CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The thought of student loans can make anyone shudder, especially if you want to pursue higher education.
With inflation at sky-high levels, many students are seeking more financially savvy ways to bypass college and have an instant career.
Jordan Cantu is a recent Del Mar College and Calallen High School graduate who got a job soon after graduating with a level 1 certificate in air conditioning applied technology.
"I wanted to start because it's a high demand trade right now,” he said. "Especially with like the next 10 years.”
He says living in South Texas, with the heat the region has been experiencing, makes him confident he'll have job security.
"I mean it's hot right now," he said. "It's like 100, 200 degrees outside right now.”
Originally, Cantu wanted to pursue mechanical engineering but the thought of debt was daunting.
"Trades are really unique -- it's not something everyone can do,” he said. “Like, you have to have your own skill. Like, for me, I like to multitask. So I can do this and probably take apart this panel, rewire it, do whatever I need to do."
Calallen High School college and career counselor Larissa Duke said her school offers more than 42 CTE, or career and technical education, courses. Duke said some can be completed in a few months, and some in a year or two.
"It's just a stepping stone to what their future career could be," she said. "I see a lot of students there. 'I just want to make money Ms. Duke, I just want to get into the workforce. I don't want to go to a 4-year degree'."
In Ingleside ISD, sparks are flying out of the high school’s welding lab.
Lino Solis, who is a senior at Ingleside High School, wants to pursue a career in welding.
"I think it's really important because college really isn't for everyone," he said.
Solis feels having a certificate gives him options.
"Because, say college doesn't go my way,” he said. “I have a certificate and I can go into a workforce that has to do with welding."
Ingleside High School offers 9 CTE programs and principal Steve Edlin said the 185 students enrolled in CTE all earned their certificates.
"When they get out, they're ready to go into the field and work," he said. "I have a student that graduated straight from high school. Was hired from a local company, straight from one of our interview days. And in about three years, he'll be making more than I do."
Proving hard work pays off when learning tricks of the trade.
"It's definitely not easy, it's a challenge,” Solis said. “But if you want to do it. Do it."
Ingleside ISD offers 9 career technical and education courses including instrumentation, multimedia studies and criminal justice law. Calallen ISD offers 42 CTE courses.