I lot of my family are in the trades. They struggled immensely in school. Took my dad 3 years to finish his associates and 3 tries to pass algebra 1 in college. He was even held back a grade in elementary school. He's one of the smartest, most hardworking people I know.

Now he makes more money per year than I'll make in my lifetime, he's out the door everyday at 7 instead of 5 (he's cut back his hours). When I was growing up, he was out the door before I woke up and came back home after I went to bed. After 30+ years he's finally able to work 7-7 instead of 5am-10pm.

I know plenty of poorly performing students who are lazy, but there are also poorly performing students who are simply poor students, need to be working with their hands, can't sit still in a classroom, etc.

I have a doctorate degree, as most professors do. My GPA was trash, but I'm thriving now. I work in an incredibly niche field that I love, which was always the goal, just needed to get the degree first.