Benefits of Vocational Schools Versus Universities

As you are nearing your high school graduation, you need to think about what sort of career you would like. This is not the same thing as the job you currently might have working at a fast food restaurant, grocery store, or delivering pizzas. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life doing this job? Chances are probably not, so you will have to earn some additional skills and education after high school.

Benefits of Vocational Schools in NYC

Two potential career training options are to either enroll and attend university or a vocational school. Vocational schools are trade schools offer programs in highly demanded career fields where the need for employees is expected to experience continued growth for the foreseeable future.

There are key differences between the two, and it is important for you to consider and compare your options. Let’s take a look at some of these and where vocational schools can be a better choice.

The Time Required to Graduate

Most university programs take four years to complete. If you want to graduate with your bachelor’s degree in four years, it is often difficult to find time for a job, so you must fully dedicate yourself to your studies. On the other hand, if you attend university part-time and work, it can take anywhere from six to eight years to complete your program and graduate.

With career training programs in NYC, like here at ABC Training Center, it takes about a year, on average, to complete you career training—sometimes less, sometimes a little longer, based on the training program. Plus, we offer options between weekday and weekend classes, so you can still maintain a part-time or full-time job.

Vocational Schools in New York City

The Cost of Your Education

Unless you have a full-paid scholarship to a four-year university, there are all sorts of costs you will incur, including:

Housing
Enrollment Fees
Application Fees
Courses/Classes
Books/Study Materials
School Supplies
Meal Plans

With a vocation school, you can still have some of these expenses, like paying for your classes and books. However, since your program is shorter in duration, the overall costs for your education will also be less.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average total cost for a four-year bachelor’s degree is $127,000, compared to about $33,000 for completing a career training program. Keep in mind, these figures can and do vary, based upon geographical location, cost per credit hour, and other such factors, so your actual costs may be more or less.

In addition, most four-year programs require students to take non-essential classes not directly related to their career and degree. For instance, you may be required to complete a number of credit hours in humanity courses, even though you are obtaining a degree in engineering.

With vocational training programs, you only take courses directly related to your career. This means, if you choose to enroll in medical training programs in NYC here at ABC Training, your classes will be specifically about medical training, based on the career you have selected, such as a medical assistant.

Amount of Debt After Graduation

It is not uncommon for students to graduate from university with student loan debt. The average was around $32,000 for graduates in 2014, according to research collected by the Institute of College Access and Success (ICAS). This does not include the interest repaid on the student loans, so the actual amount paid back jumps much higher.

Even if you do take out a student loan for your vocational training, the amount of debt you incur could be much less. The average student loan debt for a career training program is around $10,000, based on the same research data collected by the ICAS.

Career training center in New York City

Job Security and Opportunities

The benefit of vocational training is the programs are in careers that tend to offer better job security because they are more difficult to outsource overseas. In addition, as previously mentioned earlier, the jobs are in fields with high growth potential and demand for employees.

Whereas, with a bachelor’s degree, there really is no guarantee you will land a job in your career after you graduate. Over the past decade or so, recent college graduates are finding it more difficult to start their careers and are having to take jobs in fast food and retail and may never even be offered a job in their desired career for several years.

As you can see, vocational training has its advantages over attending university you do need to consider when deciding on your future career path. For information about different medical training programs in NYC here at ABC Training Center, please feel free to contact us at (718) 618-5589 today!

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