If you’ve been thinking about enrolling in a technical school, then you know it’s a wise decision, especially in today’s economy. While attending college is often the standard, there are several advantages of enrolling in vocational and tech schools. Most technical professions pay well and don’t call for years and years of studies. Additionally, a majority of the programs are quite affordable and include priceless resources like career preparation and job placement. It’s easy to understand why more people are considering trade schools as an alternative to college. Here’s a list of some of the best tech school jobs for lasting careers.
1. Paving Firms
If you’re looking for a career path and not just a job, consider joining the paving industry. This industry offers some of the best tech school jobs. From driveways to parking lots to roads, this industry will always have work to do. The asphalt and paving industry also offers a diverse variety of jobs to suit the skill sets and preferences of different types of people. There are opportunities for those who have certain qualifications or degrees, and work for those who don’t. You also have the freedom of choosing between working with your hands outdoors or at the comfort of an office desk. Jobs in the paving industry include:
- Estimator
- Paving Crew Technician
- Trucker
- Project Manager
- Asphalt Plant Operator
- Safety Professional
- Quality Control Technician
- Crew Foreman or Superintendent
- Heavy Equipment Operator
- Accountant
- Raw Material Supplier
- Dispatcher
- Information Technology Professional
Ultimately, pursuing a career in the paving or asphalt industry is satisfying. Regardless of the position you hold in your team, you’ll be making a valuable and tangible contribution to your community. Paving a road, performing commercial pavement repair, or rehabilitating a local highway is something to take pride in. Maintaining secure and stable roadways promotes the health of the environment, safety, and the economy.
Regardless of the paving firm you end up working for, you can be guaranteed opportunities for career growth. For each position, there are varying levels of experience required. As time goes on, you’ll gain the requisite experience to develop a career in this industry.
2. Auto and Mechanics
Due to the tremendous improvements in automotive technology over the past ten years, the role of automotive mechanics has seen significant growth. Nowadays, cars are more about maintaining a finely calibrated computer system, not just about improving tire pressure. This shift can be seen in the roles available today. In addition to mechanical abilities, car dealerships are increasingly hiring technicians with specialized diagnostic and technical skills. A career as an automotive technician may encompass everything from servicing and performing preventative maintenance to diagnosing and auto repair service. According to CarCareers, entry-level positions in the automotive industry typically pay roughly $30,000. As you gain more experience in auto repairs, maintenance, and computer systems, your pay only gets better. The average pay for auto technicians is $39,600, but industry leaders frequently make six figures!
Jobs in the car industry not only pay well, but they also offer variety in the work you do each day. Because you’ll be working on almost all of the mechanical and electronic systems in cars, you’ll be presented with new challenges each day. Auto and mechanics are also among the best tech school jobs because they equip one with lifelong skills they can take with them anywhere in the world. Another crucial advantage of choosing this career path is how soon you can get started. In just two years, you can complete your auto education and secure employment while still in school. The career path for automotive mechanics offers a wealth of opportunities for growth due to the industry’s ongoing advancement. There are many levels within the role, which could see you begin with maintenance work before moving on to servicing all the systems that power automobiles. You can also advance to management and leadership positions as well as other areas, such as customer service, making it one of the best tech school jobs.
3. Welding
You don’t need a formal education to become a welder, and occasionally not even experience. Welding is a great trade as you can just start working in a workshop and learn everything on the job. If you’re motivated enough, you can even start learning how to weld at home through the internet and eventually launch your own welding business after gaining enough experience. Welding companies all over the world are always looking for welders, and most places have a higher demand for them than the market supply. If you have a good work ethic, you’ll always be spoilt for job opportunities, making welding one of the best tech school jobs.
Even if World War III breaks out, most people would lose their jobs. They may have to learn a new line of work to support their military while welders carry on with welding, just in a different capacity. This happened during World War II. Advancing your career in the welding industry is relatively easy as there is a high demand for welders. With more demand comes more opportunities for advancing your career. For example, there’s a need for someone to oversee each group of welders. This means you can build your own team and complete the tasks you’ve been assigned. In fact, people who recently completed an apprenticeship program are often assigned workers to oversee.
Although welding is not a get-rich-quick scheme, it’s possible to make good money even if you stick to it for a short period. The average starting pay for welders is $40,000 per year, and that salary can rise steadily to between $50,000 and $500,000 per year in a good field. Consider welder training classes because the better you get, the more you’ll earn. When you start managing welders, you get to earn more as well. It’s easy to see why welding is one of the best tech school jobs.
