student describe how he's planned the next ten years of his career, beginning with a dealership in his home town who's agreed to pay his entire tuition if he will only work for them for the next few years after he graduates from our school
Two weeks ago a graduating student who I had in electrical courses came to thank me. He's leaving us to go to a job making in excess of 70K a year, and yes... they are paying his tuition on top of that.
I love what I do, and hope to keep doing it the rest of what life I have I have left.
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