KTEC on a fast track
Not all the smart kids in Kootenai County are going to be in traditional and private high schools this fall.
Some of them - a lot, in fact - are headed to KTEC.
Kootenai Technical Education Campus is scrambling to train instructors after an astonishing 900 students applied for admission to a school that hasn't even opened yet. So what do those kids know that others don't? A story published Wednesday on cnn.com might have provided some clues.
It bore this compelling headline: "Nine months in trade school. Job guaranteed."
Acknowledging that some of the schools and programs discussed in the story are more specialized or advanced than what KTEC initially will offer, the gist is the same. Manufacturing companies all over the country are hiring, and many are voraciously recruiting trade school students. They're also paying very livable wages.
One of the families interviewed in Alabama has a son who attended a two-year trade school emphasizing manufacturing, and a daughter who took a more traditional four-year college route.
The son spent an estimated $8,000 to $10,000 on a curriculum that emphasizes machining, tool and die making and CNC (computerized numerical control). Upon earning his certificate, he was hired immediately by an aerospace products maker with a base salary of $45,000 and "much more" with overtime.
The daughter? She graduated from the University of Alabama and became a fifth-grade teacher. Upon graduating, she faced $45,000 in student loans and received a starting salary of $36,000. Here's what their father said: "My daughter is an awesome teacher. But who do you think got the better deal?"
We think there's a lot more to work than the pay, and that job satisfaction should never be underestimated. But that works both ways. Not everyone is going to be successful or happy pursuing a bachelor's degree and diving into a job market that is highly unpredictable, just as others would be miserable or ill-equipped to deal with trade school and a career in manufacturing.
The best of both worlds is opening up in Kootenai County, with KTEC adding a valuable dimension to education leading to good jobs with livable wages. Now the only question might be, how big and fast will it grow?