GED vs High School Diploma

I say stick it out too. I know that getting that far behind can make it seem overwhelming. But I think that’s only because you keep looking at the whole picture. Just try and take it one day at a time. Take the Summer courses that you need to catch up and don’t worry about the distant future. Don’t get caught up thinking about how long it’s going to take. Just keep going and get it done.

You won’t want to have to look back on your time in high school ten years from now and think about how you couldn’t get it done just because you were too lazy. And Chris is right. Quitting is a habit and you don’t want to get started out that way.

My finance’ 34, had gotten her GED. But quality of life and her difficulty finding a job or a school that will take her has been a struggle.

I myself ran a track record of d+ all through up to my jr. year, when I also had a wake up call. It wasn’t a “oh man! I need to goto collage moment. No, it was an interest in what was going on around me, became interesting. Life outside my home & school, which ended up focusing on what was being taught in class. Second thing is during your jr year, you have more flexible time to choose more electives. Since being possibly in IT, or working on the tech service level, I’d look into technical school programs the school offers.

I graduated, and though didn’t have a perfect score to get into collage, my background in art classes landed me a good chance to head into technical school in commercial art. Now 33. Paid my last school loan (that’s 11 years to pay off 34,000.00) through the government school assistant program.

Now My degree isn’t near related to my current Job as a Network server technician, but I have done the following because of my degree:

1. been in IT for roughly 9 years.
2. had bought my first house at 23
3. had my first business at 28
4. had my first employee at 30
5. been a Datacenter IT Manager at 32

If that sounds pretty cool, then fight for the degree. Even though you may fall down when it comes to grades. Fight for getting that piece of paper.

Best wishes. Splitpaw

The high school diploma will help getting into a good college. They mean less getting into a trade school, but make sure that’s what you want. A trade school certificate doesn’t mean much later if you end up looking at a job that requires more education. Your poor HS grades will be enough of a hurdle.

A GED isn’t the end of the world if you don’t want to get into a good school. I know what it’s like to be a bright guy stuck in high school classes. If you think you can pass the GEDs right now (take a few practice tests) then the fast track might not be the worst way to go.

What do you actually KNOW about programming and computing? Have you done any study on your own — say for the MCSE? Might get one of those books, and a book on basic programming, and take a good look at what it takes to be a computer jock. If you don’t like routine studying, it might not be for you. Pride in your computer doesn’t mean much when you’re writing a test on binary.

Looking to the future is fine, but don’t kid yourself. With poor study skills and poor self discipline, no worthwhile road is going to be devoid of potholes.

Steven:

Traditional school can really kill the spirit of some students. Everyone does not need a college degree to be successful. That being said, you hate to shut yourself out of opportunities too soon in life. Often public schools have an alternative schooling option. These schools often have shorter hours and a quicker way to make up credits than summer school. These programs can also be more engaging because they are designed for the non-traditional learner. GED is an option too and then moving into a community college with plans to transfer to a four year program. A third option is a virtual school - like Laurel Springs. Your state may also have a virtual school. For example, Florida has the Florida Virtual School and the Florida Virtual Academy. Both free to state students. You can also look at some kind of a blend to see if you can make up credits online with approved classes and still stay in school.

You have learned a lot about yourself from this experience and this is far from a lost cause. A great place to start is with your school counselor and see if your school has an alternative school for high school students to pick up credits more quickly than simply summer school. Schools also have independent study programs where you work on your own and meet with a teacher weekly. Look online for your state and “online school” or “virtual school” to see if that is also an option. I have been researching Laurel Springs for another student I am working with and have like what I have seen so far. It also seems affordable. Any alternative option you pick MUST be accredited.

You will also want to address the habits or life style that got you to this point. If you are “lazy” as you say and if that has not changed with some renewed sense of the importance of graduating from a traditional school then more of the same with summer school or independent study may be a recipe for disaster and failure. If you know you need schooling that is more engaging, targeted toward your interests, with a later start time, you can try an alternative setting or a GED/Community College Combo.

It is easy to look back and see what you could have done differently yet way more productive to look forward and be solution focused and see what you can do now given what you know about yourself.

