high school diploma or ged?

[yourkiddin]

would like to know how many of you out there quit school and got GED. would like to hear any success storys, best thing i ever done or made a bad decission dont recomend. now the reason i ask this. my son has had a really hard time with school. its going to be impossible for him to graduate. im wanting him to buckle down, work harder an get his diploma. dont get me wrong his mother does to but seems to think this is the sollution. let him quit school enroll in ged classes and get him a job. my thing is i dont think he has the drive to finish the courses or keep a job. tell me your story. about yourself, other family member or friend.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

I am an Admissions Rep for a "technical school". It has been my experience through many careers that the GED is less than adaquate and only a short term feel good fix. Nothing beats education.

I was an Army Recruiter for 10 years prior to my retirement. I have watched GED holders enlist and realize that the GED is not where they should be and have gone back to obtain a true HS Diploma.

Quitting school to get a small job is not the answer and sets the tone to quit at many things.

Fact: He will make more money with a high school diploma and over 5 times more money if he further's his education beyond HS.

The solution is going to be in your son's lap. The guidance counselor needs to step up and show that young man the light. If his education takes an additional year or so to obtain the diploma he will when he gets older realize it was worth it.

Find out where he wants to be in 5 years? What does he expect to own? Where will he live?

Don't get me wrong...... teenagers know everything!!

While the country has minor jobs for people there is no future in them. I would fight tooth and nail to keep him in school and get his diploma. I would encourage him to find out about goals and goal setting. He should not listen to his peers but, listen to the people who are in their late 20's and have been down those roads.

It's not about what other people have accomplished with or without a diploma..... it is about him as an individual.

 

[eaglejim]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

Well I got the H.S diploma but I went to school when they just wanted you out and my Dad stayed on my butt to get through.I was and am not a school person I am the kind that learn by doing.I am an owner of a paint company(32 years). Our two daughters were Home schooled,one works for herself as a videographer shooting weddings,transfers etc. The other is a writer(not published yet),baby and dog sitter, the younger sister will work for the older sister if she needs a second camera,Their mother is a R.N (not working) but she is back in school(online) to become a naturopathic doctor,and taken care of her Dad.All I know no one as ever ask to see my H.S diploma

 

[HAV2FISH]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

28 years ago when i was in high school. i had a hard time of it. i found that it was better for me to take some classes in summer school. I found i could hold interest in the class better with 4 hours a day for two weeks. than trying for a full semester. I also went to vocational school my last two years. Then took two years off and then went for 4 years of collage. At 25 i started my own business and now at 47 im very happily retired.

 

[JB]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

There is no easy answer, YK. I think it depends on why he is not succeeding in school.

For some people the typical public school is an introduction to failure. Failure can be, but is not guaranteed to be, habit forming.

I quit High School in the middle of my Senior year to join the Navy. High school was terribly boring and grades had little to do with what you learned; they were based on how hard you worked. I took the Navy's GED tests and scored in the 99th percentile.

I discovered how to be a successful student in the Navy and spent the next 50 years as a student of what interested me. I collected credits from a half dozen colleges and universities for my Self managed studies and publications. . . .finishing with a Ph.D (Summa Cum Laude) in adult education at age 60.

That is not a recommendation for a career path, it is simply evidence that public schools fail to meet the needs of some people. I was, and still am, very lazy. I will not invest effort beyond that needed to meet my objectives. Teacher's objectives are irrelevant unless by some miracle they bothered to find out what I wanted to learn. That really offends the system.

You need a professional diagnosis of why your son is not succeeding and a prognosis based on his interests and ambitions.

 

[Kobie]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

As a rising junior in high school I figured I would chime in. I for one really don't like school, and had considered just finishing high school and just continuing to work at the boat repair place I working at now. I thought that if my boss is making 90 bucks an hour doing this easy stuff, then I can too. Then I came to realize that what happens during the winter when the shop closes? What happens if I get hurt doing this and will I get benefits working for myself? I came to this conclusion because I really began to see what it takes to get into the Naval Academy, something I have dreamed of doing ever since I was in the 4th grade. I have a little above a 3.0 gpa, run track and cross country, eagle scout, and was a nationally ranked skeet shooter, but even things like that dont make the cut anymore. I will probably have to go to a year a prep school, then reapply the following fall, but even then that might not work

So as a peer, I would tell your son to suck it up and get high school over with. I willing to bet if he is having trouble in school where it is a structured environment, then working on his own for a ged will not work. All these stories of 40 year old guys working off just a ged may have served them well back then, but now our job market is alot different now.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

Well, I actually have neither GED or HS Diploma.
I scored A's & B's on all my class tests and finals, but was truant so many days they had to fail me.
I attempted a continuation program, but all we did was party and goof off..
I held a few jobs after I dropped out of school...Making money seemed like a good thing at the moment..It was never great money though..More than my friends, but just beer & gas money...

