Published 4/11/2016

CNN Reports on Students Who Are “Paid to Go to College”

“This is so much more than a ticket through college—this is your life,” says a student quoted in the news network’s report on CNC machining apprenticeships.

Workforce Development

Peter Zelinski

Editor-in-Chief, Additive Manufacturing

Here is a wonderful clip from CNN showcasing CNC machining students who are part of North Carolina’s “Apprenticeship 2000” program. The employer cited in this report, Ameritech Die & Mold, describes how students receive manufacturing employment and paid tuition at a local community college, with the likelihood of a skilled manufacturing job after graduation. By their mid-20s, graduates of this program have high-paying jobs (Ameritech cites the figure of $50,000 to $60,000 per year, plus health benefits) combined with zero college debt. The only price the students pay for this, as the report astutely points out, is that they sacrifice the social experience that is typically part of college.

The compensation alone isn’t the point. A student at the end of this piece describes the real reward, saying, “This is so much more than a ticket through college. This is your life—a career you can build off of.”

(Thank you to Matt Wardle of JD Machine for sharing this video. I first became aware of this CNN clip when Mr. Wardle posted a link to it in Modern Machine Shop’s “Top Shops” LinkedIn group.)

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