At this point - set the goal at a 4 year college degree - it does give you more options in life in the long run.

Jennifer H. Selke, Ph.D.
Jennselke [at] gmail
http://www.jennselke.com
http://thecampdirector.com/

This may hurt your feeling, but I think it’s time to grow up. You think that you will not have to get up early to go to “computer college”? Even if you don’t have to be up early for class, what about when you get a job in the real world? You think they are just going to be OK with you strolling in at 10 of 11 in the morning? You think your customers who get to work at 8 or earlier and find their systems down are going to find it acceptable that they’ll have to wait until you get out of bed? I think this is a case of living with mommy and not seeing the big picture. You think the self made people of this industry or any other got by on living life the easy way?

Also, I think you will put yourself at a distinct disadvantage settling for a GED. While they are supposed to be the equivalent, I can ensure you employers don’t see it as the same. When your in an interview and they ask “What led to you getting a GED?” your answer will be “Because I slept late.”?

I think it’s time you take some personal responsibility, do the summer school and bust it on your senior year. Then you’ll have something to talk about and be proud of!

Here’s the deal Steven, while a GED or (General Equivalancy Diploma) looks like a quick and easy way out of your situation, bear in mind that employers often look at your lifetime achievements to determine your focus, drive, ambition, and work ethic. For instance, if you quite high school and took the easy way, then you will be more likely to jump ship when the work load become difficult. However, proving that you can stick it out is a good indicator of an a great potential employee.

Now I understand not being a morning person, but you can alter your body clock, and do it while you are young. This will be a lot easier than if you wait until you have been fired from three jobs for being late constantly and now have a resume full of bad references.

Best of luck with whatever you ultimately decide.

Thanks Chris. After your help and a lot of my friends help, I think I’m going to stick with the High School Diploma. If all else is still failing, I’m going to get my GED. Thanks again Chris!

Hey, In my Opinion you should Try and stick it out in High school especially in this economy (its only getting worse.) It might be a wise idea to start the process of Getting your GED while in high school because you only have to do a certain amount of assignments per month. This will help because if you do decide to drop out eventually you will already have the majority of your GED assignments out of the way and if you dont drop out you will have a High school diploma and a GED making you much more eligible for future jobs.

I say not only to stick it out, but to *learn* to be a morning person. Set a goal to get up every morning at 5:00 AM. That means getting to bed every night before 10:00 PM. Seven hours of sleep should be good for any grown person. Children need more, but you aren’t a child anymore, although you are still acting like one.

Also, focus on your schoolwork. Tell your friends that you won’t be available to play with them until after you graduate. When you come home from school, have a nice snack, and then hit the books until your schoolwork is complete.

I’d also have a talk with each of your teachers. Tell them that you have a laziness problem that you are looking to overcome. Apologize for your past apathy and promise to dedicate yourself to your education. If you ask them for help, they will give it to you. Some of them may know you better than me though and assume you are up to no good… so you may have to prove yourself to them.

The big issue here is that you are on a path to loserdom. I don’t care how much you like your computer, unless you can show some dedication and turn yourself into a “Can-Man”, you will continue to fail. Not just at school, but at life.

I hire and employ computer geeks and I never have knowingly hired one with a G.E.D. As soon as I see that on a resume, I trash it post-haste. Any moron can get a high-school education in this country and I know lots who have. A G.E.D. is a career death sentence.

Grow up and get to work! The rest of us have to.

That last post of mine seems a little harsh, but geek Steven Johnson needs a boot in the ***.

If he drops out of high-school he will regret it for the rest of his life… which statistics show won’t be as long as those of us with high-school diplomas and college degrees.

i agree that quitting is a learned and honed habit. it starts with one act and then leads to more.

character is built in the fire. think about the story you can tell.
- i quit and took the GED exam.
- the cards were against me (as you are telling a future employer), my grades were failing. i dug in my heels, maximized my time and resources, and graduated with HS diploma!

i like the second one. and honestly - if you think your going to get a computer science degree with a lazy GED attitude, you are in for BIG surprise. let me remind you - you still have to take all the boring core classes at college. and if you are getting a ‘real’ computer science degree from a ‘real’ technology school - plan on getting your behind handed to you in the IT courses.

college is only easy for the highly motivated. i know this because i have too much motivation. i am now working on a second masters and have the PHD in the planner.

you’re awesome! now make an awesome story for yourself. get that HS diploma!

