in the past this wasn’t such a big issue as many people joined the family industry (mining, factory work, businesses) right after high school. But now the pay/education gap is getting bigger. It’s almost necessary to get a college degree if you’re going to support a family, otherwise you’ll have to get lucky or find something that requires a specific skill or talent that you possess.

I know that post offices often hire and if you stick with them long enough the pay and hours will get better.

In the end it’s not so much how much the job pays but how much you like the job that will make you want to keep doing it… instead of dreading every minute of your life.

It’s possible to get a good job. Obviously there is the military, but a perusal of your local paper will certainly have all kinds of jobs that offer paid training. A good bet for office work would be to go to work for a call center. It isn’t easy, but many of the larger ones offer tuition reimbursement, and if you do well there are advancement opportunities. For example call flow management, it isn’t a sexy job but in some call centers this requires advanced company paid training and pays very well. If you have people skills sales is very lucrative. At 18 you won’t get into a car lot, insurance company or real estate office, but you can get a position with a department store or vaccuum center and learn sales skills that can lead to better positions when you are older.

If you are mechanically inclined a quick lube place is a good start, you’ll wash a lot of windows, but if you work hard you can be trained to perform basic auto repairs. This pays well and can lead to an entry level position in a regular garage. Contrary to popular belief, auto repair pays very well.

You can also explore jobs as a helper to a plumber, carpenter, or electrician. You’ll get a lot of coffee and carry a lot of tools, but will learn the business. Believe me, a union plumber makes much more than most college grads.

Good luck!

Unlimited… I would defer that to Bill Gates.

Suggestion: Get into a big company and work your way up. Generally speaking, a degree will only hurt you with the companies that sticker shop their employees .

My good friend is a manager at a large insurance company with nothing more then a H.S diploma. He started answering phones, phones supervisor, claims supervisor and now a regional manager…

The degree is a tool to get you in the door. Results based performance and leadership is hard to find with or without a degree.

There’s no limit to what you can do if you put your mind to it – a High school degree is not a college degree but it does have it’s advantages. I started working in a mail room and now I work as an administrative assistant with a High school degree, and I entend to move on up.

Depends on your talents. For example, if you are skillful with car repairs, you can get certified as an auto mechanics and make lots of money, in spite of the fact that you are only a high school graduate. On the other hand , there are people with all kinds of fancy degrees in the liberal arts and useless stuff that cannot be used in the real world, and who are tending bars and flipping burgers.

Thousands, you just have to look to see what the qualifications are. The hard truth is a lot of those jobs don;t pay very well.

And believe it or not, getting a 4 year college degree doesn’t always pay off either (depends on your major).

But what every study has shown repeatedly is that a A.A. or A.S. degree from your local community college pays off in $$$ every single time.

You should really consider it.

you could get alot of different jobs, you just have to work twice as hard for it as compared to someone with a degree from a post secondary school. If you have the experience alot of people will put aside the fact you only have a high school diploma

You can get entry level positions in retail sales and the fast food industry or other “unskilled labor” positions. If you search, you may be able to find an apprenticeship position in a field you like. It may take more searching with just a high school diploma to find a job you are happy with and one that can support you.

A high school degree can get you a factory job at best!

Those concrete floors are no fun, trust me!

You can create companies like Microsoft and Apple Computers (Bill Gates and Steve Jobs). Or be the most listened too Radio Talk Show host in the U.S. (Rush Limbaugh).