Parents Increasingly Support Non-College Career Paths for Teens

Parents are increasingly recognizing that college is not the sole path to a lucrative career for their children post-high school. As more high school graduates explore trades, apprenticeships, or other forms of postsecondary education, parental support for these alternative career paths is growing. A recent report indicates that 70% of teens acknowledge that their parents are supportive of them pursuing options other than college after high school.

With the rising cost of college, it is understandable that younger generations are considering alternatives to a four-year degree. Historically, attending college was seen as a guaranteed route to a successful and well-paying career. However, there is a growing number of high-paying jobs that do not require a college degree. Parents are taking notice of this shift. The days of parents encouraging or even insisting that their children attend college are numbered. A recent study by American Student Assistance, which surveyed over 3,000 middle- and high-school students, revealed that 70% of teens report that their parents are more supportive of them forgoing a college education in favor of other pursuits such as trade school or an apprenticeship.

“Parents are waking up. College doesn’t carry the same return on investment it once did because the cost is outrageous, and the outcome is uncertain,” said Trevor Houston, a career strategist at ClearPath Wealth Strategies. “Students now face the highest amount of debt ever recorded, but job security after graduation doesn’t really exist.”

The average cost of college in the U.S. is more than $38,000 per student per year, and this cost has more than doubled in the 21st century. Private schools often cost even more. Meanwhile, more than 4 million Gen Zers are jobless, attributing their unemployment to their “worthless” college degrees.

Many parents are realizing that while the traditional career path—high school to college to a job—has worked for some, others are looking for something that better suits their career aspirations. “Many students today are looking for faster, more affordable routes to the workforce,” said Julie Lammers, executive vice president at American Student Assistance. “We need to do more to better support and validate those goals.”

While college was once the mainstream option after high school, there are now multiple pathways to career success. These include skilled trades, apprenticeships, career-training programs, bootcamps, industry certifications, and occupation licenses. These career paths are often referred to as “new-collar jobs,” a term introduced by IBM. In October 2017, IBM launched its apprenticeship program to train people for new-collar jobs that prioritize skills over degrees. Their program focuses on training in cybersecurity, design, data science, mobile development, cloud, artificial intelligence, and blockchain—career paths that often lead to six-figure salaries.

There are several jobs that often do not require a four-year degree but offer six-figure salaries. These include marketing manager, human resources manager, sales manager, computer network architect, general and operations manager, information security analyst, sales engineer, health services manager, art director, and construction manager. Trade jobs are also an attractive and lucrative opportunity for recent high-school grads. These encompass many jobs and different kinds of opportunities, from the construction or the growing energy market to the agriculture and transportation fields. “The skilled trades may be a more attractive option for a student who prefers hands-on learning or wants to enter the job market sooner than a traditional college degree would allow,” Lammers said.

Many Gen Zers are choosing to go into trade because they see it as a “straight path to a six-figure job.” Elevator and escalator installers, for example, take home just over $100,000 a year on average, and these jobs require just a high-school diploma. Other trade jobs that do not require a college degree and pay six figures include aircraft mechanics, plumbers, pipe fitters, steamfitters, construction managers, industrial electricians, and energy technicians.

The demand for these jobs is expected to continue growing. “An aging workforce in the trades and a surge in demand to meet infrastructure needs, ever-growing real estate demands, and changes to U.S. energy production mean that there are considerably more job openings than skilled workers to fill the need,” Lammers said. The time is now for students to start thinking about their future career paths. It’s important for them to start exploring what their jobs could look like—but there’s no pressure to pick a permanent path. “Their current stage of life gives them the opportunity to identify what they love while they are free from major responsibilities,” Houston said. “Experimentation at an early stage will prepare them to build a life based on their true desires instead of following paths set by others.”