Education is a crucial part of people’s development and future lives.
There are many different levels and types of education.
Each student’s educational path is going to look different, especially once they reach their post-secondary education.
What Is Post-Secondary Education?
Post-secondary education is any education after high school, but it is most commonly applied to college and trade schools.
The term “post-secondary education” is more universal than simply saying the name of your school or the type of post-secondary school you’re attending.
Post-secondary refers to the fact that this education is after your secondary education.
Secondary school is high school.
Primary school is elementary school and middle school.
Around the world, these different grade groups are normally referred to as primary and secondary.
There is more to post-secondary education than just college or a trade school.
Your post-secondary education may be an apprenticeship, community college, university, technical college, or joining the military.
You can earn your degree at a community college, private university, public university, or technical college.
You can earn different types of certifications at these schools as well as an Associate’s degree to your Doctorate.
If you are someone who wants to join the military, there will still be necessary training and learning you are going to need to do from the moment you join.
You will have to complete your secondary education to even be able to enlist in the military.
After enlisting and serving, veterans are able to apply for scholarships that will allow them to study at a college or university for free.
You can also study while you’re in the military and as part of your military training.
Not every person is going to be a textbook learner or built for the military, but that doesn’t mean their studying has to stop.
For those who learn best by working alongside someone and doing the work hands-on, then an apprenticeship or trade school may be the educational answer you’re looking for.
Community College
Community college is the perfect option for those who don’t know what they want to do with their lives.
At a community college, you can get your basics of almost any degree done without having to pay the extremely high tuition costs that come with traditional colleges and universities.
If you are a student from a low-income family, then you may even be able to attend community college at no charge for you, with enough money to afford your textbooks.
Community colleges have plenty of grants that you can apply for, which can be based on all different aspects of yourself, such as ethnicity, disability, gender, or career plan.
Community college is also the easiest post-secondary education to get into.
Most community colleges only require that you have graduated from high school or passed your General Educational Development Test.
Although some people may turn to this point as a way to degrade someone’s education, most modern community colleges are functioning and testing their students on the same level as four-year colleges or universities.
Getting your core classes, like math, science, English, and humanities, done at a community college helps students save a lot of money on their post-secondary education.
Many community college students will get their associate degree and then transfer to a four-year college or university.
Many students don’t do particularly well in high school, which means they can’t attend many colleges or universities because of their grade point average.
Community college can serve as a second chance to better your grade point average.
Community college is the perfect way to test the waters on whether or not you were meant for college life.
College students must be hardworking and dedicated in order to get their degrees.
Not all students are meant for college or university.
Private And Public Universities
Those with large student debts have probably gained those debts at a four-year college or university.
While community colleges may only offer associate and some bachelor’s degrees, universities will offer any degree from associate’s to doctorate.
There are four different levels of degrees.
Associate’s degrees take two educational years to complete if you are taking a full schedule each semester.
Bachelor’s degrees are the next highest degree, which takes four years to complete.
Once you have your bachelor’s degree, you can choose to study for another two years in order to earn your master’s degree.
There are some master’s degrees that you can earn in one year of additional studying after your bachelor’s degree.
After you have your Master’s, you can work towards your Doctoral degree.
You will be studying a minimum of two years after your master’s degree, but many Doctoral degrees take even longer.
Once you finish your Doctorate, you will officially be a doctor of whatever field you have chosen to study for eight or more years.
Universities may offer more educational options, but they are vastly more expensive than community colleges.
When you are planning to pay for your education, you have to bear in mind that it isn’t just tuition you’re paying for.
You will also be paying for textbooks, room and board, supplies, groceries, transportation, and other expenses that come along.
Private universities are always going to be much more expensive than public universities.
These schools tend to be harder to get into because of the smaller class sizes and high volume of students wanting to be accepted by them.
Private universities also won’t have as many scholarships available.
Public universities have larger class sizes and more scholarships, but it can be much more difficult for students to get that personalized help.
