My friend wants to get a GED

[Moonstar Akemi]

Hi, I'm making this post because I'm genuinely concerned about a friend of mine.

Recently, he's been talking about getting a GED and I've been utterly confused as to why. He told me the reason before but it wasn't as clear as it was when I asked him today as a reminder. I asked him: "Why are you getting a GED again?" And he simply responded with:

"Because it'll be quicker and I won't have to collect work to give to someone. That's the only reason."

Keep in mind, this dude is a senior in high school, is homeschooled, and has barely anything left to do to graduate.

Legally, there is no difference between a GED and a High School diploma, which is what he believes one hundred percent. While that may be true, he isn't considering the fact that employers don't give a single forget about a GED being the same as a diploma. Employers usually (if they're smart) look for people who have graduated with a diploma because it shows that they have "worked hard".

My point being, he thinks that absolutely no employer on the Earth cares about whether someone has a GED or a diploma, so he's going to throw away every single hardworking moment he spent in his years of homeschooling when he's not even a year from graduation, and settle for a GED, because it's faster and he thinks that he'll still get hired at places with smart employers that reject dropouts and people who settle for the GED because it's faster and easier.

Please help me knock some sense into him. He won't listen to me because he's extremely arrogant and will never see himself as wrong, and he's about to make a horrible mistake.

I swear to god, it's like he's running a 10-mile marathon and when he's on the ninth and a half mile, he's like "forget it, quitting is faster, people will know I tried hard because they saw me get to nine and a half!"

lol

[Ad Bot]

[Harm94]

Tell him that many employers are more picky than he thinks and that he should get his diploma then go to college.

[Stocking]

tell him he's better off starting a band with his girlfriend than trying to be successful in life.

[Moonstar Akemi]

tell him he's better off starting a band with his girlfriend than trying to be successful in life.

Yes, because referencing my own life is completely relevant to the OP, very helpful, and contributing.

[Lego lad]

Have 2 people he doesn't know act this out.

One would have a GED and the other would be an employer.

The GED one wouldn't get the job

he would observe this and change.

[Moonstar Akemi]

Tell him that many employers are more picky than he thinks and that he should get his diploma then go to college.

I've tried, but he honestly doesn't believe that. He's a brick wall to talk to when it comes to questioning his decisions and his beliefs.

Have 2 people he doesn't know act this out.

One would have a GED and the other would be an employer.

The GED one wouldn't get the job

he would observe this and change.

I don't think acting would help the situation. He would need to see actual evidence. He doesn't know a single person with a GED, whereas I know a few people with them and they all regret it in some form. Except my uncle, he got his GED to graduate from nursing school after returning from the Marines.

He won't listen to me when I tell him to research and see if he can find a single person who isn't complaining about their GED, but he refuses.

[Harm94]

He could take the GED, but if wants to make it anywhere it should go to college and get an AS or Bachelors.

[Moonstar Akemi]

He could take the GED, but if wants to make it anywhere it should go to college and get an AS or Bachelors.

Well, you don't have to go to college to be successful, but sometimes it's necessary. But my point is that he's half a year from graduation and he wants to settle for a GED. He MIGHT as well grab a diploma because by the time he GETS his GED, he could have had his diploma. That's the frustrating part.

It's just that he might as well get it. There is absolutely no reason not to.

[Bisjac]

most all colleges still take you if you have a GED. no different then a highschool diploma.

in fact most of em just ask you if you have one. even if you dont, just tell em what they wanna hear and get on the the money part.
XD

[Bloody Mary]

I don't understand. A GED is functionally a high school diploma. There is no real difference between them. If your friend can get a GED before he could graduate high school, why wouldn't he? And also, I do not think that employers are legally allowed to say "we won't accept people with GEDs but we'll accept people with a high school diploma". That's like discrimination or something.

[Bisjac]

there isnt an employer on earth who would ask to see a highschool diploma. its literally a check box on an application, and would never come up again. because they all know highschool dosnt mean a thing anyways.

[Moonstar Akemi]

I don't understand. A GED is functionally a high school diploma. There is no real difference between them. If your friend can get a GED before he could graduate high school, why wouldn't he? And also, I do not think that employers are legally allowed to say "we won't accept people with GEDs but we'll accept people with a high school diploma". That's like discrimination or something.

Not exactly. They don't have to state their reasoning. However, I don't know if telling them that their GED is the reason they got denied is legal, but I do know that they do it anyway and just don't tell them the actual reason.

Now, if he was far away from his diploma, I'd be all for it. But I have several friends with a GED and they agree that it's better to have a diploma and that he should just get his diploma.

The thing is that he won't get his GED before he gets his diploma. A GED can sometimes take months to get depending on the state and the process you have to go through to get scheduled (and whether or not you're required to take a pre-GED course).

So, we were all agreeing that he might as well get his diploma because he's only going to lower himself a slight bit when he can have that extra bit of advantage with a diploma instead of graduating maybe two months early with a GED.

there isnt an employer on earth who would ask to see a highschool diploma. its literally a check box on an application, and would never come up again. because they all know highschool dosnt mean a thing anyways.

The first decent job I applied to asked me about my school life. I was honest, and I got rejected. Oops.

[Bisjac]

if hes a senior and hes just going to chill at home all year. then he might as well go to school.
ged's that young, he should be working or something. otherwise he is wasting his time anyway.

i didnt go back to school for a senior year. i was working online and generally loving around with life :D
but then when i went to a collage and they said i needed a diploma or GED i was like stuff. so i had to blow my plans that weekend and blow 100 bucks. took a 4 hour test 2 days in a row.

then 4 years later i changed schools, and they were like "we prefer a highschool diploma" so i said "yeah sure i got one of those, whatever" and finished up my degree :D

[DiceyGrammar]

The first decent job I applied to asked me about my school life. I was honest, and I got rejected. Oops.

yeah the first job will always judge heavily on your school history, it wouldn't make sense for them not to. why hire a stuffcunt when you can get someone who actually tried at school?

past the first job it hardly means a thing. it's great to flaunt if you did great, but not something you'll ever need again if you didn't. past job 1 it's all about your personal references.

[Bloody Mary]

Not exactly. They don't have to state their reasoning. However, I don't know if telling them that their GED is the reason they got denied is legal, but I do know that they do it anyway and just don't tell them the actual reason.

Now, if he was far away from his diploma, I'd be all for it. But I have several friends with a GED and they agree that it's better to have a diploma and that he should just get his diploma.

The thing is that he won't get his GED before he gets his diploma. A GED can sometimes take months to get depending on the state and the process you have to go through to get scheduled (and whether or not you're required to take a pre-GED course).

So, we were all agreeing that he might as well get his diploma because he's only going to lower himself a slight bit when he can have that extra bit of advantage with a diploma instead of graduating maybe two months early with a GED.

What advantage? The only reason why a GED would somehow amount to less on his transcript would be if his potential employers were all biased against GEDs for some reason. And call me optimistic, but I don't think that many employers would even care.