Picked out 2 sections of your post that I wanted to expand-

You just brought up another reason why community college is sometimes a better avenue to pursue. The teachers there are often part-time. They work in their respective profession while teaching on the side. Even many of the full-time teachers have worked in their respective professions for years before becoming teachers there. At least that is what I have seen at our local community college which is pretty highly regarded by the local universities, many of which accept their credits. I remember my son saying even at the university where he attended, the professor he learned the most from was someone who had worked in the industry before signing on to teach at the business school there.

You make a valid point, one which I had forgotten, in your second paragraph. Family members of mine who are in manufacturing say the same thing. It's not that they don't have a sufficient number of applicants, it's that so many do not pass the drug test. A lot of time is wasted on interviewing, only to that end.