Technical College
Those who know exactly what career they want to go into may want to consider technical college, which is often referred to as career college.
Technical colleges focus on getting students the certification they need in order to do their dream job.
You can also get your associate degree at a technical college if you are looking to get a degree to go with your certifications.
At a technical college, you will be able to skip all of the core education classes, but they will be replaced with classes based more heavily on what field you are going into.
Oftentimes, a technical college is confused with a trade school or community college.
While a community college and technical college may offer similar results, technical colleges don’t have the same variety in the courses they provide.
Technical colleges may even allow students to finish their classes in half of the time it takes to get the same degree at a community college.
Technical colleges aren’t always trade schools.
Although both schools are specifically teaching the skills of different trades, the way they teach their students differs.
Technical schools will have students attending a lot more lectures while trade schools are much hands-on.
Technical colleges are still technically trade schools, but they aren’t always like traditional trade schools.
Technical colleges also have a heavier focus on skills such as coding, computer programming, or even cybersecurity.
Many technical colleges are taught by companies that are looking for properly certified graduates.
Companies such as Google offer certification programs that take in as little as less than 10 hours per week.
Technology-based companies want to make it easier for themselves to find employees with the right training, and they are trying to make their certifications and careers more accessible to the public.
Trade School
Graduating from a trade school is the best way to ensure that you will always find work.
Mechanics, plumbers, carpenters, dental hygienists, cardiovascular technologists, and many more necessary professionals learn how to properly do their jobs at trade school.
Although trade school careers aren’t always associated with well-paying jobs, they really should be.
Many of these careers are making $60,000 to $75,000 a year.
There are trade schools for all different types of fields.
You can be in the medical field without having to go to an expensive college or university.
There are many different types of medical technologists who have to go through intense training at a trade school in order to help your doctor help you.
Trade school is perfect for people who preferred the school days where they were learning through projects or outside experience.
Students who excel with hands-on experiences tend to have a much easier time in trade school.
Trade schools understand that it is easier to understand certain concepts by watching a professional do them or having a professional guide you through the process.
Many high school students who may not have done as well with traditional classes often find that they excel at the trade school of their choice.
Trade school does an excellent job of proving to students that they are smarter than the traditional education program made them believe.
Not every person is smart enough to know how to fix a car, build a house, or replace plumbing properly.
These trades are crucial to the upkeep of the modern world.
Trade schools are also much less expensive than traditional colleges or universities.
Many trade schools also have programs that help their students find available jobs in the career that they’ve been trained in.
They also have copious amounts of scholarships and grants.
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships were once the most common form of post-secondary education.
Almost everyone used to learn their trade from a professional who had learned the same way.
Apprenticeships can be found for almost any career.
Many companies will make their future employees go through an apprenticeship before allowing them to work independently.
An apprenticeship will often follow technical college graduation, trade school, or an associate degree.
For example, an aspiring tattoo artist may get their associate degree in the arts but will often need to study under an experienced professional before they begin to work with the public.
Apprenticeships are often the best way to learn, despite not always being the most uniform in training.
The difficult part about apprenticeships is finding them.
Most people who are studying under an apprenticeship know the person they’re studying under or have someone else they know recommend the person to them.
Apprenticeships rely heavily on word of mouth.
There is another way to find apprenticeships.
The United States Department of Labor has a whole website dedicated to helping people find the education they need through apprenticeships.
They also teach potential apprentices the rules and policies surrounding apprenticeships.
These apprenticeships can take anywhere from one to five years and can be available in all different types of careers, from more technical careers to creative careers.
There are also apprenticeship websites for each state.
There are apprenticeships available in business, film, healthcare, public safety, and even logistics and transportation.
Getting ahead in your career doesn’t have to cost you a fortune and doesn’t have to be done all through textbooks.
Many college and university graduates find that going through an apprenticeship helps them feel properly prepared for the professional world and allows them to be able to keep up with their experienced coworkers.
