{"id":8232,"date":"2019-08-28T19:26:23","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T02:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/?p=8232"},"modified":"2025-10-10T14:36:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T21:36:08","slug":"choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/","title":{"rendered":"Hands-On or Textbooks? How to Choose Between Trade School and College"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When it comes to continuing your education, some would say that attending a traditional college or university is the best, or at least the more traditional option out there. But for a lot of us, funds and free time are almost non-existent and the idea of college becomes overwhelming, especially considering the statistics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analyze the Data<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, some 20.4 million students are expected to attend American colleges and universities. Most of those students will spend upwards of $34,000 in tuition fees for either two or four year programs. Regardless of what their degree may be, they\u2019re required to complete general education courses on top of their degree program courses which will add more time and money depending on how they structure their schedule. These fees don\u2019t include what they\u2018ll have to pay for housing and meals or books and supplies. When it\u2019s all said and done, these students will face over $165,000 of student debt for at least the next ten years of their lives. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For those of us who aren\u2019t interested in taking the same courses over and over again to fulfill a requirement or signing our lives over to the loan department, there are other ways to learn for almost 20 percent less than what the average college student pays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re talking about trade schools and we think they\u2019re a super cool hands-on type of education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pros & Cons (Mostly Pros) of Attending a Trade School <\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Trade schools, also known as technical or vocational schools, teach students specific skills that are related to certain jobs in the trades industry, such as automotive technology, welding and commercial truck driving. Most of the educational training is hands-on with students participating in actual scenarios that occur in real life, rather than burying their noses in books. Not only will students learn first-hand knowledge from the industry\u2019s leading professionals, but they will save a lot of money and time, as well as gain an advantage in the workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average cost of a trade school is less than $7,000 per program with each program lasting less than a year. Compare that to a traditional college where you\u2019ll pay at least $34,000 per year for classes you already took in high school. And don\u2019t forget that unless you\u2019re taking a hundred classes a day, it\u2019s nearly impossible to earn a degree in just one year. With trade schools, it\u2019s a one and done type deal. Do good in school and earn a certificate in less than a year! <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

With trade schools, you don\u2019t need to take a test to see if you\u2019re qualified. If you want to learn a skilled trade and find a good paying job, that\u2019s enough to qualify you! Luckily, there are trade schools in virtually every state so you won\u2019t have to pay out of state tuition or housing fees. If this doesn\u2019t get you motivated to check out a trade school, then we don\u2019t know what will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PLUS, Arc-Zone.com\u00ae has all of the welding accessories, consumables, and apparel you’ll need to outfit yourself with the proper gear for your program. Now you can look the part and do a da** good job at it with all of the latest and greatest welding supplies delivered right to your door. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"unique<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Watch this video to learn more about our Favorite Tools for School<\/a> or just head on over to www.Arc-Zone.com<\/a> for our entire lineup! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Attending a 4-year university may be the most traditional route for any high school graduate. But for some of us, tuition fees and boarding expenses are just not in our budget.<\/p>\n

That’s where trade schools come into play. Plus, the outcome of getting a job right after course completion is highly likely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,18],"tags":[180,183,178,182,57,181,179],"class_list":["post-8232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-welding-education","category-welding-tips","tag-basic-welding","tag-college","tag-trade-school","tag-trades-industry","tag-welding","tag-welding-program","tag-welding-supplies","entry","fw-tab-6 fw-tabr-4"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nHands-On or Textbooks? How to Choose Between Trade School and College - Joe Welder\u2122 Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The pros and cons of choosing a trade school over a traditional university. Arc-Zone.com shares how much time and money is saved by going to a trade school.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joe Welder\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/28\\\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/28\\\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Joe Welder\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d11eef7e30a3295231fc0ea473ff9505\"},\"headline\":\"Hands-On or Textbooks? How to Choose Between Trade School and College\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-29T02:26:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-10T21:36:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/28\\\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":602,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/28\\\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/wp-content\\\/new_ups\\\/cropped-s1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"basic welding\",\"college\",\"trade school\",\"trades industry\",\"welding\",\"welding program\",\"welding supplies\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Education\",\"Welding Tips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/28\\\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/28\\\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/28\\\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hands-On or Textbooks? How to Choose Between Trade School and College - Joe Welder\u2122 Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/28\\\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/28\\\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/wp-content\\\/new_ups\\\/cropped-s1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-29T02:26:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-10T21:36:08+00:00\",\"description\":\"The pros and cons of choosing a trade school over a traditional university. Arc-Zone.com shares how much time and money is saved by going to a trade school.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/28\\\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/28\\\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/wp-content\\\/new_ups\\\/cropped-s1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/wp-content\\\/new_ups\\\/cropped-s1.jpg\",\"width\":563,\"height\":316},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/\",\"name\":\"Joe Welder\u2122 Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Arc-Zone.com, Inc.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/wp-content\\\/new_ups\\\/Circle-A-Logo2021_PANTONE.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/wp-content\\\/new_ups\\\/Circle-A-Logo2021_PANTONE.png\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":977,\"caption\":\"Arc-Zone.com, Inc.\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/ArcZone\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/arczone\",\"http:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/arc_zone\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/arczone\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/ArcZoneVideos\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d11eef7e30a3295231fc0ea473ff9505\",\"name\":\"Joe Welder\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arc-zone.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.arc-zone.com\\\/joewelder\\\/author\\\/editor\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hands-On or Textbooks? How to Choose Between Trade School and College - Joe Welder\u2122 Blog","description":"The pros and cons of choosing a trade school over a traditional university. Arc-Zone.com shares how much time and money is saved by going to a trade school.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joe Welder","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/"},"author":{"name":"Joe Welder","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/#\/schema\/person\/d11eef7e30a3295231fc0ea473ff9505"},"headline":"Hands-On or Textbooks? How to Choose Between Trade School and College","datePublished":"2019-08-29T02:26:23+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-10T21:36:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/"},"wordCount":602,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-content\/new_ups\/cropped-s1.jpg","keywords":["basic welding","college","trade school","trades industry","welding","welding program","welding supplies"],"articleSection":["Education","Welding Tips"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/","name":"Hands-On or Textbooks? How to Choose Between Trade School and College - Joe Welder\u2122 Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-content\/new_ups\/cropped-s1.jpg","datePublished":"2019-08-29T02:26:23+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-10T21:36:08+00:00","description":"The pros and cons of choosing a trade school over a traditional university. Arc-Zone.com shares how much time and money is saved by going to a trade school.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/2019\/08\/28\/choosing-between-a-trade-school-or-traditional-college\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-content\/new_ups\/cropped-s1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-content\/new_ups\/cropped-s1.jpg","width":563,"height":316},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/","name":"Joe Welder\u2122 Blog","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/#organization","name":"Arc-Zone.com, Inc.","url":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-content\/new_ups\/Circle-A-Logo2021_PANTONE.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-content\/new_ups\/Circle-A-Logo2021_PANTONE.png","width":1024,"height":977,"caption":"Arc-Zone.com, Inc."},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ArcZone","https:\/\/x.com\/arczone","http:\/\/instagram.com\/arc_zone","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/arczone","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/ArcZoneVideos"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/#\/schema\/person\/d11eef7e30a3295231fc0ea473ff9505","name":"Joe Welder","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.arc-zone.com"],"url":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/author\/editor\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8232"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9657,"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8232\/revisions\/9657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/joewelder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}