Why a High School Diploma is Important

Why a High School Diploma is Important

Emily Bunker, video producer and reporter

Throughout the four year long high school experience, many people are stuck wondering whether or not it’s worth it. The hallways smell, kids are mean, and the copious amount of projects and presentations do nothing but cause stress to the fragile human mind. So along comes the debate, is it all worth it? 

Recent studies show that the unemployment rate amongst high school graduates is 10%, compared to that of high school dropouts, which is at a whopping 14.3%.  Most high school dropouts live on financial assistance and have poor health. Yes, some people get lucky and manage to get a good promotion, but that is rarely the case. Every year 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. That means a student every 26 seconds, or 7,000 a day. 

More and more jobs are requiring a high school diploma, but the dropout rate has only dropped about 3% since 2010. It is found that someone who stays in school makes about $8,000 more than someone who doesn’t. If you want to make more than minimum wage (about $13.50 an hour) you’re going to need a high school diploma, or at least a GED (General Education Development), which 96% of employers will accept as a diploma. Without either of those key complaints, you’re going to be stuck in a dead-end job with no chance of a promotion or a raise. With a high school diploma, or even better – a degree in college or university, you’ll be more likely to land a job that provides a higher salary in addition to health insurance and retirement benefits. A high school diploma can help you land a job that you can call a career well into adulthood. It will allow you to apply for jobs that you would otherwise not be able to do without a diploma. 30.8% of high school dropouts live in poverty. Every year 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. That means a student every 26 seconds, or 7,000 a day. Maybe that means schools need to take a look at the way they do things and make a change. Maybe that means that students are running out of motivation. Maybe if we all worked together, and pushed more people to educate their children on what a high school diploma could do for them, then dropout rates would vanish almost completely.        

 With a high school diploma, a plethora of opportunities will be opened to you. A good job, a reason to be proud of yourself, and memories of what might have been the best years of your life (emphasis on “what might have been”. You never know. Walking around in hallways that smell like feet might really annoy someone)

 

Citations

“Staying In School.” Staying In High School – Www.GoCollegeNY.org, www.gocollegeny.org/staying-in-school.

“Wahm Articles.” Wahm, www.wahm.com/articles/7-reasons-for-getting-your-high-school-diploma.html.

“11 Facts About High School Dropout Rates.” DoSomething.org, www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-high-school-dropout-rates.

“By the Numbers: Dropping Out of High School.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/by-the-numbers-dropping-out-of-high-school/.