Military Education
In order to qualify for the military, you must have your high school diploma or have passed your General Education Development test, often known as having your GED.
After enlisting and serving in the military, you can have your entire degree paid for by becoming a veteran.
Those who are looking to study sooner may want to consider a military academy or earning their degree with the Reserve Officer Training Corps.
Dedicated students and soldiers can consider applying to one of the country’s military academies.
These schools are extremely selective and have some of the most elite military educations you can receive.
These schools expect their students to be strong, smart, well-mannered, and extremely well-rounded.
In order to even be eligible for the academy, you must be between 17 and 23 years old, not married, not pregnant, and not legally responsible for any children.
Military academy students are also expected to be in peak health.
For students who may not fit the exact requirements necessary for a military academy, you can always join the Reserve Officer Training Corps.
While the Reserve Officer Training Corps expect the best of their students, they are much easier to be accepted into than military academies.
In order to be able to apply to the Reserve Officer Training Corps, you must be between the ages of 17 and 26.
You will also need a high school grade point average of 2.5 or a college grade point average of 2.0.
Potential students must be able to pass the Army physical fitness test and have no medical problems that prevent them from being able to serve after they finish their degrees.
The student will also have to accept a commission and serve in the Army, Army Reserve, or the Army National Guard.
The Importance Of Scholarships
Student debt is the biggest deterrent for potential students, but it doesn’t need to be.
Those who are willing to put in even a little bit of time may find that they can have thousands of dollars through scholarships.
Scholarships can be confusing and difficult for some people to find.
The whole process can be very overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.
There are few websites that you can use to find the money to pay for your education.
The first place you need to check is the Federal Student Aid website, which is run by the United States Department of Education.
This website helps you understand the different options you have to pay for your education and allows you to apply for financial aid.
They will have you fill out a detailed application that has all kinds of different information about yourself, including gender, ethnicity, family structure, household income, family military history, and much more.
They use all of this information to figure out if there are grants that the Department of Education can give you.
If you are looking for additional scholarships, then you can also check out the United States Department of Labor’s website.
They have scholarships that anyone can apply for by completing tasks such as writing essays, creating art, or even simply sending in an application.
You can filter the potential scholarships by where you live, where you intend to study, the type of financial aid being offered, level of necessary education finished, affiliation, and even gender.
Each scholarship will have a full page of information, including information such as who is offering the scholarship, qualifications, purpose of the scholarship, and the deadline to apply.
Avoid Scholarship Scams
While searching for scholarships, you will come across websites or services that claim to help you find scholarships for a fee.
You never need to pay for help when finding scholarships.
You can go through the websites of the Department of Education or the Department of Labor to find any kind of support you could need.
There is also another scam that is quite common.
There will be organizations that claim that you need to pay a fee in order to fill out a FAFSA.
FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
A little research can help you keep from being scammed.
If you are looking for help while applying for your FAFSA, contact the counselors at your school, and they will gladly walk you through the process.
There is also a help center that you can call or chat with on the Federal Student Aid website.
There are some key phrases that can help you identify a scholarship or financial aid scam.
If a service is pressing you to act quickly before you miss an opportunity, then they’re probably trying to scam you.
While there are deadlines for scholarships and FAFSA, you can always fill out a form or send in an application for the next semester or school year.
Information related to your FAFSA should remain between you and your school.
If you have shared your FAFSA login with a scam service, you will need to change your password and contact the Federal Financial Aid office immediately.
Post-Secondary Education Is Your Future
Not every successful person needs to go to college, but every successful person must be willing to never stop learning.
If you want to be able to keep up with the world around you, you must figure out how you best learn and use that information to decide on how you are going to educate yourself after high school.
There is no type of post-secondary education that is better or more necessary than another.
Each of these ways of learning can create incredible professionals if the person is willing to be put in the proper time and dedication.
The moment you decide to quit learning is the moment that you’ll start falling behind.
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