Debunking Vocational Myths: Getting a Good Job without a Traditional College Degree
Given Oregon’s record-setting 8.5 percent unemployment rate, the Metro Portland New Car Dealers Association’s vocational education program is more critical than ever, offering viable career options to teenagers and twenty-somethings

In the 2001-2002 school year alone, nearly 16 percent of Portland Public School students in grades 9 through 12 dropped out. And, while 85 percent of Oregon high school seniors go on to a two- or four-year college after graduation, just a few years later more than a third will have dropped out with no degree. What does the future hold for them?

Conventional wisdom holds a two-track mentality about post-high school options: the academically bright go to college and can anticipate a rewarding and well-paying career, the rest are doomed to a low paying, “burger flipping” existence.

In truth, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) predicts that by the year 2008, 85 percent of the nation’s jobs will not require a four-year degree. This demand for skilled labor is no more acute than in the automotive service industry, where technology advances have stripped the available pool of talented employees. Indeed, the DOL forecasts that through 2010, the nation’s automotive industry will need 35,000 people annually for new, high-paying auto technician jobs.

In Oregon, the automotive industry is the state’s second largest employer. Recent employment department figures for the tri-county area (Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas) indicate that over the next three years alone, opportunities for auto technicians are expected to increase at a higher-than-average rate — with annual openings for nearly 200 workers — to employ more than 4,200 individuals.

Yet, a 2002 study conducted by Automotive Retailing Today reveals that jobs in the industry go unfilled, frequently because people do not realize that today’s automotive technician is sophisticated with advanced technical training and critical thinking skills. And, from entry-level to experienced, auto technicians are well compensated, with typical annual income ranging from $30,000 to upwards of $100,000 for certified master technicians.

To help meet the demand for qualified automotive technicians, the Metro Portland New Car Dealers Association has been working with local educators at both the high school and college levels to prepare students for full-time employment in the automotive field.

Local automotive technicians Corey Maslin and Marcus Levine can attest to just how well-paying and satisfying a vocational career can be. As graduates of automotive technology programs at Mt. Hood Community College and Portland Community College, respectively, these young men serve as models of how postsecondary education can take on many forms, affordably preparing and enabling young adults to obtain jobs that will sustain themselves and their families for a lifetime.

“We understand that for graduates to thrive in the workplace, they need help to acquire skills that employers demand and, subsequently, will offer competitive pay for,” said Chris Neuber, executive vice president of the Association. “We are working now to break down the perception that a four-year college education is the only ticket to good employment, preparing a workforce that can meet marketplace needs in the next decade and beyond.”