Traditional wisdom pushes young people toward college as the default path to career success. Karl Studer challenges this assumption based on both personal experience and observations about changing economic realities. His perspective is particularly notable given his success without traditional college education and his regular interactions with highly educated professionals.
The irony becomes apparent at events like college parents’ weekends. Studer was the only attendee without college education among all the parents and families gathered to celebrate academic achievement. Despite this distinction, or perhaps because of it, other parents surrounded him asking how their graduating children could access trade school opportunities. These families had invested heavily in college degrees only to realize that skilled tradespeople now earn two to three times what average college graduates make.
The economic argument for skilled trades has become compelling. Tradespeople face no difficulty finding employment, carry no student debt burdens, and enter earning phases of careers years earlier than college graduates. The infrastructure demands of the current era compound these advantages. Grid modernization, data center construction, and renewable energy development create demand for skilled hands-on workers that far exceeds supply.
Studer is not a fan of college as currently structured, though he loves learning. The distinction matters. Education and credential acquisition are not the same things. Much of what colleges provide could be learned more efficiently through other means, particularly for careers requiring practical skills rather than theoretical knowledge. The time and expense invested in degrees often deliver diminishing returns compared to alternative paths.
The skilled trades also offer something intangible that college cannot replicate. Working with your hands develops motor skills and problem-solving capabilities that office-based careers never build. Someone coming from farm or ranch backgrounds possesses capabilities in their heads that are far more advanced than peers who grew up without hands-on experience. This is not anyone’s fault but reflects reality that different environments develop different competencies.
Society must shift messaging to embrace skilled trades as respectable, viable career paths rather than backup options for students who cannot handle college. The next twenty years will require more tradespeople and fewer college-educated professionals in many fields. The sooner families recognize this reality and make educational choices accordingly, the better positioned the next generation will be for actual employment markets rather than idealized career paths that exist more in aspiration than economic reality.