Medicine or software development? Triangle kids won’t all end up researching pharmaceuticals or designing the latest payroll software. When I was interviewing some local auto shop owners and career tech educators for an article about the reinstatement of the Apex High School auto tech program (in 2008-09), one sentiment stayed with me: even if many computer jobs eventually go overseas, someone local has to fix your sink, dishwasher or car.
The faltering economy and recent lay-offs in our area bring this point home. Some programmers may be out of work, but their cars still need fixing. And some students learning their way towards college may be better suited for a career in the trade industry.
With the plethora of degrees and universities in the Triangle area, we as parents can tend to forget this. One of my friends with an 8-year-old despairs of her son’s obsession with cars. “I keep hoping he’ll grow out of it,” she sighed recently, as she viewed his pile of birthday presents full of motorized cars, HotWheels and stunt motorcycles.
Maybe he will grow out of it, or maybe he will turn that passion into a lucrative career as an auto shop owner. I wonder how the current economic climate will affect careers in the next few years, as some of our Triangle high school students graduate and begin to shape their lives.