I can tell I failed the chspe. I’m not studious and probably never will be so I can’t possibly take it again because I’ll probably just procrastinate until I have one night to study and knowing me I’ll probably just do a quick glance and get bored too quickly. I want to be a comedian and since I’m living in LA I’m going to be going hard and working a job until I’m 18 so I can move out because I disappointed my mom.
Education is highly correlated with income. It will be hard to find a job, other than menial minimum wage jobs, without even a high school diploma. Also, being a comedian isn’t a high paying job even as a “professional comedian” unless you get to Louis CK, Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle level. And even then most of their income comes from other projects besides standup comedy. Being a full time comedian is extremely stressful and low paying.
Also, I’ve noticed that a lot of comedians are very good writers. You should be able to write beyond a high school level.
Do you have a question?
If you’ve dropped out of HS and aren’t working, go find a job ASAP. At some point you may want your GED, but it’s going to be a waste of time and money to sign up again until you are ready to take it seriously and commit to doing what you need to do. It doesn’t sound like you’re there yet, so go find a job, take as many hours as they’ll give you, work hard, save your money, and move out when you’re 18 if you want to. It will probably be a minimum wage job and you may have to live with multiple roommates, but you’ll be an adult, and adults need to do what they need to do to support themselves.
Maybe you can look for a job as a busboy somewhere with the goal of working toward being a waiter where you can make some good money in tips, and your co-workers might be where you can find possible roommates. You may also find you feel better about yourself once you are working and making your own money. Best of luck.
I’m doing comedy on the side hoping to make it big. And to 1Dreamer not sure if you’re trolling me or not.
No, I wasn’t kidding. I was trying to be helpful. You said you failed the CHSPE, that you can’t possible take it again, and even if you did you’d probably procrastinate and do a quick glance over the materials the night before. So I agree you shouldn’t take it again until you feel you’re ready to do what you need to do.
You also said you are going to need to work and save up until you are 18 so you can move out, so I was agreeing that this is probably what you’re going to need to do unless your parents are willing to let you live at home while you’re not working, not going to school, and trying to make it as a comedian.
To do comedy on the side, you have to be doing something else. Unless you can make a living as a comedian by the time you’re 18, you’re going to have to figure out something else you can do to make some money. You could work in retail or some other minimum wage job that doesn’t require a HS degree, but you’ll make more working at a restaurant.
I suggested a busboy because every person I’ve known who wanted to get into the entertainment industry worked at a restaurant either as a waiter or a bartender to pay their bills until they could either make a living in the entertainment industry or decided to go another route when they couldn’t. It also allowed them the most flexible schedule for auditions or whatever, even trading shift nights with co-workers if they needed to. I also had friends who worked as waiters in college and would sometimes come home with a couple of hundred $ in cash a night. Not bad money.
But to be a waiter, you usually have to start either by being a host or bussing tables when you have no experience, but busboys normally share in a portion of the waiter’s tips because their tips are partly dependent on how good you are. The more you hustle, the more they can make. You’re too young to be a bartender for several years, but even bartenders start out as bar-backs. Everybody has to start somewhere.
If you don’t like that idea, that’s fine, but you have to come up a plan so that if you DO have to move out at 18 or your parents require you to have a job to live at home, you’re more prepared than you are now.
I’ll work at the post office
You have to pass exams to get hired at the post office. The one person I knew well who worked at the post office had a college degree and scored well on the exams he had to take to work at the piss office. He switched from there and got some certifications in CS and now has a federal job in CS instead. Agree it’s hard to get most jobs without at least a HS diploma or GED.
You will be automatically disqualified from many jobs and promotions without a HS diploma or GED. Many jobs also have age requirements and some require you to pass tests and/or do physical work of lifting varying amounts of weight.
I’ll work at ups
There are plenty of adults who live happy lives without a high school diploma.
But I know several people who failed to get one at 17/18-- and every one of them regretted it. Some went back and got a GED-- a few even went on to college. But the remainder were/are stuck in low paying jobs without options.
It’s all about options.
Without a GED, you won’t have a shot at jobs and opportunities that are open to people with that degree.
Sure, maybe you’ll make it big in comedy-- I sincerely hope that you do. But what if you don’t? What if you get married and have kids some day and want a house? Your income will most likely be far lower than your peers with that degree. Want a car too? Want an occasional vacation? All these things cost money, and you’ll make more money with a degree.
Again, it’s all about options. I say you, first, speak to your parents. Get a summer job and pour money into a tutor so you can get that degree. Then shoot for the moon and make it in comedy. But have your GED so you’ll have options in terms of jobs and careers.
I’m not stupid like all the other low income people. I won’t get married or have kids.
Ever??? Im married, I have 3 kids, and they’ve added more to my life than I can describe.
But let’s agree that you won’t get married or have kids, Are you prepared to state, now, as a 17 or 18 year old, that you’ll never want the things that a high school diploma can help you get? That you’re willing to accept a life sentence of making less money than you could, simply because you chose not to get that diploma?
I’m not saying its right or fair, or that that single piece of paper defines your intelligence or worth. But I am saying that the lack of that piece of paper will limit your earning potential forever.
Are you willing to accept that? You certainly don’t owe me, or anyone else on this forum or off it, the answer to that question. But I think you owe yourself the answer.
Yes I am. I’m also not some low life that needs to have kids just to make my life better.
You may live many more decades. It’s hard to say what any of us may or may not want in another decade or two. It’s a lot easier to have options than burn bridges and try reconstructing them later.
At the very least, talk with your folks or trusted adults in your life and go ahead and get one or more jobs and try them out.
The best of luck to you. I sincerely hope you make it big in comedy.
Ok thanks
You never know what could happen. If you are sure of yourself and keep a positive attitude, you really could make it in any field! With a job that earns you enough money and hours to make ends meet while also allowing you to pursue what you want, anyone can live a fulfilling life. Just because it’s not the life many other people imagine doesn’t mean it is not the right life for you. There are so many paths you could take, and going back to school later may be one of them, but the earlier you begin trying to make it in comedy, the more likely it is to happen for you! I wish you the best of luck in that and in life in general!
I think we all will encourage you to get a GED at least because that is the lowest hurdle for most jobs.
I can’t get it. I’m not studious I can’t even discipline myself to study.
You might have a learning disability that makes school hard for you and if ever decide to get your GED or study for the CHSPE or whatever it might be a lot easier to study if you get diagnosed.
I don’t know how to get diagnosed