Nontraditional Careers
What are nontraditional careers?
Nontraditional Careers refers to jobs that have been traditionally filled by one gender. Nontraditional occupations are occupations for which individuals from one gender comprise less than 25% of the individuals employed. Examples are males in nursing and childcare and females in technologies and plumbing. (source: https://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/Career%20and%20Technical%20Education/Perkins/Pages/NontraditionalPrograms.aspx)
What are the benefits of nontraditional careers to females?
- Economic self-sufficiency
- Higher wages
- Better benefits
- Physical challenges in many jobs
- Broader job opportunities
- Advancement potential
- Job satisfaction
What are the benefits of nontraditional careers to males?
- Opportunities for advancement in an area of interest
- Fulfilling work
- Opportunity for adventure
- Broader job opportunities
Why pursue a nontraditional career?
Careers that are non-traditional for one of the genders, such as information technology, nursing, and engineering, often experience a labor shortage, so there is high demand for skilled employees in those occupations. "Women are more often the focus of nontraditional programs because the opportunity to earn higher wages exists in occupations that are commonly nontraditional for women. Although occupations that are commonly nontraditional for men often do not yield higher wages, they may provide increased job satisfaction and may yield a high wage for them than their female counterparts working in the same career." (source: https://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/Career%20and%20Technical%20Education/Perkins/Pages/NontraditionalPrograms.aspx)
Opportunities in nontraditional jobs include the ability to earn a living wage, good benefits, flexible hours and the potential for advancement.
Females have made tremendous gains in education over the past three decades. But males continue to be the vast majority of those who enroll in such traditionally male career and technical education courses as auto mechanics, construction or engineering, while females still make up the majority in cosmetology, child care, health services and other traditionally female courses.
Through the years, students have pursued nontraditional programs offered at North Montco. Below are a few photos of some of the students.
