Trade school vs college: is it worth it?

For many people, yes. Skilled trades are typically entered through a paid apprenticeship, so you avoid student debt and earn from day one. Most trades reach journeyman pay in 3–5 years — often around the time a four-year graduate is still repaying loans. The calculator shows where the trade path overtakes a higher-starting but debt-laden alternative.

Your current career grows at a flat 3% a year. The trade path follows a typical US milestone curve in dollars — apprentice start, apprentice end, journeyman, then master/owner — interpolated across ten years. It is a planning model, not a guarantee: it excludes tuition, overtime, benefits and local cost of living. Use it to see the shape of the trade-off, then open a trade guide for real licensing and pay detail.

Often, and sometimes better once debt is accounted for. Master electricians, plumbers and HVAC technicians who own their business commonly out-earn the median college graduate, with no tuition to repay. The gap depends heavily on specialty and whether you stay an employee or start a company — both of which the per-trade guides break down.