How much can I earn with a HS diploma?

Ok, frankly I'm sick of college and I'm probably going to drop out (at least for a while). How much can I earn with just a HS diploma? What are the best-paying (lawful) jobs that I can get?

I've heard liberal politicians talk about how it's impossible to survive with just a HS diploma, but that's obviously not true. I was just wondering where I should start looking.

 

Honestly, I think there are other factors involved besides level of education. For example, some athletes and other celebrities can make millions without college. Do you have any marketable skills? Who you know can come into effect, also. This probably isn't helpful. Out of my friends who are early twenties without college degrees, one of them is making 40K a year working in computer stuff (he got really lucky, though, because he is also a felon, which makes things more difficult). Some other friends without degrees are currently making about 20K. So basically, I have no idea. I'm just awake and feel like responding.

 

I don't really know.. I mean, I'm sure there is plenty of stuff out there, but I can't think of anything specifically. I don't know if I really wanna go to college or not. I'm sure I could find something else.. Well, I know this wasn't helpful, sorry. I just thought this was really funny...

lol.. anyway, good luck

 

My first question is whether you plan to drop out for good or for a couple of years. Basically, do you want to invest in specialized training (even if it is on-the-job training), or do you want something that requires little specialized knowledge?

When I dropped out, I knew I would go back to school once I had enuf of a break from school... So I wasn't looking to build a career. Waiting tables is probably the best-paying legal job (at least that I know of) for someone in my position.

On the other hand, my brother never had any interest in college. He started working as a tow truck driver less than a year ago & expect to make 40K this year... Within a few years, he expects to move up to a bigger truck, which will increase his income significantly. Frankly, I am now back in school, planning to stay in until I have a PhD, at which time I will look for a job as a professor. I will consider myself extremely lucky if I make 40K my first year, & I will have a hell of a lot more student loan debt to pay off! Of course, I am not choosing the most lucrative field, or the best-paying career path within my field, but the point is that you can do alright without a degree...

The problem is, only certain fields are open to people without a degree. I would suggest that you take some time to figure out what you want to do, then find out what kind of requirements are standard for a job doing that -- different knowledge is needed for a job managing an office vs. working as a park ranger vs. driving a tow truck, ya know.

 

Remeber, they're always gonna want the guy with the paper. You could go get an electrical engineering degree, right out of college you could be making 70-110 thousand dollars a year. With hs degree, you'd be working on the factory floor for 6 dollars an hour. Seriously, if you can afford college, and you can pass it, and you have no real reason not to, you should go. Belive me, you'll need it. Also, look into a trade like xray tech. They're in need right now, and you only have to go to a vocational school. You could be a government translator too, which is a great job. You could learn an uncommon lanuage (no spanish or french, no hs lanuages) and be getting paid a hundred thousand dollars a year to translate papers for the government. Real easy money.

 

It's all about skills.

If you don't have any, don't expect to make shit. And don't expect health insurance or even to be able to afford insurance.

But of course there are many different ways to make $. I would recommend the computer track. If you can master certain types of software, then you will be in demand. (Adobe or Macromedia, e.g.) If you can show someone that you've got the skills, they won't care about the paper.

I'm on a definite career path (student teaching this fall), but I've decided to buy some professional photography equipment and try to make the leap from it being a hobby to maybe a source of income.

Best of luck!

 

Thanks to everyone who responded, you've all been very informative. I won't bother posting a resume or anything, but I do have some skills that not a lot of HS graduates have:

-Excellent math skills (perfect 800 on SAT, 36 on ACT)

-Good people skills (I'm a little shy but I never make anyone mad, or openly get mad at anyone)

-Entrepreneurial attitude (I've been considering working for myself but I just don't have the capital to get started)

-Good computer skills (I know how to use MS Office, Photoshop, Pagemaker, Flash, Dreamweaver, Quicken, etc. I have intermediate-level skills in C++ and BASIC)

-Excellent spelling/grammar/english skills

-I learn VERY fast (My GPA was in the top 10% of my HS class, and my test scores were THE highest in my HS class)

What kind of decent-paying jobs do you think I could get with those skills without a college degree?

 

Ouch. You remind me of me. Of all those skills, the only one you have that is marketable is your computer stuff. Unfortunately, test scores mean squat outside of school (I had a 1420 SAT score, whoop). And none of your academic qualifications mean anything when being hired, 'cause they intangible, everyone says the are a people person, etc.


The single best way to get a good job, is to know people. There are sweet jobs out there, but they all get given to friends. Without connections, you have to rely on your resume and ability to present yourself to strangers.