I applied for a warehouse job almost 22 years ago with my current company, unloaded containers, pulled orders, basic labor.
I have a knack for learning and asked questions constantly and took things into my own hands where I could.
My last duty in the warehouse was an automatic pick pull & restock system. Very high tech, radio frequency guns..Gave tours to other companies (Shimano, Yamaha & several others) to advise them and showcase the then state of the art tech.
I wanted to leave, as I did not think I could do anything to beat that..
My VP of Sales offered me a position in Sales, doing Inside Sales.
I was very sucessful at it and led me to be transferred to Florida.
We then had an opening for a Regional Sales Manager, and I was given the position. I have been in this position for 4 years, and am responsible for 11 States and aprox 6 million dollars a year in sales revenue.

Now......
Todays world is vastly different than it was 22 years ago...It is very rare for a person without even a college degree to be desirable in the workplace today.
I stress to my daughter, neices and nephews how LUCKY I am.....There is no substitute for education...

 

[henrye718]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

Hmm...

I grew up in a ghetto area of Brooklyn N.Y., alcoholic mother, and a dad that beat us both often. This was during the crack epidemic to boot.


I'd say if your son is gifted and a go getter in some kind of way or theres something special about him let him do it, he may have a chance. I WISH I would have had some kind of guidance back then, some discipline would not have hurt either.

Got my GED but, I am sure not proud of it. I would much rather have the high school papers, you only get one chance at it. Unless its a medical or mental problem there should be no excuse for him not to get it. That sense of achievement may lead him to believe he can do anything and may even instill in his mind that education or at least learning or work at something is the way to succeed. What I'm saying is it like almost becomes instint to think this way.

Here is a quick stroy of how I met my best friend.

He was a guard in a building I worked at he also has a GED. He was making minimum wage when I met him. I knew the day guard also and most of the building workers. They would all hang out in my office and goof off hiding from the boss, they are all union workers BTW. I had told my friend "hey you know the day guard is leaving" "get the fire saftey certificate and you have a good chance of getting the day guard's position". I told him it pays $21 dollars an hour, he did it and got the Job.

Soon after that he learned to drive and bought himself a brand new car. Six months later the building engineer, said he was retiring. I remember my friend telling me the union pays for schooling and they hold classes. I told him and with a little convincing he decided to study and take the classes, after all he is a guard, nothing to do most of the time anyway. Guess what his job is these days.. He now owns a house thats paid for almost and all he does is think positive and want to better himself. This all happened to him starting at the age of 33, he is now 38.

Just imagine if he would have had this attitude at the age of 18!

 

[henrye718]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

I also want to say. What if a GED is the highest he is ever going to achieve. Then he is up against all the other people who have H.S., that is not good odds. Like I said. If he is special maybe..

 

[ilmostro99]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

I think you will probably find quite a bit of anecdotal evidence that people who drop out can succeed; i.e., my uncle is the richest man I know, owns a business that is worth somewhere in the hundreds of millions and he never went past I think the 8th grade, true story BTW. Problem with stories like this is that they are the exception and not the rule. I think the key is figuring out why school is so much trouble for him. It could be that he needs to change his way of thinking. I started at a community college just after high school, with no direction and was only going because it was "what I was supposed to do". They finally kicked me out when my GPA was down to a 0.4. I went into the Coast Guard, then went to work for my family, and when I was ready to go to school, I didn't go for grades, or even for a diploma, but because I wanted knowledge. Ended up with a B.S., Business Admin. and getting all A's, and 1 B, and didn't work as hard as those who were just trying to make the grade.
All I'm saying is that it could be something as simple as he is there for the wrong reasons. If that's what it is, it unfortunately is only half the battle. The other half is trying to make him understand the "right reasons."

BTW, I did a lot of hiring at my last job and I would look look less favorably at someone would quit high school. I didn't look at a GED as a lesser education, but rather as a lack of commitment.
Good luck,
Erik

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

Ok heres my story . I was to smart for my own good . At the ripe old age of 16 I decided I was bored with school . I dropped out and went and signed up for a 6 month GED prep course . I was in that course 2 weeks when the teacher told me to go take the danged test . I passed with all 1st and 2nd year college levels . I went on to Play Army for 7 years and after that held several sales type jobs before getting into the HVAC industry . I managed to make killer money and pretty much got lazy for about 10 years . I ended up getting my Masters in the Field and decided to open my own company. That was 2 years ago and with any luck I will hit my 5 year goal of being Semi Retarted at the age of 45 with 3 peaple running service and installs for me .


The bottom line is todays world is much differant the when we were stupid kids . I would highly recomend he finish school and go on to college and get some type of degree . Folks like Kev and I have succeeded through the School of hard knocks but that school closed several years ago and today if a kid wants to get head he or she had better have a formal eduction.

The only other thing I will add when I was a kid the marines would take anyone who could make an X on a piece of paper . Today even the National guard wont take someone with a GED feel free to ask a recruiter .


