High School

Careers After High School: Finding The Right Path For You

Employers aren’t looking for the person with the highest GPA or the star athlete on the team. Employers are looking for people with the right skills to fill essential jobs, such as HVAC/R technicians, welders, medical assistants, dental assistants, phlebotomists, medical coders, and truck drivers. These are not typically jobs you can start straight out of high school – you have to train for these careers.

Midwest Technical Institute (MTI) provides high schoolers an alternative to the traditional 2-year and 4-year education route. Most of MTI’s programs and courses can be completed in less than a year, which means you’ll be finished with your training and enter into the workforce while your fellow high school graduates are still sitting in lecture halls. MTI offers hands-on training led by instructors with real-world experience to prepare you to begin your new career path after high school.

Are you a parent of a high schooler? Check out The Ultimate Guide to Trade School for Parents.

Job vs. Career: What’s the Difference?

Over the course of your life, you will spend almost 100,000 hours at work. In order to choose the best path after high school for you, it’s important to understand the difference in choosing a job out of high school versus receiving training for a career.

So, what is the difference between a job vs. career?

A job is a place you go to work – you likely don’t want to stay there forever, because there is limited opportunity for growth.

A career is a long-term path that offers the opportunity to advance professionally, as well as financially. Throughout your career, you will grow and advance your skill set. If you choose a career path you’re passionate about, you can also experience the fulfillment and satisfaction that comes from spending your time doing what you enjoy.

Ultimately, a career offers the opportunity to earn higher wages and to grow your skill set over time, versus working at a “dead-end” job that only requires a fixed set of skills and does not challenge you to grow. However, many careers require training before you can enter the workforce, so it’s important to find the right educational path for you.

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Are Trade Schools Worth It?

There are several benefits of trade school, as students can graduate with less student loan debt, enter the workforce sooner, and learn skill sets for careers in demand. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports some of the occupations with the most job growth include jobs within allied health or mechanical trades, such as home health aides, medical assistants, nursing assistants, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, and maintenance and repair workers (general).