NEW CASTLE —
Young people are often told that a college education is the key to a good future income.
And indeed, there are various fields, ranging from medicine to law to engineering, where degrees — and the training that comes with them — are crucial to success.
But it’s also true that college isn’t for everyone. And with the costs of college degrees being what they are, obtaining one shouldn’t be something pursued out of habit or automatic expectation of a job upon graduation.
Some recent articles in the New Castle News have highlighted the opportunities that exist for young people in manufacturing and industry. While these positions obviously require training and preparation, they don’t come with the hefty price tags and long-term debt worries of a college education.
Typically, the argument in favor of a college degree is that — despite the cost — it’s a good investment in the long run. Over time, an individual with a degree is seen as earning more than someone without one.
But that’s not necessarily the case in today’s labor force. While most industrial plants today no longer employ the thousands of workers they once did, those who find jobs tend to be quite well paid.
Why? In a plant with high degree of computerization or robotics, a human being who’s overseeing this machinery has to know what he or she is doing. Industrial work today is quite different than it was a couple of generations ago.
Locally, the Lawrence County Career and Technical Center, as well as trade schools, strive to blend what they teach with the needs of local industry. Obviously, it makes little sense to show students industrial skills that no company desires.
One of the hot job areas in Pennsylvania these days involves the shale gas industry. Associated tasks cover everything from preparing sites and working on rigs to handling a variety of responsibilities affiliated with shale operations, such as driving trucks and laying pipeline.
What’s more, the shale industry provides other employment in local plants that maintain equipment and help with developing the infrastructure necessary to remove gas from the ground. In short, the shale industry is seen as an engine for local employment into the future.
But it could be an erratic jobs engine. Recent news reports indicate drillers are scaling back shale operations because of falling natural gas prices. Work in industry can come with periods of idleness with layoffs.
And people entering the modern work force just about anywhere need to be prepared to adapt. Jobs change or vanish completely, as new ones crop up. Workers who are willing to adjust and update their skills are the ones most likely to keep up with the economy.
None of this is meant to minimize a college degree. But in the job market of today and into the future, keeping an open mind is crucial.
Editorials
Our Opinion: Local jobs market has opportunities that don’t require college
- Editorials
-
-
Our Opinion: IRS probe may reveal multiple problems
When a murky scandal is investigated, the goal is to obtain clarity, as well as to right any wrongs. But reaching such a conclusion can be a tortuous process. And so it is with the current probe of allegations of political targeting by the Internal Revenue Service.
-
Our Opinion: Supreme Court rejects patents on human coding
We can all take comfort in knowing we still retain the rights to our own genetic material. That might seem to be obvious, but a case before the U.S. Supreme Court involved questions over whether private companies could patent human genes as their own.
-
Our Opinion: Vo-tech nursing program faces elimination in budget crunch
The past few years have been difficult financially for Pennsylvania’s education system. Tight budgets produced by an economic slowdown, weakening support from Harrisburg and an ever-increasing rise in personnel costs has created a fiscal bind for most school districts, those in Lawrence County included.
-
Our Opinion: Government’s seizing records a threat to liberty
(Second of two editorials): America’s director of national intelligence had a ready explanation this week regarding the need to seize everyone’s phone records. “Well, you have to start someplace,” James Clapper told NBC News. Let’s stop and think about that for a moment.
-
Our Opinion: News leaks reveal dramatic scope of government data collection
(First of two editorials): In case you had any doubts, Big Brother is watching. And listening. And for all we know, smelling and tasting as well.
-
Our Opinion: Pennsylvania has transportation needs, but plan has problems
Spending money on transportation projects is a popular political pastime. After all, what’s not to like about programs that create jobs and make driving smoother and safer? Yes, construction is an inconvenience, but generally, the public understands it’s necessary for the greater good.
-
Our Opinion: IRS conferences take advantage of public funds
Things aren’t getting any better for the Internal Revenue Service. In fact, the credibility of the nation’s tax collection organization seems to be eroding away as Americans look on with disgust.
-
Our Opinion: Ruling assures sweeping access to DNA
Do you trust government? Well, you better, thanks to a new U.S. Supreme Court decision that gives law enforcement — and ultimately others in government — the ability to access sweeping new information about individuals.
-
Our Opinion: Declines recorded all across Lawrence County in latest data
Lawrence County’s long trend of population decline was highlighted when the Census Bureau reported yet another drop. Last month, the bureau said that the county’s population fell from 91,108 in 2010 to 89,871 in 2012. This compares to figures from 1960, when the county’s population was recorded at 112,965.
-
Our Opinion: What’s happening with American policy in Syria
In an ideal world, the Obama administration and Congress would agree on a plan regarding Syria. But this is not an ideal world. And it’s certainly not even close to being an ideal world in Washington. So instead of a plan, we get fumbling.
- More Editorials Headlines
-
Our Opinion: IRS probe may reveal multiple problems
