Is it harder for the graduated homeschooler to get a job?

Question

If they don't have a diploma and have to fill out the education section of an application with "homeschooled"?

I'm trying to decide whether or not I should homeschool my kids, and this is one of the things I'm worried about.

Answer 1

This is a question most parents who are interested in homeschooling ask.  

Here is a link to Pennsylvania Homeschoolers Accreditation Agency.  It is an organization that gets diplomas to homeschooled kids in Pennsylvania.  It may have some answers for you.

They are recognized by the Department of Education in Pennsylvania.  You might contact the same in your state and find out what accreditation is available.

http://www.phaa.org/

Pennsylvania Homeschoolers Accreditation Agency (PHAA) is a state-wide homeschool membership organization founded by Pennsylvania Homeschoolers® in 1991 in order to provide legitimate diplomas to the homeschooling community. It has had many beneficial effects, such as encouraging homeschoolers to continue through high school, helping homeschoolers get scholarships to college, and enhancing the reputation of homeschool graduates by collecting and publicizing statistics about its graduates. Beginning with just 6 graduates in 1991, PHAA had 531 in 2002.

PHAA is just one of seven organizations, recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to provide diplomas to graduates of Pennsylvania home education programs. These organizations give homeschoolers a recognized alternative to the GED and the correspondence school diploma. Unlike the GED, these diplomas bear no stigma; in fact PHAA's graduates generally do better on tests than school-educated students. Unlike most correspondence school programs, PHAA's requirements are very flexible permitting homeschoolers to complete their course work in a wide variety of ways.

At the end of each year, a PHAA member evaluator meets with a member families, reviews the student's portfolio, interviews the student, and awards credits by filling out and signing a PHAA transcript.

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Answer 2

It might be harder for them, especially if they don't get a college degree. I've noticed in my job searches, that a lot of people call me simply because of the college I went to; either they went there, know people who went there, or know it's a good school. It has helped me get my foot in the door A LOT. I don't know that what high school I went to has made a big difference other than possibly helping me get into college. However, they may be able to get into college based on ACT and SAT test scores.

Basically, whether or not you choose to homeschool them, encourage them to get a bachelor degree in ANYTHING, even general or liberal studies, because that will help them immensely. Also encourage them to go to a well-known and highly esteemed college. It doesn't have to be Ivy League or anything like that, even a state college, something recognizable, or a college well known for the field they want to go into will be good.

Answer 3

You can actually issue a diploma for your kids and they will be able to say that they are a high school graduate. You can  also give your "school" a name which should be included on the diploma and transcripts.

That aside, many employers are eager to hire homeschool graduates, because they tend to be better workers and often get along with clients and coworkers than their public school peers.

Answer 4

You've gotten a lot of great answers so far, but I wanted to add that even if your kids never get official diplomas, I haven't heard of any job that wants to see your actual dipolma, on paper.  As long as your kids have completed all their high school work, they're as good as graduated.  As a former homeschooler (2nd through 12th grade), I never hesitated to put "high school graduate" on my job applications; I did graduate, I just never got an official diploma.

As for having to write "homeschooled" under your high school information, some jobs never questioned me about it; others simply said "So I see you were homeschooled?" and I had the chance to tell them about all the opportunities homeschooling gave me and how my need to be a self-learner and self-motivated would make me a good employee.  I really don't think you have anything to worry about.

Answer 5

I have been home schooling my kids for 4 years now and haven't first hand gotten to this point yet. I am involved with a co op with women in all stages of home schooling. Some of them have kids who have graduated college and gone on to get great jobs and start families. My daughter has two jobs to choose from at the ate of 16.

Most employers wont have a problem at all with it. I know that colleges actually seek home schoolers out in recent years.

Answer 6

In all but one state (I think its Maine) homeschoolers do get diplomas.  The parents can legally issue them.  There are also many distance education programs through which a diploma can earned.  In the vast majority of cases homeschoolers have no problems getting jobs with their parent issued diplomas, there is only one case I have heard of.  This was a case of a homeschooler's diploma being refused when he applied as a security person at an airport shortly after 9/11.  They were probably being more stringent because of the attacks.  I believe he took a GED and got the job anyway.  Most of the time, we aren't asked to show our diplomas anyway, we are asked if we graduated, homeschoolers can answer "yes" to that question because they graduated homeschool.  I have never seen an application that words the question, "Did you graduate from a Public school or an accredited private school?"

Answer 7

First of all, if you are in the US, you are able to give your children a diploma. Not to mention there are plenty of ways to get state or other organization-accredited diplomas.

Second, assuming your kids aren't in school yet, many, many people homeschool only up until high school and then have the kids do high school in a public or private school. There's no need to avoid homeschooling for the early years because of something that *might* be problematic in 12 years from now.

Third, yet should probably have come first, it will depend on the type of job. If we're talking just 'jobs' here, not career-type things, then it probably won't make a difference (things like working in a store, restaurant, etc.) If you're talking something more 'up there', they'll probably need further education anyhow, which will count more than a high school diploma. And you don't need a high school diploma to get into college.

It's not the type of education that matters most for basic jobs; it's how the person *is*--how they come across, their ability to work independently or as part of a group as needed, etc. For others, the type of education can get you in, but staying there depends on character.

Answer 8

I can definitely understand your concern, but can tell you have absolutely nothing to worry about. My parents chose to home school both my brother and myself, during our high school education. That was about 10 years ago, since that time I have worked for 3 major companies: Alltel, Verizon, and I currently work for JP Morgan Chase. My brother works for Pepsi. We have made it known on all job applications, that we were home schooled.It has never been an issue. The one thing I would be concerned with however, is the age of your children. If they are young, you want to make sure they are getting the social interaction they would have gotten with other children being in school. Otherwise homeschooling is an excellent choice. Hope that helped.

Answer 9

Nope, not at all, since my children often are employed long before they officially graduate.

First they just fill in a grade level comparable to their age, then they list home school as their place of education, and their approximate graduation date, or simply say graduation pending.

No one I have known that is, or has been home schooled has ever had trouble finding, or keeping employment due to being home schooled; actually we have found the opposite to be true.

After graduation they either keep the job, and go to college part-time, or apply at the college of their choice, and move on.