College or Technical Certification? Why not both?

Photo Credit: nerovivo

I’m heading off to visit my cousin for her graduation in New York City. She is going to be an Registered Nurse and I’m excited for her. She has worked and gone to school to achieve her goal. I’m happy to be invited and to hang out with her. It’s an 8 hour drive to get there and we’re leaving after work tonight,so I’ll be a bit tired.

The Case for a Technical Certification First

Today I decided to share a post from a relative who calls himself ‘Red Zebra’. (We need better names.) I asked him what was his plans for education after high school and here was his response:

In four weeks from now I’ll be done with my CATV certification. It is basically a 12-week course (8 hours days) that helps me get a job in the telecommunication field. I’m working with fiber optic cables and there are three career paths that this course is covering in its curriculum. (( Note: The average pay for entry level in his city is $18-22/hour.) They even assist in getting you a job if you’re a good student. The cost? $150 for the classes and supplies.

Although I have completed a semester in architecture technology, I wanted to take this course so I can get a higher paying job sooner rather than later. I do plan on going back to college, first online; then full time once I put aside enough money to cover my education and plan it out better.

The only set back of getting a certification is my end goal, to be an RA (Registered Architect), is further off than I planned. But I’m not stressing about it too much since I’m not even 20 yet.

Red Zebra

I think that there are valid reasons for getting a certification even if you want a 4 (or more) year degree. College is getting more expensive and it’s more common to see college students work. If you can get a certification while in high school, I say go for it.

If you can find a decent paying job while going to school, then it relieves some pressure. I wished I had done this in high school, but at the time you couldn’t get an ‘advanced’ diploma and go to the vocational school with taking longer than 4 years. Now, of course, there are a dozen certifications you can get while in high school and prepare for college.

How did you finance college? How would you do it differently? Any advice for ‘Red Zebra?

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