It’s that time again; time to start preparing for the after life…. or the life after high school, at least. For the freshman and sophomores, that overwhelming day still seems distant enough to ignore, but for the upperclassmen (and especially the undecided seniors) that time is now upon us. The hunt has begun- campus tours, résumés, and lectures for the juniors- lectures about college, at any rate.

As a junior, it’s becoming clear what life is really going to be like for our generation becoming adults in this tough economy. For years, high school upperclassmen have been steered towards one central goal- college. After all, haven’t we been promised happiness, security, and even wealth via that four-year path leading to a bachelor’s degree? Anymore, that slip of paper is becoming less of a crutch which promises security but more of a large, generic bill which is costing more than it’s worth.

Kids go to college and take out tens of thousands of dollars in student loans each year, assuming that when they get that sought-after bachelors degree, they’ll be able to get a great job and pay it all back. However, more and more students who attended a four-year college are finding that the jobs which they worked so long and hard to obtain just aren’t there, and the recession isn’t helping.

Studies are showing that unless a student is going to get a full-paid scholarship or follow up a bachelors with a masters, college won’t pay off. This calls for many students, especially those in the bottom 40% of their class, to rethink their post-high school plans. For many students, technical school is quickly becoming the new college. For example, electricians make an average of $48,000/ year and plumbers bring in $47,000! These jobs not only pay above the national average, but they also take only two years to train for and can almost guarantee a job right outside of your schooling, something that college just cannot guarantee anymore.

For KHS students, Mrs. Hagamen is the person to turn to for information on colleges and other schools. When asked if she had seen a change in the number of students planning to attend college, she replied that she hasn’t yet, but expects the number of students attending a tech school to rise in accordance to the fall of the economy.

Due to the excessive internet use of our generation, there aren’t many brochures or informational packets in the office anymore, so kids interested in tech school will generally have to go through the school’s websites.

In the past, technical schools have been almost looked down upon, but along with the changing times, our opinions of tech schools are changing, too. What was once an easy path to a second rate job is now a credible and desirable route.