You may WANT math to lie…you may try to play games with math, but math itself never lies.
Our Vice President of Education here at IEC Chesapeake , Mike Basham started to run the numbers recently and the math revealed something fairly astonishing.
There’s a lot of talk these days about the value of a four year education, typically four years of college for a Bachelors as opposed to four years in an electrical apprenticeship to obtain your Journeyworkers license.
Yes. That’s right- BOTH are four years. That’s not the math we want you to think about however. Here is Mike’s analysis:
“Based on my research, a minimum of 120 credits or credit hours are required by most colleges to receive a bachelor’s degree. Each hour can be accompanied by several additional hours of labs, independent study, and homework…adding up to as many as 4-5 hours per credit hour. My quick math totals potentially 480-600 hours of time invested to obtain a bachelor’s degree.
In contrast, an apprentice is required to log a minimum of 144 hours per year in related instruction, not including labs, independent study, and homework. If only 2-3 hours of additional time were added to those credit hours, a typical apprentice would potentially invest 400-450 hours per YEAR in their education. That sounds right in line with a 120-credit hour bachelor’s degree…except, an apprentice repeats this over four years totaling 1600-1800 hours invested. Our program includes a total of 576 hours of related instruction over a 4-year period, accompanied by 8000 hours of On The Job training. Now we are approaching 9600-9800 hours invested in a 4-year apprenticeship vs a bachelor’s degree of only 600 hours.
Your choice is $166.00 per hour for a bachelor’s degree ($100,000.00 over 4 years for 600 hours of investment, while making no money in the process) or NO DEBT and get paid for 8000 hours while you are learning a skilled trade that pays more than a handsome living.
My question to those interested in debt is, “Why?” “
If you want to know more about the truth of an electrical apprenticeship and exactly what that education entails, see our website.
Spend your money wisely on your talents.
Jenny Boone
IECC Business Development
[email protected]