Rick

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

my dad and i were general contractors. starting a 8 y/o i had my son work summers. he was extremely a hands on kid. learn fast, but books were not his thing. at 14 he was a supervisor of a 5 man crew, during the summer. i asked him that year, if he wanted to keep working with his hands, back and legs, or if he want to work with his brain. having moved up to the supervisor, he saw the easier life of working with his brain, and directing what was going on. He graduated UF and is now a construction engineer.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

Highschool for me was no fun... im not sure what was going on with me through those years, but the drugs helped influence my desicion to drop out afer failing 9th grade 3 times... not because of grades, but because of not going. i finally got around to getting my GED at 17, and scored very well on it. i worked a few low end jobs for a while, then started at 18 working as a dj for a mobile entertainment company. i did that for a few years, then decided to get into radio. i went for an interview at connecticut school of broadcasting to get into their program, but the director said to me "if you couldnt even finish hs, why would we expect you to complete the courses here. we dont like quitters. sorry but i dont think you are right for us here."

i literally begged him to let me in and that i wouldnt disappoint, yada yada. that was in 2000, graduated from there in 2001. been in radio since, and all has been great.


until recently. see i love my job, put radio doesnt pay well. and the company i work for doesnt have benifets. so i started looking around for something with more money and benifets. guess what? they all want a hs diploma.


i must tell this story to my step daughter once a month, but she just shrugs me off...

 

[JB]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

I think a lot of you are selling the GED short.

Bob knows, being an Admissions Rep, that there are a lot of people out there with HS Diplomas that cannot read them. To pass a GED you have to know the material. You have to be able to read and write, spell and calculate.

Education measured only by time spent or attendance record is fake education. The only valid measure of education is the measurable skills and knowledge of the student. How the skill and knowledge was acquired is unimportant.

 

[skargo]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

would like to know how many of you out there quit school and got GED. would like to hear any success storys, best thing i ever done or made a bad decission dont recomend. now the reason i ask this. my son has had a really hard time with school. its going to be impossible for him to graduate. im wanting him to buckle down, work harder an get his diploma. dont get me wrong his mother does to but seems to think this is the sollution. let him quit school enroll in ged classes and get him a job. my thing is i dont think he has the drive to finish the courses or keep a job. tell me your story. about yourself, other family member or friend.

Tell him to graduate, or he will end up with spelling and grammar like his dad.

Just kidding!!!!!

I got my GED at 16 years of age, and never looked back. I have never been asked for a diploma for any job I've had, and now am semi-retired at 42, own a business, and own some rentals.

I think ambition, and intelligence is WAY more important than education. I know a whole slew of folks with masters degrees who have no job, no prospects, and no life. Many of these folks couldn't survive if the power went out for a couple months, they'd be huddled in my basement waiting for me to feed them.

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

JB you are absolutely right a GED does prove you had the knowledge and all a High school diploma proves is that you were able to sit through 12 years of schooling . The unfortunte fact though in the world we live in today is employers want to see that documentation. The reality is even the military wont talk to you today without a H.S. Diploma . My second to the oldest daughter found this out the hard way when she got pregnant her last year of high school and got her GED instead of her Diploma . She had been talking to a National gurd recruiter for over a year and was all set to go in and get $20,000.00 in bonuses plus have her college paid for . Once they found out she had a GED they said oooooh sorry cant help you try the reserves. She has managed to get into nursing school and hopefully will do well with it but her hopes of the Guard and bonuses and not having Mom and Dad pay for college went out the door.


Rick

 

[FSHKPR]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

i think it all has to do with the motivation of the person. and a little luck never hurts either, my wife is good example. some jerk got her pregnant and she quit school after freshman year. i finished high school joined the navy and wife stayed home with baby. after a couple years of that she was going nuts so went out got her ged. then went on to tech school. got a couple different associate degrees accounting, medical office something or other. that was 33 years ago she has a great job in local hospital supervising the medicare billling dept. shes not all that smart tho, she keeps the jerk hanging around. my point is, it is really an individual thing, what works for one may not work for the other.

 

[dingbat]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

JB you are absolutely right a GED does prove you had the knowledge and all a High school diploma proves is that you were able to sit through 12 years of schooling

Well, been there done that and can assure you that a GED is not a substitute for 12 years of schooling.

I knocked up my girlfriend in the 10th grade and dropped out shortly thereafter to go to work. By age 19 I got my act together and took the GED to get accepted into the local CC. I passed the GED on the first try with flying colors (82%) even though I only completed the 10th grade at the time.


I?ve since went on to get my ME degree (took me almost 12 years part time) but I've lost a lot of income in the process. Had I completed school and went directly to college I would have added about $500K to my lifetime income to date.

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

dingbat go back and red the whole post and my other post you will find that I am saying that in todays world a HS diploma and college is pretty much a must to get ahead. Today is a differant world than when we were young and stupid.


Rick

 

[Jonathan3206]

Re: high school diploma or ged?

I am one of the odd ones. I was stupid in HS and got my GED. Now I own a 500k a year business and am looking to open more locations. (Im 24 years old)