I didn’t do well in HS, either, but instead of just dropping out and getting my GED, I homeschooled. I found that I wasn’t as lazy or stupid, I just couldn’t be interrupted, either by the bell or other disruptive students. I got more done in a couple of hours during the day, than I did during the entire day of school.

I finished the requirements for the last three years of HS in a year-and-a-half, only to find out that the only accredited diploma service we could afford required even more for their tests.

Unfortunately, I came down with Mono and got my GED anyway.

Steven is a little more fortunate. Curriculum, diploma services (ones that colleges recognize), and homeschooling groups are more available than they were when I homeschooled.

He can even do college at home. I only took a home course in Computer programming through a now defunct NRI, but it did teach that learning isn’t confined to a state established building.

Not everyone can do high school, and not everyone can homeschool. Just don’t give up on learning.

Oh, and most colleges will accept a GED if you homeschool and a lot will accept them regardless.

@Philip: Majority of self-made Millionaires never finish Highschool, almost all never finish college (Bill Gates comes to mind). Perhaps it because people like won’t give them a chance? :D

With 80 plus years of experience behind me i can tell you that when you quit school you lose more than you can ever imagine. You will spend the rest of your life trying to fill that lost education within yourself. I quit school in the 9th grade got a GED went back to school got a high school diploma but did not get the lost years of high school back continued on to college . Each person feels his or her ignorance within themselves throughout their lives. You have the chance to reduce your own lack of learning by continuing your education while it is easy to learn when you are young when you grow older time will flee away making learning harder to grasp.

Stevey baby, don’t do it. If you wont to make it in this world dig in your heels and stick with it. You have had some wonderful advice given to you here. Change your habits. Come home after school, hit those books, do your home work, find some one (a pretty little girl if possible) to tutor you. But study. Read ahead. Memorize your work if necessary. Know what you are suppose to know. Cut out the computer games. I know that they are exciting and time consuming. I had to lock my boy’s computers in the shop, until they brought their grades up to a 3.5 average before I let them use them again. Shut everything down at 10PM and go to bed. Set your alarm clock for 6AM and get up, eat a good, healthy breakfast work out some and then a quick cold shower and be ready for the new day.
You need to set your goals now, to get that High School Diploma. That should be your only goal right now. What ever it takes. Work at it. You wont regret it.
I have disffectia, but 70 years ago they did not know what that was. They thought I was just backward and stupid. Did not learn to read until I was 10, I could not remember how spell words, or do math problems and I would become very frustrated and act out. I would be punished severely. However, An elderly teacher took me in hand and taught me how to work around my problem and how to read and retain what I read, etc. It was not easy, I had to work twice as hard to learn as the average student but I set my goal to finish college and with her help I got through grade school with my class and went on to middle school with with a c+ average and finished High Chool with a solid B average. After a stent in the Navy. I went to college (I flunked freshman algebra 3 times before I passed with a c-) and earned a BS in Speach 3.5. I went on to get a MDiv and Phd.
I’m not patting my self on the back, but I’m telling you this If you bow your back and make up your mind that you are going to do something you can do it. You have all the tools, You are a Geek, You have the knowledge, or you can obtain the knowledge, You just have to have the will and the want to. I isn’t going to be easy. Nothing worth having is easy. Make up your mind that you are going for outer space. You may not get all the way. You will get al dam site father that if you don’t tgry at all.
Yours in HIs service
Papa Smurf

Hey Steve if you ever read this, it’s Wilbur from the school orchestra, 1st Violin. Well, anyway, I’d say just to stick it out. Even if you’re a junior and you’ve been failing classes left and right, it’s never too late to start trying. If anything, as long as you’re trying that’s what counts. In life, grades like an A or whatever don’t matter, it’s the things you get out of the lesson. Would I use this in my life, ever? And, some of the things you learn in school, you won’t use again, but some you’ll definitely use. Just remember, whatever path you’ll take, try hard, and no matter what you’ll be successful in whatever you do, whether playing trombone in orchestra to being a computer geek who do what we do.

