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If you're a guidance counselor or a parent of a non-traditional learner,  you may feel that there is a frustratingly small number of opportunities for your student or child.  You might worry about how they'll adapt to traditional college learning or find a career path that they can pursue with drive and passion.

Well, we're happy to tell you that robotics for non-traditional learners can be a great gateway. After all, it's a pretty non-traditional field. Robotics jobs pay well, are challenging and rewarding, and provide a career that's spent on the leading edge of advancing technology. Better still, your child or student doesn't need a 4-year college degree to be a part of it. 

Is Robotics a Great Career for Non-Traditional Learners?

Let's start by clearing that misconception about the need for college degrees in a field like robotics. An entry-level robotics job as a robotics technician generally requires a 2-year degree or a trade school certification in a related field. But that's it. No need to spend another couple of years- and tens of thousands of dollars- on a degree.

Plus, the average robotics technician salary starts in the $50k-$60k range, and only goes up from there. Not too shabby for someone without a college degree, right? And with the ever-growing popularity and demand for robotics in a variety of industries, especially in manufacturing, now is the perfect time to start a career in robotics.

This is all possible because robotics is a field that relies just as heavily on hands-on learning as it does on academic education, maybe even more so. After all, you can't exclusively learn how to work with and maintain a robot by reading about it in a textbook. You need to get your hands dirty and actually do it.

Non-traditional learners often break off from the academic pack due to an inclination to learn with their hands, not with books, and that's where robotics for non-traditional learners really has an advantage. Because they're used to learning outside of a traditional academic setting, they tend to be better at hands-on learning. They're not afraid to get their hands dirty and actually do the work. And that's exactly what you need to be successful in the field of robotics. Suffice it to say, if your question is “Is robotics a good career for non-traditional learners?” the answer is an emphatic yes. 

Robotics Has a Lot of Room for Career Advancement

Once a robotics technician is established in their field and has become experienced in the operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of robots, there's always room for advancement. With the experience they earn in their careers, they may choose to attend further training and education to become a robotics integrator or specialist.

There is a need for robotics workers at all career levels - entry-level, mid-level, and advanced - and robotics technicians are in a great place to work up to those positions. While many robotics technicians will want to stay at that level, some may want to continue learning new skills and advance to different positions, like the robotics integrator or robotics specialist. The foundational skills have already been established via on-the-job-experience. It's quite possible that a non-traditional learner can become an integrator or specialist eventually, should they choose to do so, without spending further years in a classroom. 

Speaking of the need for robotics workers...

Robotics Careers Have Major Job Security

Right now, there's a massive shortage of workers who are qualified to work alongside robots, especially in manufacturing. This is because robots are becoming much more common because of their efficiency and the enhancements they bring to productivity workflows, but the people who are needed to work with those robots are not as available.

That translates to job security for robotics technicians. As long as there's a demand for robots in the workforce, there will be a need for people who can work with them. And that demand is only going to grow in the coming years, as robotics careers become a fact of life across industries from manufacturing and healthcare to aerospace and beyond. 

So if you know a non-traditional learner who's looking for a career with good job security, then robotics is definitely the way to go.

Are You a Parent or Guidance Counselor of a Non-Traditional Learner?

If your child or student is a non-traditional learner who's looking for an in-demand career with good job security, then a robotics career path might be exactly what you're looking for. A robotics salary is great, they'll enjoy job security no matter what the economic climate is like, and they won't be in tens of thousands of dollars of student debt from college tuition.

How are they supposed to get started? It's actually much easier than you might think to find training and educational opportunities to help them get started. Just use the robotics career search tool on the RoboticsCareer.org homepage to find a program near you. No matter where you are in the U.S., you'll probably be able to find training and education that's conveniently located nearby.

From there, it's all up to you and your child or student to forge the path ahead to a rewarding career.