If you have a marketable skill, look there first. Your ability to learn something exceedingly well and fast, means nothing next to the idiot that has been doing *whatever* for a couple years. Experience is marketable, potential is not.

After, you are hired at whatever job you can get, THEN your personal ability comes into play as you put everyone you work next to to shame. In the 3 real jobs I've had since HS, I got myself up to 20-25k within the first 6-12 months. Employers can recognize quality people.

But really, school is the way to go. I went straight to work after HS and really have no better job prospects now than the day i graduated. So I'm heading to school this fall at the ripe old age of 25.

 

Yeah I'll probably eventually go back to school. I just need a break for a couple years. Hopefully I'll be able to earn enough money to at least cover my expenses, and maybe enough to help build up some capital for starting my own business.

 

You hit the nail on the head there.

 

Being tall and good looking helps, too.

 

Unfortunately, unless you are exceptional in your computer stuff, even those skills are often not marketable without at least an Associate's degree. Youth will make it easier in those fields, but I've watched several self-taught computer programmers (even some with years of experience from before everyone & his brother had a degree) who have had a miserable time finding a job. Part of the problem was that companies wanted to hire the younger newly graduated kid who will likely give them at least a decade more of service before looking at retirement... But a big part of it was that companies want that piece of paper, unless you know someone or have an exceptional portfolio -- not just know how to work with the program, but pages you've built, etc.

Frankly, I don't know anyone who doesn't know how to work with MS Office or Photoshop, & programs like Dreamweaver are a snap to use if you spend half an hour being shown what to do... At least, that's more than it took for me to learn to build a nice page, far nicer than many corporate pages, with Dreamweaver...

 

most of the programming jobs are now outsourced to India.

 

"Entrepreneurial attitude (I've been considering working for myself but I just don't have the capital to get started)"

That's a huge misconception that people have. You don't need a lot of money to get started, because well you're just getting started. I have a brother who started off as a bag boy at a grocery store, worked his through the ranks, made some smart moves, and purchased a business for $2,000,000 a few years ago. Granted the fact it took him awhile to be ale to afford that, he started off asking people if they wanted paper or plastic. Almost a year ago to this day, I was fired from a friggin gas station making $7.00 an hour. Ya wanna talk about poor? Took me less than 50 bucks, I now own my own business, I'm my own boss, making more than I've ever made in my life, and expanding faster than I can keep up......not trying to brag or anything.

 

Presently i'm making 41K from simply typing. However to get to that point, I had to start at 5.65 an hour, busting my ass for 3 1/2 years, with some luck on my side managed to play the game and get the lucrative counteroffer. However I maxed out for my area salary wise and i'm deeply considering going back to school full-time. If I were you I would stay in school. Don't screw yourself like I did.

 

How'd you manage that?

 

I bought a mop, some windex, a bottle of 409, and put an ad in the paper. I went from being a maid with a penis to contracting with the local construction outfits doing post construction/remodel clean up. Right now I average somewhere in the ball park of 30.00 an hour. I know some people that did the same thing with a lawn mower and now they own one of the largest landscaping companies in Eugene (I'm about 40 miles west of there) and the areas that surround it. It doesn't take much besides a little imagination and a willingness to do the work that noone else wants to do.

 

Sounds good, bro. I am seriously debating with myself right now about going to college, yet. I will go some time, because there are so many things I want to do, from owning my own business to investing in real estate. But I just don't have the money yet, and I could easily go a little later on and earn my degrees when I am a little more stable financially. I have a good-paying job, and have advanced alot each year, at least I don't feel like I'm stuck in neutral!


I have also considered these distance learning courses online that are supposed to be alot cheaper, but still retaining good quality.

 

My nephew makes 60k a year and only works half a day. He checks oil wells.

He married at 16, dropped out of school at 17, had a child at 18 and went and got his Ged.

He didn't get the job because of who he knew , he just kept bustin his but telling them if they hired him he would do any job. 3 yrs later they gave him some wells to watch.
He now owns a house on the lake,motorcycle, new car every 2 yrs, they go on at least 3 or four family vacations every year .
They hired him at 19, so he started looking after wells at 22,and started out making 40k.
I forgot to mention, he just turned 30.

 

ya knowing ppl is always a good thing, and it depends i have a 20 year old friend who has a h.s. diploma and he makes 22k a year mixing cement, and i have an 18 year old friend with a h.s. diploma who makes less then 10k a year i mean it all depends