4. Locksmithing and Security
Being a locksmith is one of the best tech school jobs you can have. Locksmiths are in high demand due to their ingenuity and proficiency in helping people enter their cars, workplaces, homes, and everything in between. As a locksmith, you can either be part of a company or run your own business. However, to be licensed as a locksmith, you’ll first need to successfully complete a training course at a nearby college. You must be 18 years of age or older to enroll in a program, and a background check is required before you can be hired. In addition to traditional locksmith training, most programs now incorporate a technology program to equip prospective locksmiths with knowledge of cutting-edge security systems. Finally, after successfully completing your training, you can enroll in an apprenticeship program to hone your skills and get to perfect them in practical circumstances.
5. Home Renovation
One of the best tech school jobs is home renovation since it presents you with a marketable niche. An increasing number of people require home renovation work every year, so your skills will always be in demand. Home renovation can help you in other ways besides earning a decent income. No matter how advanced society becomes, home renovation skills will always be in demand as long as people continue to live in homes. Even if we were to all move to Mars, home renovators will still be needed. The skills you acquire during home renovation training will be helpful in both your personal and professional life.
Regular physical activity has several obvious advantages. However, those who spend their days sitting in a cubicle in front of a screen don’t get enough opportunities to stay active, unless they shell out a lot of money for a gym membership every year. However, with a career in home renovation, you’re constantly active. Whether you’re relocating from one room to another, one house to another, one job to another, or offering HVAC services, you’ll always be physically engaged. In any case, moving about and using your hands is exactly what most home renovators enjoy about their occupations.
6. Electrical Services
Electrical work is one of the best tech school jobs. Compared to most other trades, it pays better. This skill set is extremely in high demand since not many people possess it. The fact that training to be an electrician is often reasonably priced means you won’t build up the kind of debt that others accumulate when pursuing a four-year degree. Another benefit is job security. Regardless of the state of the economy, electricians will always be in demand. You can relax knowing that your skill set will be in demand wherever you go.
If you enjoy hands-on physical work, a career as an electrical contractor is a great idea. Electrical work is physically intensive. You have to move around, climb ladders, stoop, and more. It can almost feel like a built-in workout. For this reason, it’s a fantastic career option for those who enjoy work that combines mental and physical tasks. Being able to work outside the typical office space is another fantastic benefit of being an electrician. Despite being challenging, electrical work is rewarding. It calls for strong problem-solving skills and the ability to act swiftly. It’s also a fantastic career path for those who enjoy putting in a lot of effort but detest working in office environments where they cannot fully utilize their skills.
7. Engineering and Manufacturing
A career in engineering or manufacturing is one of the best tech school jobs if you enjoy problem-solving and operating machines. If you’re looking for a career with job security and stability, engineering and manufacturing should interest you. From environmental and biological, to electrical and computer engineering, an engineering degree opens you up to a wide range of job opportunities. Today’s college graduates will typically have multiple careers throughout their working lives, and engineering can offer a solid basis for nearly all of them. Engineering as a profession calls for creativity. In today’s fast-and-furious social and technological developments, engineers need to be more creative than ever before. Engineering is the perfect career for anyone who loves fielding asking questions, learning new things, inventing, exploring, and creating.
A career in manufacturing is also a great choice. Due to the skills gap in the manufacturing sector, there are more open positions than qualified candidates. A shift toward ‘reshoring,’ or returning manufacturing to the US, and the Baby Boomer generation entering retirement, is a reasonable explanation for this. For this reason, employers in this industry are looking for diligent long-term workers. In fact, according to Polaris MEP, it’s predicted that in the coming ten years, 3.5 million additional skilled manufacturing positions will be created. According to DataUSA.com, the typical manufacturing salary is approximately $63,000. Top this up with the fact that most full-time jobs offer perks like retirement fund contributions and health insurance. Even though salaries can vary depending on region, employer, and expertise, you can make a decent living in advanced manufacturing.
8. Energy
The energy sector touches many people and industries and offers some of the best tech school jobs. We’re all aware of the value of access to electricity, which is why we complain about outages. The economy, the workforce, and even our cultures depend on a constant supply of energy. Whether you get a job in a solar energy company offering solar services, or in a geothermal plant pursuing a career in the energy sector, you’ll automatically be a part of something bigger than you.
Plus, you can use your insider information to educate relatives and friends about their utility bills, available power source options, and energy-saving techniques. Going by the variety of jobs offered by the energy sector, there are diverse ways of breaking into this industry. You don’t need specific qualifications: all you need is a positive attitude toward your work and a willingness to learn on the job to keep up with the industry’s continual developments.
Not everyone needs to enroll in a four-year program. With just a high school diploma, trade schools offer an accessible and reasonably priced alternative to academia. Additionally, they’re linked to careers that offer job security and big salaries. These benefits have, for the most part, been available to college graduates and, for this reason, the benefits of attending a technical school are rather obvious.
