High School

6 Advantages of Having A High School Diploma

There are many benefits to having a high school diploma. Obtaining education is a great way to get a new job or move up in your current company. Read on to learn how having a high school diploma can benefit you

Laura Amendola

Sep 09, 2026

5 min read

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Why is a high school diploma important?

A high school diploma can improve your employment opportunities. It can also increase your earning potential, and it may be able to reduce your risk of unemployment and qualify you for college or career training. You can also build skills that employers often value. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers with a high school diploma generally experience lower unemployment than people who did not complete high school.

Key takeaways

A high school diploma can create more opportunities.
Graduating from high school can lead to positive outcomes, such as improving employment prospects and increasing earning potential.
A diploma can provide valuable skills beyond the credential.
Completing high school can help build transferable skills that can be useful in both work and everyday life.
It can be an important step toward long-term personal and career goals.
Whether someone is returning to school as an adult or earning the first diploma in their family, completing high school can provide a pathway toward further education, career goals, greater financial stability, and a sense of personal accomplishment.

Benefits of obtaining a high school diploma

Check out the benefits of having a high school diploma.

Benefit	Why it matters
Higher earning potential	High school graduates typically earn more than people who haven't completed high school. In 2024, median weekly earnings were about $930 for high school graduates versus $738 for workers without a diploma.
Lower unemployment	Graduates generally experience lower unemployment rates. In 2024, unemployment was 4.2% for high school graduates compared with 6.2% for people without a diploma.
More job opportunities	Many employers require a high school diploma or equivalent. BLS reports that in 2025, about 39% of civilian workers were in jobs where a high school diploma was the minimum formal education requirement.
Access to college and training	A diploma can qualify you for college, technical school, career training, and other postsecondary programs that may otherwise be unavailable.
Advancement opportunities	A diploma can help employees qualify for higher-level positions, promotions, and supervisory roles, particularly when employers set education requirements for advancement.
Transferable skills	High school can help develop communication, time management, critical-thinking, problem-solving, and other skills that can be useful in college, work, and everyday life.
Career preparation	Coursework and electives can help students explore interests, build foundational knowledge, and develop skills related to future careers.
Personal accomplishment	Completing a diploma requires persistence and dedication and can provide a sense of achievement, confidence, and pride in reaching an important educational goal.

Do you need a diploma to be successful?

There have been plenty of people who’ve been able to find success without graduating high school, especially in the past when a diploma wasn’t a minimum requirement for finding a good, stable job. But the road to success without that diploma can take a lot longer and sometimes be more of a struggle. While you don’t necessarily need a high school diploma to be successful, depending on what you want to do professionally, it is essential to make sure you can reach your goals in the most straightforward way possible.

Kermit Cook, CEO of Penn Foster Group, tries to speak to students often to see what a difference education can make. “A learner told me, ‘I was ready to drop out. I assumed I’d never be a high school graduate.’ But he enrolled at Penn Foster, graduated, and a week later was accepted to welding school.”

Can having a high school diploma change your life?

It is entirely possible that earning your high school diploma can change the trajectory of your life. Penn Foster High School graduate Damiam Rodriguez's experience is a great example of how getting your diploma can impact your life. Life dealt Damian a tough hand and he unfortunately became homeless as a teenager.

"While I was homeless on the streets, I enrolled into Penn Foster immediately because, even though I didn't have the means or the money to really purchase or pay for my tuition, y'all guys had that payment plan. And I thought, well, as long as I could pay a little bit every month, it would push me to continue to work and also push me to have a good source of income... It would motivate me to be a better man. And that's exactly what happened."

His story is truly inspiring. He went on to say, "I'd always stay at a Starbucks for like 8 hours just so I could do my classes... I got a job, I was able to get a house, able to get a car. I lived in the car first and I got a house and I had my friends move into the house with me." He describes getting his diploma as "one of the biggest honors of my life, 'cause I truly didn't believe I would be able to do that."

Is a high school diploma even worth it?

While there are many advantages to having your high school diploma, is going back to school to get it, especially as an adult, even worth it? It absolutely can be! Having that high school credential on your resume can open the door to new job opportunities, college, technical school, and the potential to earn more money while pursuing a career you truly are passionate about. By working toward graduating, you can also build a lot of skills that are essential to almost every job, including

Written and verbal communication skills
Time management skills
Problem-solving skills
Decision-making skills

For many people. Graduating high school is an important milestone that no one in their family has achieved. According to our 2025 Impact Report, 37% of our high school respondents report that their parents didn’t finish high school. It can be a great sense of pride for students who are the first in their family to earn their diploma.

Earn your diploma on your schedule

Finishing your high school diploma doesn’t have to rearranging your schedule to go to physical classes. When you’re working full-time, have responsibilities at home, or have other things in your life that prevent you from finishing high school in person, a more flexible program can help you reach your goals. That’s where online high school can help! With self-paced classes that you can do from home, whenever it works for you, you can graduate on your terms and be prepared to take the next step in reaching your goals.

Do you need information on online diploma programs or a high school diploma vs GED? Check out Penn Foster's blog library for more in-depth information.