We have a HUGE HUGE dropout rate, as most of the kids can't grasp the electrical.
When I went to a tech school in the 60's, 28 of us started an eleven quarter course of study. After eleven quarters only three finished. A little over two decades later I finished my Masters degree. The University I attended had an 8% graduation rate for students who'd started their degrees.
I'm about to graduate from the auto program at our local cc as well. We have a HUGE HUGE dropout rate, as most of the kids can't grasp the electrical. They all say "I grew up around cars, my dad was a mech., etc.". Yet hand them a multimeter and they run.
This industry is leaning VERY VERY heavily on electronics and computers now, if you can't learn it, you're gonna be stuck doing the basics for cheap.
That's the way of the world. These classes are sometimes being used to wash-out students that won't make it in the field. Too often these students aren't prepared for these classes. These students often rely on hands-on and less theoretical classes. That's where they've been successful in the past and it's guided their future. It's a tragic turn of events for many students.
If these students are like me, they're dyslexic, or worse. We were the "Shop guys" in High School. We sought out things like auto mechanics because classes were hands-on. It's not historically been a theoretical field. Students with these disabilities excel in hands-on classes. Education fails when they are forced to learn theory in a theoretical setting.
If I could point any fault out in the educational industry, it's teaching theoretical classes with little, or no, hands-on... real world experience to back up the theory and not understanding it's students. It's pretty tough to understand something you're not physically brain-wired to understand. Now the field is changing and though there's a lot of hands-on stuff, you'll never get to it if you can't learn the theory. You'll wash out. Electronics and computers can be taught and learned by those with these disabilities, I know, I did it on both ends of the spectrum, learning and teaching. But, it's not an easy row to hoe and most schools won't waste time on teaching these students.
It's even worse for For Profit (FP) schools that charge an arm and a leg for the similar tech oriented community college type programs. The student takes classes at these FP schools because they can get out in 9 months, or so, and have a trade. If they wash out 5 months into the program the FP school's already got their money. The student is stuck to pay the bill with no way to make the money to repay student loan. It can be a vicious circle for the student.
