March Lion’s Den: The Future, Let’s Get Technical
This is a recurring column that focuses on community service written by La Grange community Lions.
It is that time of year when students are busy making application for college scholarships, and the April 1 deadline is quickly approaching. These days there are many options for post-secondary education, and one of the all too often overlooked opportunities is technical, vocational or trade schools. Choosing a trade school has benefits as they offer a shorter curriculum, are substantially less expensive, and provide needed skills for short-term employment opportunities.
According to the website DegreeChoices.com, a trade school costs between $5,000 and $15,000 averaging $3,621 a year.This compares to a traditional four-year college where costs often exceed $100,000 over four years, and the tuition has been increasing 5.5 percent a year. Trade school courses are generally completed faster, and for roughly 1/3 of the students who finance their college experience through student loans, the typical four-year college student debt is $35,453, compared to the average technical student who finishes with an average of $10,000 in student debt.
Technical schools offer a great many career paths to choose from with a median salary of $35,270 a year. This compares to the 2021 Fayette County median income of $33,556. Some of the fastest growing health science jobs are in home health assistants, personal aides, physician assistants, and physical therapist assistants with an average annual wage of $69,870. For information technology (IT) careers information security analysts, IT research scientists, web developers, computer support specialists, and software developers earn a median annual wage of $91,250. And in manufacturing, the fastest growing jobs include inspectors, welders, team assemblers, maintenance workers, first line supervisors and industrial machinery mechanics earning an annual wage of $36,230.
Trade or technical school curriculums are designed for students who want hands-on experience to prepare for a specific career, and generally after two years earn a trade certificate. Trade schools offer careers in computer systems information technology, heating and air conditioning, nursing, cosmetology, criminal justice, mechanics and welding, agriculture, culinary arts, aviation and electrical trades. Benefits include lower cost, a faster graduation timeline, fewer admission requirements, smaller class sizes, job assistance and preparation for indemand careers. There are reportedly over 300 trade schools in Texas alone. The Texas Workforce Commission has a list of licensed career schools and colleges that is searchable based on fields of study, course award, method of delivery and location.
The La Grange Noon Lions Club was one of the first service organizations to begin the scholarship award tradition in La Grange, laying the groundwork for the scholarships that are awarded each year. Beginning in 1981, the club awarded one $250 scholarship to a graduating senior at La Grange High School. The La Grange Noon Lions Club has continued to invest in the future of local students by awarding scholarships each year to deserving high school seniors. Almost 40 years later, the club considers multiple student scholarships and we look forward to awarding scholarships to both traditional fouryear as well as technical school applicants.
If you know a student that is interested in continuing their post-secondary education at a technical school, please encourage them to complete an application through the La Grange High School scholarship application process and keep the La Grange Noon Lions club in mind.
The La Grange Noon Lions Club was founded in 1928 with a mission quite simply... To Serve.This Spring, keep our students in mind, and please take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way to serve and help shape our youth in a positive way.
If you are interested in learning more about how we serve our community, or are interested in becoming a member of the club, contact Lion Sam Wilson at sam@offln.com.