Four-year colleges are advantageous to students who enjoy school and love learning. These schools generally vary in size, offer a range of majors and other choices for students, and have diverse and well-qualified professors. Students earning a bachelor's degree from four-year universities may be more marketable when seeking employment after graduation, as some employers hire only those with four-year degrees. According to an article in Bloomberg Businessweek, people who earn a four-year degree earn substantially more over the course of a lifetime than those who do not. College students often build professional networks, benefiting from them throughout their professional careers.
According to an article on the Peterson’s website, many highly popular four-year colleges and universities have very complex admission requirements and students who struggled in high school might not be accepted. Four-year colleges and universities also can leave students with significant debt. Four-year colleges often are unable to provide much personal attention to students, and classes may be much larger. Some large universities rely on graduate students to teach classes instead of more qualified professors. Professors often are involved in more lucrative research projects, as was reported by CBS News in “Why Don’t Professors Like to Teach?” and may not be available for students to contact with questions or concerns.
Trade schools are a good option for students who have specific job interests. Students learn job-specific skills and often have an opportunity for on-the-job training in areas such as radiology, dental hygiene, automotive repair and nursing (licensed practical nursing programs). Trade schools are widely available and may be a good choice for commuting or non-traditional students. Students may be able to begin a trade school earlier than four-year universities through high school vocational programs. Although tuition costs vary, non-profit trade schools often may be cheaper because the lengths of their programs generally are much shorter than four-year colleges. Trade schools often are a good choice for students who struggle academically. They often allow for more interaction with instructors and have smaller classes. According to an article by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many trade schools prepare students for careers in high-paying industies, sometimes earning more right out of school than students earning bachelor's degrees.
Trade schools teach students a very specific trade. If a trade-school graduate is in an industry that falls into decline it may be more difficult to find employment. For students who wish to change majors or areas of study, there may be very few transferable classes. Because they only study one specific area, students may not discover a talent or interest in other subjects. Technological advances may reduce the need for certain trades, rendering training useless. Instructors may be less experienced or qualified than those at four-year colleges. For-profit trade schools may be very expensive for students yet leave them a degree that many employers do not find credible. As was reported in the New York Times, some for-profit trade schools cost nearly as much as some prestigious four-year private universities, yet many students graduate without job prospects or ways to repay their substantial student loans.