Many parents and kids alike are wondering whether college has the same return on investment it once did. And they have reason to worry: Hiring just hit a level not seen since the economy was “closed down literally” during the pandemic.
Going to college was once seen as a one-way ticket to a successful and lucrative career. Still, there are a growing number of six-figure jobs that don’t require a degree, while entry-level job opportunities for recent graduates remain sparse.
Some parents are so anxious about today’s job market that they’re exploring alternatives to the four-year degree, with one in three open to the idea of their kids attending a trade school instead, according to late 2025 survey results from Britebound (formerly American Student Assistance), which surveyed more than 2,200 parents of middle and high school students about their attitudes, perceptions, and decision-making regarding their kids’ post-high-school plans.
The fact that 35% of parents believe career and technical education is best suited for their children represents a major jump—from just 13% in 2019, according to Britebound. While parents still prefer traditional college for their kids, it’s much less so than in the past. The percentage of parents preferring it dropped to 58%—a 16 percentage point drop from 2019.
And another study from Britebound last summer shows it goes both ways: 70% of teens also report their parents are more supportive of forgoing a college education for something different, like trade school or an apprenticeship.
“Parents are waking up. College doesn’t carry the same [return on investment] it once did, because the cost is outrageous, and the outcome is uncertain,” Trevor Houston, a career strategist at ClearPath Wealth Strategies, previously told Fortune. “Students now face the highest amount of debt ever recorded, but job security after graduation doesn’t really exist.”
The average cost of college in the U.S. is more than $38,000 (including tuition and room and board) per student per year, according to the Education Data Initiative, and the average cost of college has more than doubled this century. Private schools almost always cost more than the average. Meanwhile, more than 4 million Gen Zers are jobless and blame their “worthless” college degrees.
Trade jobs that pay six figures without a degree
One of the primary reasons trade school is becoming a more popular option for students is its potentially strong ROI, especially as college becomes more expensive and fewer traditional entry-level jobs are available. And many can land recent high school grads six-figure salaries.
According to the National Society of High School Scholars, some trade jobs that don’t require a college degree and pay six figures include:
- Aircraft mechanics ($135,628)
- Plumbers, pipe fitters, and steamfitters ($132,275)
- Construction managers ($130,000)
- Industrial electricians ($122,500)
- Energy technicians ($115,076)
What’s more, the need for these workers will continue to grow, especially as older generations who work in trades start to retire, Julie Lammers, president and CEO at Britebound, previously told Fortune.
“An aging workforce in the trades and a surge in demand to meet infrastructure needs, ever-growing real estate demands, and changes to U.S. energy production mean that there are considerably more job openings than skilled workers to fill the need,” she said.
How much does trade school cost vs. college?
Aside from trade school, students can also pursue apprenticeships, career-training programs, boot camps, industry certifications, and occupational licenses. Many of these are just pennies on the dollar compared with earning a college degree. A coding boot camp can cost as little as $7,000—and that’s just a one-time fee as compared with nearly $40,000 for one year of college.
These career paths made possible by trade schools, apprenticeships, boot camps, and other training and certification programs were dubbed by IBM as “new-collar jobs.” In October 2017, IBM launched its apprenticeship program to train people for new-collar jobs that prioritize skills over degrees and focus on in-demand job functions like cybersecurity, design, data science, mobile development, cloud, artificial intelligence, and blockchains—all career paths that can also lead to six-figure salaries.
The Trump administration in late 2025 also announced its Tech Force program, which does not require a college degree or work experience for technology professionals who are willing to serve two-year stints at federal agencies. If you’re accepted to the program, you can earn about $150,000 to $200,000, given the demand for tech professionals in today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape.
“This is a clarion call,” Scott Kupor, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, said in a statement at the time. “If you want to help your country lead in the age of rapid technological advancement, we need you.”
In March, OPM also launched the Early Career Talent Network, a recruitment push for entry-level workers to work for the federal government.
“We’ve got close to half of our population that’s within 10 years of retirement age,” Kupor told Fortune‘s Sasha Rogelberg. “So if you just did nothing else, you’ve got this major demographic challenge of a large number of people who will likely either retire or certainly be retirement-eligible over the near term, without us actually replenishing the pipeline of early-career people coming in.”
A version of this story was originally published on Fortune.com on December 19, 2025.
More on trade school:
- I’ve owned and operated trade schools for 40 years and Gen Z is onto something: They recognize the value of vocational education
- AI boom is fueling demand for skilled trades—and demand for technicians, HVAC workers, and electricians is soaring, with six-figure salaries to match
- ‘College doesn’t carry the same ROI it once did’: 70% of teens say their parents support them going to trade school or getting an apprenticeship
