If you want to avoid 5-figures in student debt by going to university, ever considered going to a trade school instead? I talk with Sylvia about how she went the nontraditional route for her career and why it was the best decision she could have ever made. Long description: The stats on student debt in Canada and the US are staggering. More and more young people are graduating with degrees in hand and 5-figures in debt to pay off. And sometimes that debt-burden will take them decades to pay off. Here’s the thing…going to university and sticking with the traditional route of getting a degree to start your career isn’t the only way. For this Listener Series episode, I talk with Sylvia Bourgeois about her decision to not go to university but go to a trade school instead. Instead of spending 4 years earning a degree with a boatload of debt to pay off after (not to mention grim job prospects), she was able to graduate her technical school debt-free, find a job soon after and start earning a decent income that would help her buy a home in Vancouver and eventually start her own contracting business. The biggest message in this episode is that there’s no one way to do things. You don’t have to go to university, work in an office and climb your way up the ladder to be successful in your career. Moreover, if you’re a woman, you don’t have to pigeon-hole yourself into certain sectors or industries. I’m ashamed to say that I never even considered a career in the trades because I didn’t think many women worked in that industry. Sylvia certainly proved that wrong, and wants to encourage more women to explore different career paths, even if they aren’t the popular or traditional choice. For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/126