The Case for Community Colleges & Vocational Training
A bright spot in post-secondary American education is the success of community colleges. For one, community colleges are much more affordable. Their tuition costs about $6500 less per year than a four-year public bachelor’s program. Only 1/3 of community college graduates have any debt - most hold less than $13,500 - compared to 2/3 of their bachelor’s degree counterparts with about $30,000 of debt on average. Beyond cost, community colleges also offer something plenty of four-year degree programs lack: Valuable vocational training. Depending on the community college, you can launch a lucrative career in plumbing, culinary arts, electrical work, machining, and aviation among many others at fractions of the cost of a four-year bachelor’s program.
Yet, the four-year degree is king in America. Does it have to be? No. The Democrats running for president love to compare us to Europe. Vocational training is far more common in Europe than in America. So let’s look at vocational training in The EU’s most populous country: Germany.
Look at those stats! German vocational training participation is 14.3% higher than ours, while their tertiary education rate is 17% lower. Four-year BA degrees are tertiary education. Now, look at some of the macro trends associated with this strong focus in vocational training: 22% of German GDP is tied to manufacturing compared to only 12% here. Their Gini coefficient (a measure of wealth inequality) is almost half of ours. Germany is a much more equal country in part because it embraces vocational training.
But, think about this individually. Let’s say you’re a person who prefers to work with their hands. Do you really need to spend the average $165,872 all in total on a four-year bachelor’s degree by default? Even if you’re fortunate enough to receive aid, remember that the full cost of your education is paid for in taxes, donations, and those dreaded loans of yours. - Yeah, we’re spending tax money and goodwill socially on you while forcing you to defer savings via loan repayment on degrees that may not even be right for you in the first place.
Central Oregon Community College in Bend, OR prepares students for airline pilot careers in half the time and half the cost of an equivalent four-year aviation degree.
Then you have to think about the opportunity cost of time. If a four-year college isn’t the right choice for you, you not only took on debt, but you lost four entire years of your life. Four years is 8.5% of the 47 years between your 18th and 65th Birthday. When you fully embrace the time cost of college, those four years must be tailored around your needs, not what our culture thinks is best for you. You saw above how Germany’s emphasis on vocational training helps everyone thrive.
Look, there is still a clear role for BAs, it may be the best choice for you. Just remember that you can save a bundle by doing the first two years of your BA at a community college. It’s an option all students should at least be presented with.
This is no diatribe against BAs, it’s merely an appeal for all of us to be openminded. We all need to support and advocate for alternative forms of higher-ed. That means high schools should stop pushing four-year degrees as the only path to a good life. It means employers must open more roles to people without a four-year degree. On top of that, unfilled well paying vocational jobs are everywhere. By embracing community colleges we can help students build joyful and successful careers, training them with in-demand skills at a fraction of the cost and without crippling them in dept.
Education should lift people up. Community colleges do just that, often through vocational training.