Mixed in with the pride of watching their sons and daughters graduate from high school, and the tearful realization that this moment marks the end of a certain era, some parents this year must be wondering if any jobs actually await their children.
This deep recession has erased hundreds of thousands of jobs and triggered a historic industrial restructuring that will forever alter many traditional career paths.
Of course, there will be new jobs. But what kinds of jobs? And how best should this generation prepare themselves?
These thoughts occurred to me last Friday night as I watched 1,200 students walk across the stage to receive their degrees and certificates from South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia. Some of them were the first in their families to complete any kind of education beyond high school.
That scene also has played out at Tacoma Community College and other two-year institutions and technical schools around the state.
The students — the young and the not-so-young — lined up at one end of the stage and heard shouts of joy and celebration from family and friends as their names were called. And as they walked, I realized here are our future welders, auto mechanics, dental assistants, paralegals, nurses, chefs, land surveyors, computer programmers and business office workers.
Each of those graduates emerged from one- or two-year vocational programs with a certificate that qualifies them for a job. And studies show that vocational graduates find employment more often than their non-vocational peers, and often earn more, to boot.
Those findings run contrary to the belief that only a degree from a four-year college or university will guarantee you a middle-class lifestyle. Parents want their kids to get a college degree, which they believe will lead to a comfortable professional career by the time they turn 30.
But experience shows a four-year degree doesn’t guarantee a high income. Only about two-thirds of college grads work in their fields of study, and just half of those with professional credentials for teaching or engineering actually work in related jobs.
For many, a four-year degree is the right thing. For many others, our state’s technical schools offer a better alternative, because they train young people for the fastest-growing segments of the labor market.
Consider that there are nine times as many janitors as lawyers, accountants, investment bankers and stockbrokers combined. Health care workers are in short supply and remain so for the next several decades. Our community colleges can’t turn out enough nurses required to fill all the current openings.
There is a demand right now for food service workers and truck drivers.
In the interest of full disclosure, two of my children went to vocation schools and another one pursued an academic career, earned his Ph.D. and currently teaches at a university. But the other two — a dental assistant and a telephone systems technician — both have challenging, family-wage jobs they love.
Our four-year schools and graduate programs provide the necessary venue for creating our future doctors and teachers and architects. We need more access to these institutions, too.
It’s just time to give two-year community colleges and vocational and technical schools the respect they deserve. Professional jobs make up about 20 percent of all jobs in the United States, and only about a quarter of all technical jobs require a four-year degree.
The next time you get your car repaired so you can meet friends at a restaurant for dinner to discuss the new addition to your house and your recent experience at the dentist’s office, say a little thanks to all those who toil passionately at our vocational schools and colleges.
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