Gen Z is trading textbooks for toolbelts as trade schools see biggest enrollment surge in years! High schoolers are waking up to the shocking truth about what really pays in today’s job market.
Move over, college degrees! America’s smartest teens are skipping university debt and heading straight for the bank. Trade school enrollment is absolutely booming, with vocational programs seeing a jaw-dropping 16% jump in students last year alone. Even more surprising? Construction trades programs have exploded by 23%!
“There’s still a presumption that four-year college is the gold standard, but it doesn’t take as much work to get people to buy into the viability of other options,” reveals a high school counselor from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. At his school, what was once mockingly called “greaser hall” now proudly sits at the main entrance, complete with donated equipment including robotic arms.
Young tradespeople aren’t just finding jobs—they’re commanding salaries that make traditional college grads green with envy. Take Garret Morgan, who trained as an ironworker near Seattle and already makes $50,000 a year while his former classmates are still hitting the books. “Someday maybe they’ll make as much as me,” he says with a knowing smile.
The numbers don’t lie! New construction workers are now earning a median salary of $48,089—higher than what entry-level professionals in office jobs are making. No wonder 75% of young people surveyed last year said they’d be interested in vocational schools offering paid, on-the-job training.
Alezet Valerio, 18, jumped straight from high school to a construction site in Phoenix nine months ago. She expected to learn drywall installation but was stunned when supervisors trained her to operate high-tech robots for site layout. “It’s not at all what I was expecting,” admits Valerio, who now earns $24 an hour overseeing robot work. Sure, her 4:30 a.m. wake-up call is brutal, but she loves building things with her hands.
Industry insiders warn that America desperately needs more skilled workers as baby boomers retire en masse. Some states are going all-in on solutions—Tennessee has made its technical colleges completely free, while Michigan’s governor announced a $100 million proposal compared to the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after World War II.
High schools nationwide are changing their approach too. Schools in Ontario have introduced mandatory technological education credits for students starting high school in 2024, ensuring all teens get early exposure to skilled trades options. Programs like the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program let students start apprenticeships as early as the summer before Grade 11 while still completing their diplomas.
For parents wondering if trades are right for their teens, experts recommend starting with summer jobs, volunteering, or job shadowing to spark interest. Vocational-technical classes in high school offer hands-on experience before fully committing to a career path, while career aptitude surveys can help undecided students find their passion.
With millions of unfilled positions in fields like plumbing, electrical work, and construction—and pay that often exceeds what many college graduates earn without the crushing student loan debt—it’s no wonder the toolbelt generation is building a bright future one skill at a time.
Want to know if your teen could make it big in trades? Click here to take our career quiz!
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