By Cordon Jane Phillips and Edward Grimes
Trade school enrollment has been skyrocketing and is actively serving as an alternative to college. A trade school, also named as a technical school is a “a postsecondary educational institution designed to train students for a specific job in a skilled trade career” (Midwest Technical Institute, 2018, p.1). Trade school offers students hands- on training to prepare for a specific job within their chosen field (Midwest Technical Institute, 2018). Some of these specific careers are automotive repair, welding, healthcare, and technology. As the school is concentrated on specific job training, which varies from a traditional four year college. Trade school provides a focused education, so programs can range from eight months to two years (Universal Technical Institute, 2025). Trade school is emerging as a popular alternative due to the hands- on experience and lower costs than a four year college.
Trade school often provides a cheaper and faster pathway to reaching employment (Intercoast, 2024). Trade school allows for a direct path to a high- demand career (Intercoast, 2024). For example, a student can complete a HVAC certification program in less than a year and enter directly into the workforce. Whereas, a four year college degree student might need additional internships or experience to enter into their workforce. Trade school allows for a wide variety of jobs in little time.
Trade school serves as a great alternative to college. For a traditional college, student debt has more than doubled over the last two decades (Council on Foreign Relations, 2024). As of September 2023, forty-three United States borrowers collectively owed more than $1.6 trillion in federal student loans (Council on Foreign Relations, 2024).
The average college student is only continuing to take on more college debt. Students are generally requesting loans more and more because college tuition has “grown many times faster than income” (Council on Foreign Relations, 2024). The cost of college, as well as debt is the highest in the United States (Council on Foreign Relations, 2024). One out of five Americans hold student debt and graduate with around $30,000 in loans (Council on Foreign Relations, 2024).
Student debt is continuing to be a large problem across the United States. For some young people, a college degree is not worth the debt. This is due to the combined costs of tuition, and living expenses. Many young people have opted to delay, drop out, or even refuse to attend college due to the student debt that could hang over them for years to come (Withnall, 2024). Parker White, Ole Miss Senior, explains the hardships he faces trying to pay for his college tuition. "I can say that I am proud to get a college education to do what I love, but it is not for everyone, I have a job on the side with school and it can be extremely tough," White said.
College is still viable to many students across the United States. Yet trade school poses as a strong alternative due to the numerous opportunities and low costs that it offers. Newly collected data from Validated Insights revealed that trade school enrollment has grown by 10% in 2020 (Donadel, 2025). Trade school will only continue to grow as an extremely popular alternative to college.