[cottonwood]

On another thread someone was talking about having to get a GED in order to get a job.

It seems like if you could somehow show the employer that you were at least at the academic level of a high school graduate, how you happened to get to that level should be irrelevant to them, but that might be a lot of trouble to go to.

How have other teenage homeschoolers dealt with this problem? Are employers today likely to accept "homeschooled" in the box where you're supposed to write what high school you went to?

 

[Arduinna]

I have a teen, but she doesn't have a job.

My question would be, have you ever seen an employer actually call and check if you graduated from the school you said? I (almost 40 year old) have never been asked to produce a high school diploma by an employer.

 

[Dar]

GEDs have some of a stigma attached to them, they're not really considered equal to a high school diploma. I wouldn't take it. IN California, there's something called the California High School Proficiency Exam, which *is* considered to be equivilent to a hs diploma, and a lot of homeschoolers I know take that (usually somewhere between 12 and 16, for the record).

Otherwise, I would just put down graduated from hs as a homeschooler, since most of the stereotypes of homeschoolers are that they're smart, if nerdy. Most kids we know who are that age have taken at least a couple classes at a community college, so putting that down would help, too - "6 credits at Bloppity Community College".

The teens we know often gets jobs through networking, which is cool because they tend to be jobs well-suited the the kids. Our friend Victor (18) did apply for and get a job at a toy store, and he put that he had been homeschooled. Our 18 yr old friend Rael got a job in computer stuff and also put homeschooled, but he had a whole resume detailing the stuff he'd done and knew with computers, which mattered a lot more than his high school diploma or lack thereof.

Dar

 

[SoHappy]

My friend and her kids created a name for their homeschool in the beginning. They used the name of the school on everything. Sometimes when people said they'd never heard of it, they'd just say, "Oh, it's a small private school." It was their own personal joke. Even funnier was when people would act like they'd heard of it.

 

[Arduinna]

as all stigmas and prejudices are, one against GEDs or homeschooling are strictly a reflection of the person expressing it.

 

[Dar]

Well, it is true that a GED is easier to get than a hs diploma or than passing the CHSPE.

Employers all have biases. If you want a job, it's helpful to know what they might be and how to frame your resume or application to put yourself in the best light. My sister still doesn't understand how her clicking her newly pierced tongue during an interview had anything to do with why she didn't get the job at Tony Romas.

Dar

 

[barbara]

My experience with 3 gratuated homeschoolers and a 15 year old with a job, has been that none of them has ever had any trouble getting a job or getting into college without an official highschool diploma or GED.

They simply put down on the application Graduated from Home School and our address. It has never been questioned or challenged.

My son-in-law was also homeschooled and he did the same thing. He has a brother who applied to work at a daycare center and they required him to get a GED, because it is a state or fed law that you have to show your highschool diploma to work at a daycare facility. He took the test without going to any classes and they hired him right away. As far as I know that is the only job that requires such. I've never heard of any homeschooler being challenged or refused a job, because they lacked a diploma or GED.

 

[applejuice]

All of the above posts are absolutely correct.

I also put my children to work at age 14, lying on the job application....I had trained them so well that no one questioned it.

I do not recommend this....but they were able to work and learn responsibility early.

 

[Greaseball]

I know, I found an old thread...

But I just wanted to second what Arduinna said (though I don't have teens). I never finished high school. I got a GED when I was 17, and no job has had a problem with it. I've even been able to get jobs that say "BA required" when all I had was the GED! And there were people with Masters degrees working at the same job...

I agree there is a stigma, so on applications I just put the name of my high school. No one has ever called the school and said "I just wanted to make sure that she really graduated and did not only get a GED."

It also hasn't made it harder to get into a state university, though I suspect I've ruined any chance at being admitted to a more prestigious place.

Oh well!

 

[Brenoi]

As an employer, who has hired many over the past years - experience and presentation mean a lot more than where a person graduated from.

 

[applejuice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brenoi As an employer, who has hired many over the past years - experience and presentation mean a lot more than where a person graduated from.

ITA

 

[Greaseball]

Also, when I've helped make hiring decisions for jobs that required graduate degrees, when we looked at the transcripts no one cared what school they came from - graduating from a private college vs. a state U did not make a difference. Also, it didn't matter what grade the applicant got in a particular class. No one brought up things like which applicant got a C vs. who got an A in a certain subject.

So it appears not to matter...

 

[*Erin*]

i was homeschooled and i never had a problem getting a job! in fact, i think it gave me an edge. no one ever asked about a diploma or ged. we're in south carolina, and they don't give homeschooled kids one. they will forward a transcript (provided by the homeschooler/parent) to any colleges you may apply to. when i started college, that's all i needed to do. i didnt have sat scores, and they didnt care about that either. i took equivilancy tests to get in in lieu of the sats/diploma.

my little sister (20 yrs old) and little brother (18) have never had any problems either.

 

[Greaseball]

No SATs for me either. My dh got the highest score in his school and a lot of good it did him; he ended up graduating from a college that didn't require them!