When I was in high school quite some time ago the guidance counselors would identify the students that they didn't feel were college-bound and point them in the direction of a trade school. These students would go to regular high school for the first half of the day and then spend the second half at what we called "vocational tech" learning skills such as auto mechanics, welding, plumbing, etc. Many of these students were able to make good money right out of high school.
For some reason, schools have done away with "vo-techs". I think the conventional wisdom is that all kids should aspire to go to college and many of the trades that were taught were geared towards males. Can't have that!
Who's the "dummy" now? Me. I stupidly went into medicine. I make about what a master plumber makes. And if he owns his own business, he's doing very well.
He's not going to get sued by a disgruntled patient/client.
And if a customer doesn't "feel" like paying him for his work, he can tear out the sink he just installed.
Yes, I can remember the same thing at the high school I attended. There, they divided the students into two categories, one “college preparatory” and the other not that (I don’t remember the term they used). Again, the males in the latter category were often guided into voc training.