Are high school graduates better off picking up a welding torch instead of a college textbook? As demand grows for skilled labor, more students—and their parents—are questioning whether the traditional college-for-all model still makes sense. Is it time to stop treating college as the default path? Steve Klein, a researcher at Education Northwest, talks to The Excerpt about the benefits and biases around trade careers, the reality of financial independence without a four-year degree, and how schools can better prepare students for the future.

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