Alternate Routes
By Christen Brownlee
Going straight to a four-year school isn't for everyone. Here are four other paths that can lead to rewarding futures.
Charlie Livingston’s high school years in Middletown, Connecticut, were a blur of regular courses and technical classes—he crammed in as much shop, woodworking, and welding as he could handle. Sometimes he’d even hang out with friends who went to a nearby technical high school and help them do electrical work. He knew right away that he loved working with his hands, climbing ladders, and running wire. But when graduation rolled around, he decided to take the same route as many other students in his high school: He started toward a four-year degree.
But after enrolling at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Livingston wasn’t sure what he wanted for a major, and he didn’t like going to class. When he finished his second semester, he dropped out, and decided to pursue the electrical work he really enjoyed.
Now, he’s taking a one-year electrical training program and well on his way to a career as an electrician, a job that can pay more than $33 an hour, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Compared to the $56,000 it takes to attend four years at his state college, the electrical training program costs only about $15,500.
Like many other young people, Livingston originally thought college was his only ticket to an interesting job with a good salary. “Many high school students choose college because they don’t think there’s anything else, or they think adults don’t want to hear any other ideas,” says Ken Gray, author of Other Ways to Win: Creating Alternatives for High School Graduates (Corwin Press, 2000).
But choosing college isn’t the only path to success. According to Gray, about 80 percent of all jobs require less than a four-year degree. In addition, by the time he or she enters the workforce, the average college graduate will be saddled with as much as $22,000 in student loan debt.
“The point is it’s okay to be a little bit different from your friends [who may be going to college],” says Gray. If a four-year college doesn’t seem right for you now, consider these alternate paths:
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Community College
When George Kutnerian was a junior at Fresno Christian High School in Fresno, California, he entered a special “enrichment” program that allowed him to earn college credit by taking classes at the local community college. Kutnerian thought by taking Spanish at Fresno City College, he could satisfy his college language requirements early, but he wasn’t sure what to expect from the community college experience. “I had always thought that community colleges had a negative stigma, but I never really understood why,” he says.
By the time he wrapped up high school with two college classes under his belt, Kutnerian, now 21, had a whole new view of community colleges. After he met with the director of Fresno City’s honors program, a competitive degree program for gifted students, Kutnerian decided that a community college could suit his needs as well.
“I could have gotten into plenty of good four-year schools, but the honors program ended up being the only place I applied,” he says.
For the past two years, Kutnerian focused on business and political science classes and participated in an unexpected wealth of extracurricular activities. He got involved in student government, served as president of an honor society, and joined Upward Bound, a volunteer mentoring program.
Like many states, California offers the top students at its community colleges who meet certain criteria guaranteed admission to many of its four-year state schools if they want to transfer. Because of his outstanding grades and activities, Kutnerian was a shoe-in to transfer into his dream school, UC-Berkeley, where he is currently enrolled.
By going to Fresno City College first instead of Berkeley, Kutnerian paid only about $1,200 per year, as opposed to a whopping $34,000 at University of California-Berkeley. (New Jersey pays all tuition and fees for students who graduate in the top 20 percent of their high school class and attend a local community college.) Also, many students save even more money by staying at home with their parents. But saving money isn’t the only reason to choose community college. Many boast smaller classes, professors who offer plenty of office hours, and a range of courses, like nursing, fashion design, foreign languages, and computer animation. The quality of instruction can sometimes equal that offered at a four-year university.
Community colleges are accessible—there’s one within a short drive of more than 90 percent of Americans. And if you enroll in your late teens or early twenties, you’ll be in good company but certainly with a diverse age range. According to the American Association of Community Colleges, about 55 percent of all students attending community college are age 24 or below.
But according to Kutnerian, community colleges carry some of the same risks as your regular four-year schools. His advice? “Stay focused, or you could be spending six years there instead of the usual two.”
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Trade School
When Stephanie MacDonald graduated from high school, she started working a string of odd jobs, each a little odder than the next. “It got very irritating. I wasn’t making enough money, and I wanted to get a good education so I could have a career,” she says. After miserable stints at a gas station and a couple of pet shops, she settled into a job at a Ford dealership doing paperwork and detailing cars. The truck she drove to work was frequently breaking down, so MacDonald asked her father to help her fix it up after work hours. Something clicked—it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between MacDonald and automotive technology.
Excited by her newfound love, MacDonald decided to check out the automotive technician program at the New England Technical Institute in New Britain, Connecticut. “On my first day of school, it was really scary,” says MacDonald. “I walked into the classroom, and there was only one other girl! I thought, what did I get myself into?” But after several weeks, she was relieved to find that the men in her program didn’t treat her any differently. In fact, since she has been doing so well in the program, guys regularly ask her advice when they’re stumped by an auto diagnostic problem.
