Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with GED

The High-School drop-out would like some respect.

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:45:37 -0800

How bad is the high school drop-out stigma among the general public? I dropped out of High School before completing even one year, or month. It was dumb, I shouldn't have done it, you aren't my lawyer, etc.

Usually I don't mind admitting this because I've received my GED. Lately though it seems it is hurting my reputation unless I get a college diploma.

I'm not an idiot, but I'm not particularly intelligent. I don't have any really redeeming qualities in any kind of art to make up for the lack of education. I do some high-tech work and people seem to respect that. I'm just not really in tune with what they think about me.

Is the public stigma attached to this issue really bad, should I just never discuss it?

Why me read suck?

mediocre — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 23:32:26 -0800

After about 20 years of believing myself to be a perfectly accomplished reader, I have been told that in fact 66 percent of America is better then me. Why? So a little bit ago I decided to go back to school to get a degree or generally put myself on a career path that will end with an internship-come-career in Public Radio, or Public Television, Although I would prefer radio, I think that it is an unfortunately overlooked side of the public broadcasting coin and will always be around no matter how many people have an intertube in their bathroom and kitchen and bedroom and foyer..

I've always been good with words, and a relative encouraged me to try journalism. I've always wanted to be a freelance writer and somehow make money off it, but never though it a legitimate option (do you know any freelance writers who can even support themselves?) But the idea made me think of my secret desire I've had since I was a kid to go into radio. So I am on a path, working with my advised at a local community college, to pursue a course of study that will make me an attractive candidate for Public Broadcasting internships.

This is entirely unimportant to my question however.

I always felt school to be an intellectually stifling experience, and never finished high school. Nor did I ever attain an equivalency, whenever the issue came up with prospective employers I would simply lie. They would never follow up because I never came off like someone who lacked a basic 12th grade education. But when I decided to attend college, it became important that I have that academic scarlet letter(s), the GED. I took all the tests, and certainly passed them all well enough to get the "degree", even mathematics which was a subject I feared enough to never take the test for nearly a decade. But when I saw my test results, my score in the Reading subsection of Language Arts was shockingly low. a score of 490 or 46th percentile was frustratingly low. I felt a number of the questions (all multiple choice) were asking for something that could not have a "correct" answer: subjective interpretation. For example, one question asked me how a character from Portrait Of A Lady would react to a statement his scene-mate would possibly say, of these two of them seemed likely. No one more then the other, and being that this is asking for an interpretation I don't feel as though it's truly possibly to have a "right" answer. Certainly there could be a wrong answer, but how did my interpretation of the text make for such a low score? It was the final test of that day, so I was mentally tired to say the least, but I feel cheated. I am better then 46th percentile, but I don't want to bother re-taking the test and paying the fees just for my own self edification.

Is this just another fault of standardized testing? Or does subjective interpretation in fact have absolute correct and incorrect answers? Will this embarrassingly low score on a section of my GED follow me around as to make re-testing something that would be advantageous of me to do?

Smart kid with some bad luck looking for a new start.

CliffDiving44 — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 23:28:59 -0800

I never finished high school. I am very tech-savvy, and I would like to know the best way to go about getting a tech job. Should I go for certifications? Get my GED and go to a technical school? Continue learning on my own? I dropped out of high school because of depression, which I'm still struggling with. I'm currently unemployed, and I don't have much money to work with. I have been learning on my own for the last couple years, and I've developed a lot, but it is a slow process. I've worked with linux and taught myself xhtml and css, and I'm all-around pretty good with computers. I just don't know where to start in terms of seeking a good tech job. Are certifications worth it? Do I have to go to ITT Tech or MIT to get a good job? Should I just try to learn on my own and impress the right person? Thanks for the answers.

PS: I'm interested in pretty much any tech job.

How to work with no diploma?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 May 2008 08:15:05 -0800

How do the uneducated make a living? What jobs are available to those who don't have degrees, but can easily fool you into thinking they do? Without getting into the circumstances, I'm at a standstill in my life. I'm 21, have zero (0) formal education, thus no college degree, high school degree, or even GED. I'm not a dropout, and assuming any sort of generalized job, I would be on par with a college graduate.

What would be a good place to start to set myself up for the job market?

While I have no formal education, I'm reasonably confident that I could get a GED with ease. I have amateur skills in design, but that's about it… I'm not unintelligent, I'm reasonably well-informed about most things, even educated pretty well, but not formally, i.e. little that I can put on a resume.

Oh, and what's a good fallback? I know someone who was in a similar situation and got a dream job at the age of 20 without any of the above… but things changed, ten years later he was out of a job, and then he was back at square one. So even if I get a job that works for me without any degree-requirements, what's a good degree to just have?

