GED Benefits: What Good is the GED?
By Leonard Williams
What good is the GED? How will it help me?
As a GED instructor, those are the questions I hear most often about the General Education Development credential, the adult learner’s alternative to a high school diploma. Those are my favorite questions to answer.
Here are some facts to consider about earning your GED:
- A GED will not only help you attain an equivalent to a high school diploma but it help you get a get a better job. Employers would rather hire someone who has the basic skills to pass the GED test than someone who doesn’t. Completing the GED means that the graduate has the fortitude to successfully finish a difficult ged exam. The GED is not a small thing!
- You can expect to earn more money in your lifetime with a GED. Research shows that people with a GED make an average of $385,000 more in their lifetime than people who do not have a GED or high school diploma.
- Passing the GED test will make you more valuable to your employer because you’ll have gained the equivalency to a high school diploma and basic writing, math skills and thinking skills. You'll probably find it's easier to get a work promotion or advance through workplace job-training programs once you have your GED.
- Having the GED opens doors for advanced training. Most specialized training programs require either a high school diploma or a GED. And with a GED, you can look at higher educational opportunities.
- You’ll feel better about yourself with a GED because you’ve accomplished something that only 60% of high school graduates can do.
- Consider the impact of your educational achievement on your family. That alone goes a long way; it's priceless.