When MacDonald graduates from the year-long program this fall, she’ll be ready for a career as an automotive technician, a job that can earn more than $25 an hour, according to the Department of Labor. Besides the great pay, MacDonald counts intellectual stimulation as another perk of her new career. “Figuring out what’s wrong with cars is like a brainteaser, and the technology is always advancing in the field, so you’re constantly learning,” she says.
MacDonald advises that if you’re thinking about going into a trade school, check out the program before you start. Take a tour of the school, make an appointment with a counselor to ask questions, and sit in on some classes and labs. Find out the program’s graduation requirements and any licensing requirements for your chosen field. Then, if you’re still interested, give it a try. “Sometimes you have to jump right in to find out what you like,” she says.
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Volunteering
Jessika Moore, 19, always knew that she wanted to go to college. But after she graduated from Mark Morris High School, in Long View, Washington, she had no plan, no money, and no clue where she wanted to go next.
I didn’t want to waste whatever tuition I was going to have to pay out because I didn’t know where my life was heading,” she says. After telling her mother that she wanted to take a year off, Jessika heard an advertisement on the radio for a volunteer program called the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).
The Corps, part of the federal Americorps program, recruits young people between the ages of 18 and 24 to participate around the country in regional volunteer projects, called “spikes.” Working solely with nonprofit organizations, NCCC members spend 10 months working to fill environmental, education, public safety, disaster relief, and other unmet community needs. Participants get all housing and food paid for, have some limited health care benefits, and receive an education award of $4,725 after the program ends.
Besides earning money for college, Moore says the program has given her life some needed direction. “It’s a really good way to take some time off, figure out what you want to do, and have some experiences with different kinds of people in a new place,” she says. Moore’s team, based in Perry Point, Maryland, learned basic firefighting, disaster relief, first aid, and CPR skills.
For their first spike, the group traveled by bus to Albany, New York, to work with Habitat for Humanity for two months. Everyday for nine hours, Moore hammered together houses for low-income residents. On her next two trips, a “split spike,” she helped people recover from the effects of a hurricane, then built trails on national park land. In addition to the 1,700 hours of volunteer time Moore will spend working with her teammates, she must contribute another 80 hours of personal volunteer work to be eligible for the academic award. During one of her individual volunteer sessions, spent playing sports with disabled kids, Moore discovered that she had finally found her future career. “I was able to realize how much I enjoy teaching kids,” she says. She plans on becoming a sign language interpreter and coach for children.
Even though she’s had a lot of fun, Moore warns that joining a volunteer program like NCCC isn’t a vacation. “You have to be a really hard worker,” she says. “But I know I’ll be more prepared when I do go to college.”
Military
On a whim during his junior year at Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Thomas Matella took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), a test that helps branches of the military determine what jobs new recruits might be suited for. Although his father and uncle had both served in the military, Matella, now 24, was planning on pursuing a career in theater. “I didn’t take the test too seriously—I just wanted to see what score I would get,” he says. However, his scores on the ASVAB were so high that military recruiters started calling and sending letters to his home.
After losing a theater scholarship in a competition later that year, Matella decided to enlist in the Navy’s delayed entry program, in which recruits commit early to join the military right after high school. “I started to see some definite advantages to the military,” he says. Recruiters told Matella about the Navy’s GI Bill and college fund, totaling $30,000 when he enlisted. Unlike his two sisters, who both racked up student loan debt, he planned on getting his education completely debt-free.
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Matella excelled at boot camp. He was chosen early on to lead his division, and he spent the next two years sailing to ports all around the world. While many
of his fellow recruits were out painting the town red in Mayport, Florida, Matella buckled down in the computer labs on base, taking free math, English, and science classes. “They definitely encourage and reward pursuit of higher education,” he says. Every time Matella successfully completed a course, he received an award in a special ceremony. Eventually, he took the SAT on the military’s dime, and his excellent score helped get him into Georgetown University’s School of Nursing in Washington, DC. This year, he completed his undergraduate nursing degree on an ROTC scholarship, an education valued at almost $100,000. For the next four years, he will work as a member of the Navy’s Nurse Corps, tending to patients at military hospitals.
Besides earning a free education, Matella and his fellow recruits have become more disciplined and mature, learned financial responsibility, racked up several merit and financial awards, and had life-changing experiences. But before signing your recruiting forms on the dotted line, Matella advises that you first check out resources at your local recruiting office, make several appointments to meet with a recruiter, and talk to other enlistees.
“There’s not a day that I regret my decision,” says Matella. “The military is such a character-building experience.”
Christen Brownlee is a freelance writer living in Washington, D.C.
