Raider5678

Yeah, I've been talking to the advisor, a few teachers, and a couple of people at my church who've in my opinion succeeded relatively well with the GED thing. Namely, I'm figuring out what they did that others who dropped out to get a GED didn't do. So far the success of it namely depends on one thing, with a few exceptions. That thing being actually sticking with the plan. I'll look into some local(ish) colleges and their online degree programs.

Basically. The easy path in my case would be to finish high school normally, try to get a scholarship or something, and take out a loan to pay for college and then spend the rest of my life working it off. The harder path is trying to take a path that doesn't result in that, but is risky.

Thats what I was thinking.

In terms of college.

Any suggestions for an alternative?

Alright, fair enough. Also. I'm 16. Isn't it impossible for me to sign a legally binding contract?

May inquire as to the reason you want to know?

Only if I cut it off my right hand.

You're right that it's a bad analogy. Cutting your finger off offers absolutely no benefits. If I take this route I could get a bachelors degree for free. I could get a full time job that's open now, and won't be open by the time I graduate. So this is a typical thing then correct? Or at least not an uncommon caveat to companies offering to pay for tuition?

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Legally, it is. Most colleges will accept GED's instead of a high school diploma with sufficient amounts of related extra curricular activities. I've actually been invited to several colleges already(not prestigious ones like MIT, but I'm 16 so I take it as a plus) for taking summer classes, however those would all be this summer and they still wanted money for it, and they would have conflicted with the previously aforementioned activities I take part in, like national debates and things like that. I'm not concerned about what colleges think of me getting a GED instead of a high school diploma either, as most of the online ones have lower selection criteria due to being able to handle far more students. Additionally, the online college I'll attend will most likely be the online University of Phoenix. Specifically, this course: https://www.phoenix.edu/programs/degree-programs/technology/bachelors/bsit-asd.html Additionally, talked to my employer, and they said they'd be MORE then happy to pay for this entire course. Now, the political science one, not so much, but hey. Free college. Thanks for you advice to ask them about that. If you get a high enough score on the GED(around a 90%) you get a "College ready GED" or a "College ready GED + College Credits(accepted by some colleges)" depending on how high you score. Typically a good indicator of how well you know your stuff. Essentially proving you didn't pass by the skin of your teeth. I don't know how safe it is, but considering they're willing to pay for the classes I feel like it's relatively safe. Yes, I'm clear on which college I'd like to attend virtually. If I don't finish my degree for unforeseeable reasons, is it really related to me getting my GED instead of my high school diploma? Ultimately, it's hard to find a good job with only a high school diploma or a GED, either way. I see a minimal disadvantage of having a GED instead of a high school diploma. Edit: Boss sent me an email explaining that the college course would have some caveats. Mainly that I can't use that degree to work at another company in the related field of the degree for 8 years. He explained to me that's because the cost of the college is quite a bit(obviously) and it's only fair that if they're paying for my education I don't use the education to just go to a different company. He said this is standard for quite a few companies, and I've asked around to a couple of people who work at other companies and they said that it is as well. It sounds fair to me, but that being said I'm 16 and have relatively little experience in this.

The database schema was decided by someone else. I was given the form that the data should be in and the server information, and then had the user enter it into a GUI which took the data, added it to the data tables, and sent it to the server. Obviously this is the simplified explanation of what I did but you seem to know what software programming is so you understand what I mean.

It's not a company devoted to software engineering, if that's what you mean. It's an industry based company that handles about a million and a half shipments a year to various warehouses, construction sites, etc, of various building materials and supplies. The software is mostly used in collecting basic data, and then using that data to optimize the production. For example, a software program that was used for recording parts that were damaged during production found that over 75% of parts being damaged on line 5 was at a single area. Upon inspection of the area, there turned out to be a rough spot on the conveyor which would scratch the part, damaging it. Stuff like that.

If that happened, I wouldn't have access to a good job anyways. I can't afford college without this job. So if the market and economy suddenly tank and I get laid off, I'm not going to college. At that point, other problems arise as well and this is a situation that is bad in both areas. That being said, if the market collapses while I'm in high school that'd be even worse, as then I wouldn't have any job experience nor savings, nor any progress on my college education. If it collapses while I'm getting them, then I'm in a better position. Additionally, this isn't really a controllable risk, and is something I'm willing to take on should I take the GED plan. My risk tolerance is higher then yours. They aren't equal, but that being said the school has nothing more to offer academically. I.E. no extra courses, clubs, etc. So it's really just a time sink at the moment. Time that I could spend working, getting a college degree, etc. Early graduation isn't the important part, it's the amount of time I'm losing simply staying in school doing nothing, which is something I'd much rather be making money to put towards college for.

You can plan for the worst, but that doesn't mean assume the worst case scenario will always happen and don't take risks. It means have a plan for if things go terribly wrong.

This is the approach I was thinking of. I was also thinking that if they wanted me to do this, then at the very least I have some kind of written promise(I don't know if I can get a contract about this?) that if I get my GED within a certain time frame I get the job as well.

Alright. I'll look into this. I've never negotiated with an employer before actually, I've never felt a need to. I can see where it would come in handy here though.

They were looking into sending me to a college for 6 weeks to get six sigma training, but that required me to have a GED. Other then that, I don't know if they have any college degree's in mind. In terms of career advancement, the head software developer is looking to retire in 4-5 years, and he's the guy they've had me "shadowing" for quite some time now(More like having me meet with him regularly to learn from him). From what the boss has told me, they're thinking to transfer me from where I currently work to a different position directly under him, which is a position that doesn't exist yet. It's speculation, but I think I'm in a position to assume his duties should I get that position. That being said, I'm also not the only candidate and I can't assume that position while still attending high school.

If I drop out of high school and get my GED I'll have a job as a full time software engineer at 16. Why does everyone keep acting as though if I drop out of high school I'll suddenly be fired from the company that wants me to do so, and then end up working at some menial job?

Yes.

Doesn't add anything. It was in relation to the statement of most government jobs having a policy against dating people of a lower paygrade.

Former president.

So, the history forum that I visited was organized by Area and Time. That's obviously a lot of sub-forums to manage, so many we should just pick one.

Unless you're the president.

Specifically, what options? The problem with either choice is that I'm closing doors. I'm choosing which ones I want to keep open.