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CTE Teachers - Student Research Foundation

Getting Ahead of the Coming Shortage of CTE Teachers

If you walk into a typical American high school and stand outside a classroom where technical subjects are taught, chances are that everything looks like it is humming along beautifully. Eager students come into the classroom in time for their classes to begin, where a knowledgeable and experienced teacher takes up a position at the front of the classroom. And in communities with sufficient funding, everyone is able to start working on computers and other equipment that facilitate the learning process. Read more

What Courses Offer the Fastest Path to a Job Today - Student Research Foundation

What Courses Offer the Fastest Path to a Job Today?

There are economic times when students can afford to start college, take two years to explore different majors before selecting one, and then stay in school for a few more years before they graduate and start looking for their first jobs.

But in recessionary economies like the one we may be entering soon, more students want to get their studies done and enter the working world as quickly as possible. Many of them want to spend just a year or two at a community college. Others attend trade schools and jump quickly into the workforce. Read more

Career and Technical Education Today - Student Research Foundation

Career and Technical Education Today

CTE Today . . .

What you and your students need to know about the Career and Technical Education pathway to starting a career

A stand-up comedian once said, “By the time something becomes an acronym, forget it! It is already too late to take advantage of it.”

That might be true sometimes. By the time Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing was being called by the acronym CAD/CAM, for example, there were already tens of thousands of people sitting at terminals working CAD/CAM jobs.

But at other times, it is decidedly not true. Read more

Are Alternative Colleges a Solution for All Students who Don’t Quite Fit the Mold - Student Research Foundation

Are Alternative Colleges a Solution for All Students who Don’t Quite Fit the Mold?

If you’re a high school college guidance counselor, chances are you are thinking that a certain number of your counselees should apply to non-traditional, alternative colleges. You might already be an expert on those colleges and what they offer. If you are not, you are probably thinking that when you have the time, you will investigate non-traditional colleges and make some recommendations about where your students should apply. Read more

Explosive Growth Rates in Technical Careers - Student Research Foundation

Explosive Growth Rates in Technical Careers

CompTIA’s Cyberstates 2019 Guide Predicts Explosive Growth Rates in Technical Careers

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) has released its 2019 Cyberstates Guide, based both on its own research and data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report points to an explosive rate of job creation in STEM and technical fields between now and 2026.

If you are currently helping students plan their careers, Cyberstates contains information you should know. Read more

The Great Robotics Switcheroo - Student Research Foundation

The Great Robotics Switcheroo

Ah, robotics!

Few areas of CTE training and education are so full of romance. When you say the word “robot,” students start to think about anthropomorphic robots that walk around in sci-fi movies. They think about battle robots that fight each other on cool television shows. Or they think about teaming up with fellow students to enter a robotics competition by designing a robot that will walk around on Mars, perform surgery on patients in operating rooms, or enter a building and defuse a bomb. Read more

Skills-Based Training

Skills-Based Training Plus a College Degree Add Up to a Better Career

Freelancers Find that Skills-Based Training Plus a College Degree Add Up to a Better Career

The 2018 Freelancing in America study from UpWork Global reports that freelancers are a fast-growing segment of working Americans. The study, which polled 6,000 U.S. workers, found that freelance workers now make up 56.7  million members of the American workforce. That is a growth of 3.7 million Americans since 2014.

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How Valuable Is an Associate's Degree - Student Research Foundation

What Are the Top-Paying Two-Year Degrees?

Money isn’t everything. But if you or a student you know is interested in starting to work in engineering or a related field after only two years of college, it is worth knowing which jobs promise the highest earnings. Read more

Research on Manufacturing Day by the Student Research Foundation

Manufacturing Day: Opening Doors and Minds

Manufacturing Day, an initiative of the Manufacturing Institute, is the nation’s largest one-day celebration of manufacturing.  This annual event, taking place on October 5, 2018, focuses on showing young people, parents and educators the modern dynamics and opportunities a career in manufacturing offers.  For those who can’t make it to a live Manufacturing Day event, or who don’t have any in their area, there’s always the possibility of a virtual event.  Learn more about Manufacturing Day and the significant impact this event has across the nation here.

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Vocational Education from 1992 How Things Changed Today - Student Research Foundation

A Snapshot of Vocational Education from 1992: How Have Things Changed Today?

As recently as 1992, most public high schools had extensive vocational training programs, many of which operated in the same buildings as college-preparatory programs. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 97% of American students who graduated high school in 1992 had completed at least one vocational education course. And the average high school graduate in the U.S. had completed as many as four full-year vocational training courses. Read more