By: Adam Harkin, New York City District Council of Carpenters Assistant Executive Secretary-Treasurer and Vice President

Thirty-one years ago, I stood at a crossroads that nearly everyone reaches at some point in their life: I had to decide what I was going to do with mine.

What comes next?

It is a simple question, but the answer can shape the rest of your life. For me, the answer was clear.

An apprenticeship.

In 1995, I became an apprentice dock builder and the fourth generation of my family to enter the trade. I knew the industry, but I still had to start at the beginning. I had to learn the trade, put in the work and prove myself on the job.

I did not know then where that first step would take me. I went from apprentice to journeyman, shop steward, foreman and general foreman. I went on to represent the men and women of my union, and today, I serve as Assistant Executive Secretary-Treasurer and Vice President of the New York City District Council of Carpenters.

Looking back, I know how much can be built from that first decision.

Today, another generation is standing at that same crossroads, but the stakes of that decision look different than they did when I made mine.

For many young people finishing high school, the next step has already been laid out for them. Graduate. Go to college. Earn a degree. Find a job. For decades, we have treated that sequence as the clearest path toward building a successful career and a secure future.

But that path now comes with serious questions.

The cost of a college education has left millions of Americans carrying student loan debt, and earning a degree no longer provides the certainty that a solid career will be waiting on the other side.

That does not mean college is the wrong choice. For many people and many professions, it is the right one. But it does mean we need to stop treating it as the only path to a successful career.

Young people making this decision deserve to see the full picture. They should know what they are investing, what they will get in return and what other opportunities are available before deciding which path to take.

For too long, apprenticeships have been treated as an alternative to the traditional path. I believe we need to start treating them as what they are: a direct path into a skilled career.

I have seen what that path can provide.

An apprenticeship is an education. The difference is that the classroom is only one part of it.

At the New York City District Council of Carpenters Training Center, more than 1,000 apprentices – most of whom are racially and ethnically diverse – learn their trade through a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on experience on real jobsites. Most of our apprenticeship programs span four years, with apprentices completing at least 144 hours of classroom instruction and more than 1,300 hours of on-the-job training each year.

From the beginning, that education is tied directly to a career. Apprentices are not waiting until graduation to start gaining experience. They are working alongside skilled union carpenters, applying what they learn in the classroom, earning wages and benefits and progressing in their trade at the same time.

By the time an apprentice completes the program, they have not only received years of training. They have spent thousands of hours doing the work.

That distinction matters when we put these paths side by side. One can mean spending years preparing to enter the workforce. An apprenticeship means entering the workforce while preparing for everything that comes next.

A college education is an investment. It can require four years of tuition, living expenses and, for many students, tens of thousands of dollars in student loans before they ever earn their first paycheck in their chosen field.

An apprenticeship is an investment, too. But instead of taking on debt to learn, apprentices invest their time and their work. They show up every day, learn from experienced tradespeople, develop their skills and earn a paycheck while they do it.
That does not make an apprenticeship the easier path. There is nothing easy about mastering a skilled trade. It takes years of training, discipline and hard work. The difference is that an apprentice spends those years building an education, experience and a career at the same time.

The results speak for themselves. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 93 percent of registered apprenticeship graduates retain employment after completing their programs, with an average salary of $86,000 upon graduation from apprentice to journey person.

The value of an apprenticeship, however, is not measured only by what someone earns in those early years. It is measured by what they can build from them.

A skilled trade can provide the foundation for a career that lasts decades. It can mean strong wages, health care and retirement benefits. It can create opportunities to take on greater responsibility, lead crews, represent fellow workers and continue advancing long after an apprenticeship ends.

I know because I have spent the last 31 years building on the foundation my apprenticeship gave me.

I am proud to be a fourth-generation dock builder. I grew up knowing this path existed because generations of my family had walked it before me. But you should not have to come from a union family to know this opportunity is out there.

That is what I want the next generation to understand when they reach that crossroads. For some, college may be the right answer. For others, it may be an apprenticeship. What matters is knowing what each path asks of you and where it can take you.

When I asked myself, “What comes next?” 31 years ago, I chose to learn a trade.

I started with a toolbelt in my hands. What I built with it became a career.

When young people reach that same crossroads today, they should know every tool available to build what comes next.