Two years ago, Pat Gaudio had to reinvent himself.

After working for the past 28 years at Weirton Steel as a steel inspector, Mr. Gaudio was laid off on April 30, 2004.

The date is still fresh in his mind.

It was a job that Mr. Gaudio and many of the other Weirton steelworkers had come to depend on -- their fathers, uncles and cousins worked the same mills until they retired, and it was always a given that they would do the same.

But Mr. Gaudio had to seek a life after steel.

After a six-month break from his job, the 52-year-old went back to school.

Mr. Gaudio took his need for an urgent career rebirth to the Pittsburgh Technical Institute. The two-year school seemed to hold what other traditional avenues of higher education could not offer -- a clear path to a job with no interruptions and adventures into the wild and woolly world of liberal arts.

Without the need of SAT or ACT scores and the worry of extensive applicant interviews, the admissions process made PTI even more desirable.

"I was starting from square one," said Mr. Gaudio, who is now nearing the end of his two-year journey into the field of medical office administration. "I didn't have to worry about admission costs or job placement after I graduated."

Community colleges, technical schools and trade schools offer students attainable options to life after high school and unexpected career changes. The relative ease with which a student can attain an associate's degree or a trade certificate makes admissions to all of these post-secondary options appealing.

Open admissions policies allow students the flexibility to apply within days of when a certain program starts.

"Students can apply with only a high school diploma or a GED, making the idea of the community college purely about serving the community," said Helen Kaiser, Community College of Allegheny County spokeswoman.

CCAC has an open admissions process much like many community colleges, trade schools and technical colleges in the region.

"These admissions requirements are hallmarks that we really serve the whole range of learners. We serve people who need remedial help and we have honors programs," she said.

Four-year colleges sometimes are not the ticket for students like Mr. Gaudio, who are looking for the express check-out lane to a job that pays anywhere from $35,000 to $50,000 a year.

Some students also choose this route as the way to a four-year degree. CCAC and many other community colleges have extensive agreements with some four-year schools that ensure credits will transfer. Some students choose a community college to save money because the credits earned there usually cost less.

Some trade and technical schools also offer credits that transfer to some four-year schools. Some offer a curriculum that gets an industry seal of approval.

"Technical schools are not always the right fit for everyone, but they can be the perfect fit for many," said Marylou Zuk, vice president of admissions for PTI.

Some programs, such as nursing, require background checks because many of its graduates will be entrusted with the handling of prescription medication. Students interested in pursuing occupations in security services undergo similar checks into their pasts because they are in charge of protecting others.

But generally, open admissions policies and minimum requirements allow applicants to many of these institutions the flexibility to continue an educational process that would have ended right after high school. The schools also allow them to continue an education that was interrupted by circumstances outside of their control.

Melissa Cyphert's parents never went to college. Higher education to the 20-year-old from West Elizabeth always seemed like a luxury rather than a necessity.

She gravitated toward art classes but realized that life after high school couldn't be sustained on an avid curiosity in fine arts. She found practicality in a graphic design program at PTI. With the aid of financial counselors, she set a financial plan for her education and continued on in a career field using her creativity.

Getting into some schools is not necessarily a given. Not to mention completing the program.

At the Empire Beauty School on McKnight Road in the North Hills, one of four students makes it through the school's admission process, and only 16 of 100 enrolled students eventually graduate.

Inside the school, Charles Gross, senior vice president of marketing, eyed a potential student who had just walked in the school's front doors. The young woman and her friend sat down to fill out the school's survey for potential candidates' interests.

"That is only the first portion of an interview process," said Mr. Gross.

Students who choose the glamorous and not-so-glamorous career field of personal beauty often undergo a lengthy interview process to determine just how committed they are to the school's program.

"The interview is not only how they perceive their career goals, but how they want to change their lives," said Mr. Gross.

Some students try more than one school.

Ramona Porter Luster, 34, has spent much of her life reinventing herself. She spent the years after her graduation from high school enrolled at CCAC in its nursing program. She graduated and decided nursing was not for her, so the mother of three turned to a technical school and went into automobile mechanics. She also took piano lessons at CCAC, temporarily becoming sidetracked from her goal of running her own business.

Mrs. Porter did open a cleaning company called Porter's Cleaning Service in Coraopolis. She closed the business to gain a better grasp of the mechanics of business ownership.

But, Mrs. Porter could not have done half of her career soul-searching if it weren't for the open admission processes at the schools where she has studied.

Now, as her rebirth continues, Mrs. Porter has enrolled in a joint business administration and accounting program at PTI so she can learn how to run her business better.

"I know how to do it now -- the right way," she said.