College or Trade School - What To Do?

My dad worked for a municipality as a laborer and then as a skilled laborer. He put in 28 years and retired with a $4K monthly pension plus social security for the rest of his life.

He did not go to college and was pretty broke, raising four kids for most of his life. But he knew he had that pension waiting for him. 

Now, life is good; he does whatever he wants and has no real responsibilities beyond hanging out with his grandkids.

My two older brothers are both trade guys as well. One is an electrician making over six figures a year now, but his income was around the $68 to $80K mark for the last ten years.

My oldest brother retired from the Air Force as a Master Sergeant who worked in HVAC. He now collects his pension from the military and has a job at a government contractor doing, you guessed it, HVAC.

Then there is me—the unconventional, creative type. I don't say this to show off, but I'm the type that never really fits in.

I'm running a six-figure online business based around YouTube, websites, freelance on Fiverr, and paid ads and email marketing while living abroad.

Should I go to college or trade school?

My family is diverse regarding being average, working class, or wealthy. I have an uncle who was a truck driver who passed away a few years ago; my dad, as I just mentioned, was a laborer, and my other uncle (my dad has two brothers) was a wealthy executive at a corporation. 

I also have a cousin with a Ph.D. in accounting who is currently a well-compensated university professor (200K+ a year). My two other cousins (whose dad was the truck driver) are millionaire VP of marketing.

Then, my other cousin (whose brother is a university professor) works as a security guard.

Yeah, really. That is an extreme of a difference.

The trades are only for some; same with the corporate life, same with trying to figure out your own thing.

As someone who has helped young men with this blog, here's some advice to help you make a clear assessment on moving forward.