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Elijah Cross

EN 101

Argument Essay

14 December 2020

How Technology Is Affecting The World

Why should anyone attend a trade school? There are many benefits and pros to attending

a trade school (technical or vocational), but there are also a few downsides and cons to them.

With technology constantly advancing, some believe that people could soon be relying on

technology to do anything and everything for them. However, this is not true, so people should

be pushing others to go to a technical or vocational school and get a hands-on job for multiple

reasons. Hands on jobs give people new and different opportunities, and without them, the world

would not be able to function. Pushing kids into the trades is very important because after years

of sitting in a classroom, it is a good change for kids, people cannot rely on technology for

everything, and there are many benefits of having a hands-on job when it comes to schooling.

After more than a decade of schooling, some kids want to have different opportunities

than having to sit in a room even longer, they want to get out and have an exciting job. Having a

hands-on-job can also be very rewarding because it allows people to see direct results of the

work they put in. In his essay “The Case for Working With Your Hands,” Matthew B. Crawford

states, "A good job requires a field of action where you can put your best capacities to work and

see an effect in the world. Academic credentials do not guarantee this" (Crawford 377).

However, opposition suggests that there are more opportunities after sitting in a classroom

post-high than there are if someone chooses to go into a career after high school, or even after
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graduating from a technical/vocational school. In the article “Four-Year Colleges or Technical

Schools: Pros and Cons,” an unknown author mentions that learning liberal arts makes people be

able to have a larger option for what you can do by giving you a variety of education and

expanding your skills and knowledge (par. 4). Along with providing people with a large variety

of skills and knowledge, most adults who have graduated college believe that college was worth

their time because it helped prepare them for a job and the real world, sospending the money was

well worth the outcome. In Noel Merino’s article “The Rising Cost of Not Going To College,” he

states, “About nine-in-ten adults with a bachelor's degree or more education say that considering

what they and their family paid for their undergraduate education, it has paid off for them or they

expect it will pay off in the future.” However, trade schools offer very little debt so you will not

be paying it off for years and years.

A few jobs have been taken over by technology and machines simply because technology

is constantly advancing but, there will always be manual labor jobs available for people and

people will always have to rely on other humans to live. Some of these jobs include welding,

plumbing, landscaping, etc. These are all jobs that people will need experience from an

individual rather than from a machine, and that is why people should be pushing students now

more than ever. In response to this, the opposition believes that individuals should not push kids

into the trades because in the future, there will still be trade jobs available, but jobs are dwindling

very quickly. In the article “What Jobs Will Never Go Away?” Geneva College makes it known

that technology continues to advance and even though there are many jobs being created, robots

are constantly replacing humans in big numbers, making jobs disappear (par. 1). Because of this,

people should be wanting to join the trades since the pay is on the rise due to the scarce amount
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of professional workers in these fields. However, not all jobs being taken away are just jobs

outside or even manual labor jobs, but there are also several jobs being taken away in other

fields, such as the medical field. The opposition believes that technology could possibly take

away all jobs. In the essay titled “Technology,” an unknown author states, “Emerging

technologies today include not only electronics, but also biotechnology. Biotechnology involves

both the use of technology to solve medical problems and the use of biological science to aid in

industrial processes'' (par. 53). All kinds of jobs are being taken away, not just manual labor.

Before we start pushing kids into jobs, they should first attend a technical or vocational

school since there are many benefits to attending one of these programs. Most people in the

trades do not have to attend a four year university to be able to work, instead, they attend a two

year school where they are left with little debt, which directly contrasts to students that attend a

four year university. A big benefit is that it typically takes trade school students two years to earn

their degree, while it, on average, takes college students four years. In theiressay “Body and

soul: Working With Your Hands Helps Balance Mind and Soul” Heidi Haverkamp et al. state,

“The irony is that skilled professionals like carpenters and HVAC contractors make well over

minimum wage and do not incur large debts for their training, unlike most college graduates''

(par. 3). However, the opposition suggests that if someone attends a four year college, they are

able to have more job opportunities and are more likely to be making more money over time,

even if they started with more debt.

Along with little school debt, another benefit is the pay. Trade school graduates will have

a head start due to not having as many years of schooling and because school is not as expensive.

Trade school graduates are able to receive a real paycheck much sooner than a four year student,
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giving them more time to pay off their student debt and buy the things they need and want. Even

after a few years, the difference between a trade school graduate’s salary and a college graduate’s

salary is very minor. SimplyHired.Com estimates in the essay titled “Trade School Might Be a

Better Choice Than College. Here's Why” that after 30 years, the difference in salary is only

90,000 dollars, with trade school graduates making an average of 42,000 dollars a year (par. 5).

This shows that by taking more time at school, it is not always worth it since there is not, on

average, a significant difference between the two salaries.

With job availability rising and hands-on jobs becoming less common, we should be

pushing kids into the trades. This is very important because after years of sitting in a classroom,

it is good for kids to do something more exciting than sitting all day, people cannot rely on

machines and technology to do every job for them, and there are many benefits of having a

hands-on job. Some of the many pros to trade schools are that they are high in demand, tuition

cost is significantly lower, and people get a head start by only having to go to school for 2 years.

People will have to rely on manual labor jobs, or hands on jobs, for a very long time, if not

forever. Therefore, we should be pushing students to get into the trades now more than ever, even

with the loss of jobs due to constant advancement of technology.

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Works Cited

Crawford, Matthew. “The Case for Working With Your Hands” Acting Out Culture: Readings for

Critical Inquiry, James S. Miller, 4th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018, pp. 368-378.

Funk and Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. “Technology.” EBSCOhost, World Book, Inc.,

Chicago, 2018. Accessed 14 Dec. 2020.

Geneva College. “Geneva College Blog.” What Jobs Will Never Go Away? - Geneva College, a

Christian College in Pennsylvania (PA), 22 Sept. 2020,

www.geneva.edu/blog/career/what-jobs-will-never-go-away.

Hamm, Trent. “Trade School Might Be a Better Choice Than College. Here's Why.” Lifehacker,

Lifehacker, 16 Dec. 2013,

lifehacker.com/trade-school-might-be-a-better-choice-than-college-her-1484086007

Haverkamp, Heidi, et al. “Working with Your Hands Does Wonders for the Soul.” U.S. Catholic

Magazine - Faith in Real Life, 27 Aug. 2020,

uscatholic.org/articles/201808/working-with-your-hands-does-wonders-for-the-soul/.

"The Rising Cost of Not Going to College." How Valuable Is a College Degree?, edited by Noël

Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2016. At Issue. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010971202/OVIC?u=chil38234&sid=OVIC&xid=2f66
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030b. Accessed 11 Dec. 2020. Originally published in

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/02/11/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college, vol.

29, 11 Feb. 2014, Washington, DC.