The Brief:

Only 1 in 4 Americans now believe a four-year college degree is worth taking out loans, driving students toward trade careers

Waunakee High School placed its highest number of students ever in apprenticeship programs with local employers this year

The construction industry needs more than 400,000 new workers, with apprentices earning $18.50/hour starting and over $43/hour after completion

WAUNAKEE, Wis. — Sydney Kasin spends her days learning to cut precise angles with a miter saw, but she's also cutting a different path than many of her peers.

The Waunakee High School senior splits her time between the classroom and construction job sites as a carpentry apprentice, part of a growing trend of students choosing trades over traditional four-year college degrees.

"I really wa

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