High School Diploma Vs. Dropping Out
Thesis: Despite some minor similarities, the differences between students who finish high school with a high school diploma and students who drop out are pronounced.
Dropping out of highschool is becoming extremely more common in present day. What future dropouts fail to realize is the tremendous impact this decision is going to have upon their life in the future. There has been numerous research done on the differences between receiving a high school diploma or dropping out. Despite some minor similarities, the differences between students who finish high school with a high school diploma and students who drop out are pronounced. Some significant differences are in employment, income, and your life choices. People who go through the whole four years and attained a high school diploma have the opportunity to continue on with their education at a college, find careers that provide a stable income rather than living from paycheck to paycheck, and also they can avoid negative life decisions in life compare to their fellow student who dropped out.
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According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual earning in 2015 for high school dropout was $493 and for a student with a high school diploma was $678. Since there are 52 weeks in a year, when you multiply each number by 52 you get $25, 636 for high school dropout and $35,256 for high school diploma. Which is a $9,620 difference. High School dropouts have a 8.0% unemployment rate while students with a high school diploma unemployment rate is much lower at 5.4%. Also, when you take the opportunity to continue your education past high school and along the way you gained work experiences, this presents you with access to a better paying job when you’re ready to stabilize your
Considering the statistics, the term “dropout” tends to have a negative connotation. A person who graduated high school will earn roughly $260,000
Most people want a lot of job opportunities to choose from well in order to have those opportunities you have to have a diploma or GED. Other people might say that you can still get a good job even without a diploma or GED, most of the time those are low paying jobs at a fast food restaurant. The diploma can get you almost any job because most jobs require you to have a high school diploma or GED. Instead of always being passed by for the good jobs, you’ll have the opportunity to get jobs that are more interesting. Most people who just drop out of high school have a harder time
A high school diploma is important to my future like it is for many individuals who have goals and aspirations to succeed in life. A high school diploma is a foundation for basic education before going to college and it's a great accomplishment not too many people get to have. With a high school diploma many educational and professional opportunities will be available to me. I'll have better long term economic outcomes than individuals who do not have a high school diploma.
Receiving a high school and college education is a great privilege to a lot of people in the United States. For many Americans, attending college can be a great hurdle to surpass in comparison to attending high school. This is because college is more academically rigorous and costly than high school. However, despite college being a great way to advance academically and professionally, it is understandable why many people choose not to continue their education after graduating from high school.
How does dropping out of high school affects students’ lives in the future? Students’ dropping out has become a crisis, President Obama said, “It’s time for all of us to come together parents and students, principals, and teachers, business leaders and elected officials to end America’s dropout crisis” (“ President Obama”). There are 7 thousand students’ that drop out of high school that adds up to about 1.2 million each year, wouldn’t it be nice to drop that number and help kids stay in school instead of dropping out of high school(“ President Obama”). Students’ shouldn’t drop out of high school because they couldn’t go to college, couldn’t hold down a job, and would struggle making minimum wage for the rest of their life.
Figuring out if they should find jobs right out of high school or go to college first. Nevertheless, most people are sure that they want to have a better job. Not only one that will pay more, but one they are pleased with, and one that makes him/her happy. Today, practically 60 percent of all jobs in the United States require their employers to have a higher education. Jobs for individuals who only have a high school diploma are decreasing. A large majority of high school graduates work in some type of service industry. These individuals also work in low paying jobs with no position to advance. On the other hand, college graduates tend to have more skills that qualify them for a much larger range of employment opportunities. This makes it easier for them to move up in positions. According to Catherine Rampell, “there are more employed college graduates today than employed high school graduates and high school dropouts put together” (678). Thus, as the economy progresses over the years to come, college graduates will be better placed to find jobs that will offer a larger amount of pay. Therefore, earning a college degree will greatly enhance your marketability as a professional.
