At Climb, we believe education is an investment that should more than pay you back for what you put into it. But unfortunately, it doesn’t always work this way. (We’re definitely not the only ones who’ve noticed. According to a recent poll by NBC and The Wall Street Journal, 57% of 18–34 year-olds feel that a college degree isn’t worth the cost.) And with only 21% of US jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree, it’s quickly becoming clear that traditional education isn’t the only way to a good career.
Education isn’t one-size-fits-all, and the right steps to success for one person may not fit well with another. Our mission is to make career and financial goals accessible, regardless of whether someone wants to enter the medical field, computer science, teaching, or truck driving.
We teamed up with New Yorker cartoonist Farley Katz to help illustrate two possible paths students can take when trying to reach their goals.
When it comes to traditional education:
A bachelor’s degree has an average cost1 of
$127,000…
Can take as long2 as
6 years…
Has an average completion rate3 of
60%…
And has a median starting salary4 of
$46,900.
And with a trade school education:
The average cost1 is
$33,000…
It can take up2 to
2 years…
It has an average completion rate3 of
98.4%…
And the median starting salary4 is
$35,720.
How much could your education be worth? Check out our return-on-investment calculator below!
Salary data pulled from payscale.com. Results of calculator are not guaranteed. Numbers are based upon estimates and averages and will vary from person to person. Climb does not guarantee employment or provide employment assistance.
1https://www.thesimpledollar.com/why-you-should-consider-trade-school-instead-of-college/
2https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=569
3https://careerschoolnow.org/careers/trade-school-vs-traditional-college/
4https://www.thesimpledollar.com/why-you-should-consider-trade-school-instead-of-college/