Frankly, you may be well bright enough to earn a GED but high school isn’t just about book learning. If you can’t take responsibility to end your laziness and get up for classes, I think it doesn’t matter what you say, you will end up on the wrong end of a retracting job market. Toughen up, get out of bed, and develop skills. If an employee came to be and told me “I am just to lazy to get out of bed! I need to start at noon!,” I would fire him. Period. High school just isn’t about the book learning, it helps teach critical habits that are necessary in the workplace…

Dude,

Choosing a GED over a High School Diploma is Darwinism in action. If you are able to convince yourself you don’t need it, or that your ‘laziness’ is some sort of justification for skipping it, or that the fact you can’t manage to wake up before 8am are any kind of legitimate reasons… you are already on the path to complete failure.

“Oh, I can’t wake up that early”… what kind of BS is *that*? FFS.

Good luck. For the record, I did not graduate. Not because I didn’t want to, because the High School refused to graduate me even though I had already taken every course they had to offer by the end of my junior year (3rd yr French, AP English, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, Differential Equations). Most of my AP classes were actually at the state college, not the High School. I told them to stuff it, passed the High School Proficiency Exam, got a 1550 on my SAT and enrolled at Humboldt State University. Even to this day, I get questions on why I don’t have a HS diploma, and I’m 43.

But… I know it’s kind of useless to tell a junior anything. You probably already had your mind made up before you asked the question, and were only looking for validation.

Sorry if I sound harsh. Reality bites. Get used to it.

Original post:GED vs High School Diploma | Chris Pirilloby at school - Google Blog Search Blog tag: Car Technorati tag: Car

Personally i feel you should stick it out man! This is a must have in the world today. You need to have that high school diploma on your record for jobs. You will have a much higher chance of getting hired and it is just a need you have to have in life! Just work hard and stick it out and you’ll be all good!

Hmm a subject that I am familiar with.

I myself got my GED as soon as I was 16, though I was home schooled up until then and also married young. When I was 18, I became a shift manager and bought our first home, at 20 I worked as a bank teller and when I was 21 I started my own website designing & maintenance business that I am still running with my husband working for me and an assistant.
So it greatly depends on the person as to what you will do, with what you achieve.

As far as the sleep thing. Has it never occurred to anyone that there is reason that teens sleep late???
Here is one link for you: http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/Childrenssleep/Pages/Whyteenssleeptoomuch.aspx
You can Google a ton of articles on the subject.

A second sleep point is there is a thing called “Delayed sleep phase syndrome” where to us living in the “normal society’s” time is like you having 6 hours of jet lag! It’s not our fault and we aren’t lazy for it. Lucky I have a career where I CAN sleep the way I need to. I myself can’t go to bed before 4 or 5 am and I will sleep till 2pm. I can not sleep for a night (which is what I have done right now) but still won’t be tired till 3 am the next night. If I walk my sleeping around the clock it might stick for a couple weeks but nothing permanent. More info at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_syndrome

My third point is, do you know that you don’t have a learning disability? My husband is brilliant with all the knowledge of pop, gamer & movie trivia but math just is so confusing to him. He completed 4 of the tests for his GED but can’t pass math due to dyscalculia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia This is something that should have been caught in high school but never was.

Now my 15yo sister that has lived with me since January, needed public school after years of homeschooling not really working for her. She wouldn’t push herself to get the homework done and my mom wasn’t getting her to do it either. So after 6 months of me pushing her in homeschooling, we put her in public school and she is doing great. Started out with C’s, B’s and A’s, and now is straight A’s with half of them being A+ and on the honor roll. My husband wants her to get her HS diploma rather than her GED, which she was wanting to do.

So I would say if you can finish high school than great! But DEFIANTLY get your GED.

I say try and finish if you can, it would show determination. I dropped out of high school but not by choice. My high school asked me to leave because I was insulting them with my FCAT scores. It’s not that they were bad is because they were good. What they didn’t like was that my scores were higher than the magnet students, and I was in mainstream in ESE. I have my GED and am preparing to attend ITT.