Obtaining a high school diploma is an important stride into adulthood for most. Despite this fact, “every year, over one point two million students drop out of high school in the United States.” Not having a high school diploma will make it harder for these teenagers later on in life. Many jobs require you to have a high school diploma or GED. Not having a high school diploma will increase the likely hood of students having legal troubles. Dropping out of high school is a life changing choice, and we have to question ourselves are these teenager mental equipped to make that decision? These are some of the reasons why I believe, teenagers should not be allowed to drop out of high school before the age of eighteen.
Dropping out of school may seem reasonable to pupils now, but can have a negative impact in the long run. According to a data collection on average income, “High School Diploma- $27,380. High School Dropout- $19,540”( Source 3). One can clearly see that children who did not dropout of high school made more money than children who did. Money is an essential part of human life and raising the dropout age can increase the pay of many adolescents. Based on Paul Moran’s talk with Missy Remiss, “Those without a high school diploma have lower earnings, higher
equivalent GED. Without a diploma the average person difference in salary is $10,400, which would
Jayson Boyers stated that "having a college education can make big differences in some people 's lives" (The Huffington Post Newspaper, 2012). People who do college education often get high level and high paying jobs. The main reason for why students feel hesitant to attend college after they graduate from high school is because they worry about the price of schooling and they prefer to have a job instead to make fast money. Although, people who graduated from high school often are only able to receive jobs at fast food restaurants, clothing stores, etc. When people are able to earn more than enough money to have a stable life they are able to be less stress-free and enjoy their lives more. People who often work in retail jobs face the risk of not making enough money to buy food and also pay their rent. The money that people earn in retail jobs takes a very long time to save up in order to go to college. Alternatively, the world is very competitive and people, truthfully, do have trouble succeeding and even surviving day to day. The most recommended thing to do is to go to college after high school and take out a student loan if needed and pay it off when a career job is obtained. Working very hard now equals to a better life, job opportunities afterward, and positive friendships
Expectations are another difference between high school and college. Students are expected by society to graduate from high school, therefore stripping the need for knowledge and replacing it with a need for a diploma. In high school, one is expected to show up on time and is punished if they do not. Some high schools have a room called sweep, or something of that matter, for students that are unable to make it on time and are forced to sit in a chair and stare at a wall. Nevertheless, college expectations are not as strict. In college, students are not expected to graduate, but instead are projected to educate and better themselves with or without a diploma. The reward is a career, and doing what they desire in life.
Between 3.5 million and 6 million young people in America dropout of high school (Bloom). About 1 million students do not make their way to graduation (Koenig). Dropping out of high school will inhibit any students ability to go onto college. Studies show that if a student were to drop out of high school, the crime rate will be higher(Kokemuller). According to professional statistics, in 2010, the percentage of high school dropouts was at a high of seven percent (Henry). At age sixteen, if a student were to drop out of high school, this student would need a parent to sign for them, and there are many parents who also believe children need an education. In 2006, about sixty-seven births to dropouts were outside marriage and this is compared to the ten percent of births to women who have received their master's degree and a high school diploma (Bloom). There are many consequences in store for high school dropouts.
If you chose to walk away from high school without a diploma, then expect it to be extremely hard to find a decent paying job. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “…approximately 54 percent of the nation’s young high school dropouts were unemployed in 2008.” One reason dropouts have a hard time finding a job is because the majority
School plays an important role in our lives. Many people will spend more than fifteen years at school in order to get the qualifications that are required to work in a specific field. Those years are broken down into several levels, some of them being more enjoyable than others. Two very important levels that people go through are high school and college. Even though some think that these levels are almost the same, there are significant differences between them. The cost of high school is not the same as the cost of college. Also, some differences apply from an academic point of view. Typically, the social environment also differs from high school to college, which can be related to the question of freedom versus responsibility.
A life without a diploma is a hard one, and little to no people are successful without one. Receiving a GED or dropping out of high school is not the smartest or optimal decision students’ make in their lives. It can affect their mental abilities, social tendencies, health, and job-receiving probabilities in an adverse fashion. Leaving secondary school earlier than the graduation date damages students’