![]() ![]() ![]() Garton was thinking about becoming a cardiovascular surgeon, but the pandemic made her reconsider. State programs - Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect - cover tuition costs for most residents who complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. ![]() But like the majority of the students at Tennessee’s technical colleges, Garton doesn’t pay anything. This particular diesel program lasts 20 months, and tuition is $6,680. The median pay for a diesel technician was $48,690 as of May 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Making as much money as possible,” said Garton, who lives in Hendersonville, about 30 minutes down the road from Nashville. In a tight labor market, some students want to get in and out of higher education as quickly as possible, which makes trade programs attractive. There are a few hot areas of study, including mechanic courses and precision production programs, like metalworking, which both saw continued jumps in enrollment this fall. The programs are not focused on history or calculus, but rather on training students for specific jobs. But skilled trade programs saw growth in the spring, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Across the country, college enrollment dropped significantly during the pandemic, and that decline has, for the most part, continued. The promise of that good career is why these students are here. “I would never have gone anywhere without having a good career,” Dillard said. The bear stories from Alaska are awesome, another adds. I was in Alaska, working there,” Dillard said.ĭon’t forget about Antarctica, one student reminds him. “I have been around the world mechanicing. “We’re a month in, and we’re already tearing apart engines, so we’re learning pretty quick,” said 18-year-old Layah Garton.Īll these students have a clear reverence for their instructor, Pat Dillard, who spent about 40 years working in the diesel industry. They’re just beginning the school’s diesel mechanics program. ![]() At the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Nashville, a group of students is standing around a bright red motor, measuring its parts down to the ten-thousandth of an inch. ![]()
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