I speak from experience.. so for the love of god, listen! I dropped out in my 10th grade year and got my GED… I thought I was super smart for getting my high school years over with in hours and while that may be true, it was a bad decision and ever since (I am now 35), I have had to work 300 times harder at everything I do in order to prove myself and have always found career related “breaks” come much easier to everyone else… so my advice, bust your a** and get it over with, the GED route is not worth it and if you find it your last and I mean LAST resort to go get your GED… do not, I repeat DO NOT drop out of school until you’ve actually taken the GED test and passed it… you owe it to yourself and you’ll be sorry in later years, so be careful on your decision

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Chris,
Stay in high school. It is more difficult overcoming the GED label than it is to finish your studies. I’m truly shocked that laziness is your only reason for wanting to get a GED.

My daughter, she’s 17 now, but she went to summer school this past summer for 2 credits she needed to graduate, a year early. She was 16 when she graduated high school. She was taught that a GED is nothing compared to what a high school diploma says about you.

I wish you the best, but no matter what anyone says, the GED stands for quitter and it will never change. I’m 38 years old and I still have to explain why I didn’t graduate high school when I apply for a job.

Stick to school. Buckle down. Straighten up those grades. Get the diploma. You are obviously smart enough to know and understand that you are on a downturn and that if you don’t do something you will fail. Pick yourself up. You can do this.

I don’t recommend you get a GED. Sure it’s better than NOTHING… but if that’s all your striving for, employers will take notice. If you don’t get your diploma and decide you want to go to a four year later on down the road, you’ll have to go back to a two year college and take remedial type coursework in order to bring you back up to where you would have been (for general education requirements) if you had only stayed in school. If you think high school is hard and long, wait until you change your mind down the road.

Something you really need to take into consideration about those technical schools (ECPI is a prime example-check the fine print - we do NOT accept transfer credit of any kind from them) is that you check for accreditation. If they are NOT accredited, NOTHING you take will be transferable into anything other than a non accredited institution. (7 years in college did teach me something, even though it took me until I was 37 to learn it., pride or not. That was three years ago.) I’ve taught and advised at a four year state college and a community college. I’m very familiar with the general education prerequisites.

It’s such a good idea for you to ask for advice from a forum such as this one. This shows that you are seeking information. It tells me you are serious about a decision that will affect you and your life.

If you have any more specific questions, please feel free to ask: me, the guys here, your advisor, a collegiate advisor (that’s what we’re here for.)

Find out if your school makes allowances for a free day or two to visit campus’. They’ll do that here in NC for the high schoolers. Make a point to visit the campuses (even out of state. I can put you in touch with an advisor from ECU - she’s also my BFF so I know she’d know exactly what would or wouldn’t transfer or from what schools. )

If I had the choice, I would do a lot of things differently personally. I finished high school, but thought I knew everything…. and a chain of events kept me from a BS for a very long while. Just… please… make the effort to build your foundation. You’ll be so glad you did.

Im kinda in the place as you but just a bit different im from Wallington, New Jersey by the way your across town. I was Unable to graduate due to unforeseen family crisis which forced temporary yet extended relocation to Dominican Republic and I came about 1 year half ago and now i want to start school I was thinking the same to just get my GED cause I went to Wayne Tech high they said it would take me two years to get my High School Diploma now im 19 dont know what to do next. Should I just stay for 2 years and finish where I left off or just get my GED.

hey. i did the exact same thing. but i stuck it out and worked my *** off.. i had to take a full schedule my senior year and i had to take like 4 online classes. the online classes were a joke

I couldn’t agree more with whoever said “it depends on the person you are..” , it most certainly does depend on the type of person that you are. I received my GED and I never had problems applying with companies after my GED. When I was in school I was a year behind, decided to drop out and pursue a GED. Upon receiving my GED i applied with one employer, got a job no problem. (I even had a job after that with my GED), After that I went to a community college.. After graduating I opened my own company which is now “companies” :) Bottom line kid, you have to get up like everyone else, nothing will ever be handed to you. But its also okay to look at open options and while receiving a diploma or a GED just know goals for yourself, and never settle for less than your best. Good luck with whatever you decide upon.