Basically, I'm starting from a blank slate, but a lot later than I should. Where to start?

Two notes:
I'm not altogether against starting from scratch (getting a GED and working towards a meaningful degree), but as part of my whole not-being-educated thing, I have not clue what a useful degree is, or what I'm interested in doing. I'm not concerned about starting something now, although I'm aware that ideally I'd have started years ago.
I'm in NYC.

Throwaway address: diplomas21@gmail.com

How to show homeschool on resume?

pointystick — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:21:08 -0800

I'm helping a family friend with his resume - how to best present his GED and homeschooled background? I'm helping a family friend work on his resume. He was raised by very religious parents who made the decision to homeschool him. He obtained his GED upon completing his studies at home. He has had some job experience (retail and restaurant type things) but now that he's relocated from his small town to the big city, he is sprucing up his resume. What should he say about his educational background? That he has his GED? That he was homeschooled? Neither? Both? Does GED look worse than having an HS diploma? Should he mention anything specific?

Anticipating possible areas for clarification/satisfying the curious:

He's not applying for anything overly ambitious - a better quality of job yes but he's not being cocky.
He has not yet pursued any higher education.
He is very bright, talented, and personable.
He is not himself fundamentalist/super conservative. (thus explaining his affiliation with the Stick family)

College sans high school?

trokair — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 07:42:57 -0800

Is it possible to go to college without a high school diploma or GED? The thought just came to me the other day, and I was curious. I know you can get into most community colleges without those credentials, but is it possible to get into a four-year college sans diploma or equivalent?

I'm in college. Should I take the GED?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:19:19 -0800

I'm in college. Should I take the GED? Through an awkward series of events, I finished high school years ago but never received my diploma. Officially, I have an incomplete in one class. I had already been accepted to a few colleges before I finished high school, and somehow not getting my HS diploma didn't cause problems with starting college. I should be graduating with a Bachelor's degree this spring.

I could pass the GED and get an equivalency diploma very easily. I'm registered to take it this weekend...but suddenly I'm worried.

The main reason I'm planning to take the GED is to cover myself if I apply for jobs that require (possibly even in a pro forma sense) applicants to have a HS diploma or GED. (I mean, right now I can't say that I am a HS graduate on job applications, even though I don't fit the mold of a typical HS dropout.) While I know that a GED isn't always looked at the same way as a diploma, I feel like (and hope) that having a bachelor's degree from a good college will make it less of an issue.

Is there any way getting a GED (which I assume would show up on background checks) would hurt me either in the job market or academically (if I eventually pursue grad school), compared to my current situation? I'm not planning to emphasize that I got a GED when I apply to jobs (I'll emphasize the BA instead), but will it cause major problems if potential employers see that I took the GED? For various reasons, trying to negotiate with my high school to remove the incomplete and get a diploma from them is not an option I'm willing to consider.

Since this is anonymous, I made a throwaway email in case anyone wants to contact me privately: allpurposeanonymity@gmail.com

Obtaining a GED while abroad.

supercrayon — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:42:57 -0800

I need to get my GED but I'm abroad. I'm living overseas and need to get my GED so that I can enroll in university here in New Zealand, but I can't find any information about how to go about getting a GED if you're not in the US, or if that's even possible. I'm hoping not to have to fly home to do this if I can avoid it. Any advice is welcome!

How do I go about getting a GED?

Niomi — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 17:54:25 -0800

I need to get a GED; where do I start? I'm completely lost. I live in Columbus, OH. I'm a minor & completing high school is currently a dead end for my personal situation. I'm unable to drive and my parent isn't very co-operative. I would appreciate solutions with minimal reliance on other people.. although I realize I don't have a lot of resources at my disposal. Any advice, personal experience or direction in preparing for and acquiring a GED could be helpful, thanks for you time.

I have a GED and I'm ready for the Military - but I'm told I need either 15 college credits or do a High School Equivalency (HSE). Which is best?

Keyser Soze — Mon, 16 Feb 2004 20:51:24 -0800

Update: I am now close to my weight requirements for joining the military, and I am very near getting 95 percent on my GED. I called the Air Force recruitment office and was told I need 15 college credits or a High School diploma without the GED. I have all summer to do this, so should I take the classes or do a HSE at PCC (High School Equivalency)? Sorry for the dumb question.

Should I join the military, and if so, which branch?

Keyser Soze — Tue, 09 Dec 2003 14:03:21 -0800

I went into an Army recruitment center, got 79 out of 99 on a pre-test, and I was told by a sergeant that I could be doing intelligence for the military.

What should I do? I don't even have a High School diploma, and im getting my GED right now. They told me that if my scores are high enough it shouldn't matter. Should I do the Air Force instead? I want to have a great career, and this feels like a good start. Help!