📊 Should I go to trade school or a 4 year college?

The education system gives you one number (the projected lifetime earnings of a college graduate) and calls it a complete picture. But it purposefully leaves out the crippling student debt, the four years of lost income, and the power of compound interest that a tradesperson gets to start building immediately.

As Mr. Harris puts it, the real lifetime earnings comparison is not one number. It is a spreadsheet the school never showed you. This calculator breaks down the real wealth gap between a 4-year degree and an apprenticeship. When you run the actual math accounting for hidden costs, you might find that for many kids, the trades are the financially superior plan.

The true cost of college isn't just tuition. You have to account for room, board, living expenses, and the student loan debt that accrues interest while you study. Plus, you have four years of zero income. As Mr. Harris puts it, the total cost of a typical four-year degree lands somewhere between $180,000 and $250,000. That is before interest.

Furthermore, post-graduate earnings rarely match expectations. As Mr. Harris notes, consider the median starting salary for a 4-year college graduate, which sits at around $52,000. Not $76,000. Not $90,000.

Apprenticeships usually cost a fraction of a 4-year degree, and you get paid while you learn. This allows you to start your career with positive net worth and zero student debt. As Mr. Harris puts it, a typical electrician or plumber apprenticeship program costs between $5,000 and $15,000 total. Many apprenticeships pay you while you learn.

By the time the college student graduates, the apprentice is already a seasoned professional. As Mr. Harris notes, a 2025 analysis found that 47% of skilled trades workers now out-earn the median college graduate nationally.

The biggest advantage of the trades is time. Money earned and invested from ages 18 to 22 has decades to compound, creating a massive head start that a college grad has to overcome later in life. As Mr. Harris puts it, the opportunity cost of four years in school is not just the tuition. It is the earnings that never happened and the compounding that never started.

To calculate the true wealth gap fairly, Mr. Harris assumes the apprentice invests a portion of their earnings while paying their living expenses. Meanwhile, the college student's debt implicitly includes their living expenses over those four years.

Based on content by Mr. Harris on Mr. Harris (YouTube).

Original: Trade School vs 4-Year College — The Real Lifetime Earnings Comparison Schools Don't Want You to Run