If you're considering trade schools or technical schools in the Bay Area, you have three unique areas to choose from: San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, California. Each features a thriving global economy complete with a wide range of vocational and technology-based career options. Technical schools complement the vast number of high-tech firms in such concentrated locations as Silicon Valley. Other major industries that court technical and trade school graduates include:

• Agribusiness and food processing
• Banking and financial services
• Bioscience and biotechnology
• Business services
• Computers and electronics
• Health services
• Retail and wholesale trade
• Telecommunications
• Visitors and tourism

San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, California: Three High-Growth Economies

With a population of 6.7 million, the Bay Area has three metropolitan centers--San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. The Bay Area ranks fifth in the U.S. with a per capita income of $65,000 and a gross regional product (GRP) of over $200 billion. The average household income is $83,839. According to the Bay Area Marketing Partnership, several aspects of the Bay Area make trade schools and technical schools here particularly popular if you're a high school grad or a mid-career changer:

• Leadership and strategy. More than one third of the jobs in the region are in managerial, professional, or technical operations.
• Budding growth. The multimedia, movie, and television production as well as environmental technology industries show promise.
• Recognition. The Bay Area has more than its fair share of artists, authors, business consultants, computer programmers, engineers, lawyers, musicians, physicians, and scientists.

The Bay Area is an ideal launch point for your vocational career in just about every conceivable industry. It all starts when you earn a degree, diploma, or certificate from a local accredited trade or technical school.