After high school comes:

For this entry, I thought I would deepen the topic a bit. I will discuss:

the value of post secondary education. There are a few positions I could take on it, so I will.
First, we have to consider what, exactly, post secondary education means.
There are a great deal of institutions that offer schooling beyond high school. But are the schools that advertise during daytime and late night TV giving the same value as, say, a university? I would posit that this is not really a valid question; but they do give some value. This is an issue which on the surface, seems straightforward, but can quickly move into class politics. So I will approach the issue from just a university versus trade / tech school.

University: Statistics have shown that university graduated make, on average, more than any other segment of the population. The average university wage will be about $20,000 higher than that of someone with a high school education, and $10,000 higher than someone with trade / technical school education. Also, university gives its students a more rounded education – usually requiring students to take some courses out of their chosen discipline. This, in turn, is why university graduates are often supporters of the arts, sports, and theatre, even if they have seemingly no connection to it. Universities also give students a whole different society, and the friends that people make in university are friends for life. The bonds formed in student organizations, particularly fraternities and sororities, are quite strong.
But is the extra money the point of the education? There are many examples of people who are university drop outs, or never even went, but are ridiculously successful – Bill Gates and Richard Branson but 2 examples.
This may mean that university stifles creativity, and that university may hold some people back. But put the money aside; is that why you go to university – to get a better paying job? And if you don’t get a better paying job, are you then disappointed? And if money is not the point, then what is? To grow as a person, or "reach your potential"? Going to classes, joining clubs, writing papers that no one will read after you are done school is not part of your potential; and for the limited few who make the jump to their Masters or Doctorates – the whole system can’t exist just for them. But it will make you interested in things outside of your own small comfort zone, and maybe it will take you to places where you didn’t think it would.
Most people who go to university are middle class or higher. So maybe university is just a middle class institution that keeps the class divisions intact – and they only let in the "best’ - smartest of the lower classes; thereby lowering the potential for the lower class and upping the potential for the middle class.

Trade / Technical school:
Lately, people with trades have been making more and more money. This is in the information fields, construction, the medical trades (nursing, EMT, dental hygenists), and a few others. So going to these types of schools may offer a comparable salary for their graduates, plus the opportunity to work while going to school. The schooling is shorter – often only 6 weeks of class a year. And you only learn stuff that is directly related to the work. A plumber will not have to take a course in sociology, for example.
But this strength can also be a limitation. There is nothing wrong with learning more about the world, and learning more might encourage people to seek new direction.
A problem with the dollar aspect of trade school is that you tend to top out earlier – after you get your ticket, your wage doesn’t go much higher.
But at advantage here is that the wage goes up faster. Someone just out of trade school will likely make a higher wage than someone just out of university, but in 10 years, the person with the university education will be making more.
The class problem exists here as well. It is mostly the lower classes that go to trade and technical schools, keeping the classes separate. Even people who have successful trade / technical based businesses tend to want their children to attend university, not trade school. I’m not sure why that is, but it is a trend I’ve noticed. Often, the standards for getting into trade school are lower than getting into universities, which could be a positive or a negative, depending on your point of view. There are technical school courses that are similar to university courses, but are not as in depth. For example, you can learn bookkeeping at a tech school, but accounting at a university.

What I think:
I believe that one is not better than the other. I think that it depends on the individual. I think that for those people out there who just want to learn the one skill or trade, the trade schools serve a vital and necessary function; but for those who want more in depth, university is a better option. Universities are more prestigious, but that had to do more with the amount pad for enrollment than anything else. I do believe that the social experience offered university students is better than the trade school experience. At a university, you are exposed to pretty much the whole spectrum of everything; but at a trade school you tend to only be exposed to people like yourself, going into the same job. I believe the class issue is relevant, and it would be better for society as a whole if there could be some balance their, but I offer no insight in how to achieve that.

How I relate:
This would be my personal bias from above – I just finished university. It was well worth it; but most people I know outside of university are in the trades. So they are mostly making more money than me right now, but their work is also taking a toll on their bodies. And much as I might have complained about my courses I had to take outside my discipline, I enjoyed them because they had a different perspective, and helped me look at things in a different way. There are a few people who are comfortable in both worlds – a friend of mine who just got her business degree wants to go back to school for the culinary arts – and good for her. My former bosses at the trucking company where I work had both their class 1 licenses and their business degrees. So they can go together, but most don’t. And most people aren’t happy with whichever one they have anyway. And even after I do get a different job, I'll have to effectively take trade courses in my chosen field - the education process never stops.

Cheers,