Seriously, why bother? What's the point of studying, working hard, and going to college? Can't you skip all the hassle and hard work and just become a garbage collector or a prison guard?. After all, you're not that concerned about money or accomplishing anything “great” in this world - you just want to have a steady income so you can pay rent, buy groceries, and maintain your three-at-a-time Netflix status.

No sweat. In a number of states, in order to get into a gig like garbage collecting or prison guarding, all you need is a high school degree or “equivalent,” which usually means passing the GED. We at Shmoop offer only the finest in test preparations – if you'd rather just punt Mrs. Hoozit's social studies class, so be it. Because if you don't even have the drive in you to pass the GED (mere hard work will let just about anyone pass this puppy), then we likely offer little for you and you are wasting your time on Shmoop. We wish you well and that's pretty much it. Don't let the web browser hit you on on the way out.

And you should (if you're serious about the whole not-graduating-high-school-thing). Because if you don't even have the drive in you to pass the GED (mere hard work will let just about anyone pass this puppy), then we likely offer little for you and you are wasting your time on Shmoop. We wish you well and that's pretty much it. Don't let the web browser hit you on on the way out.

For the rest of you, we are going to assume that you've at least got your mind set on a high school degree, the lambskin, the tassel, the black robe, and so on.

Ok, sermon over. We’ll tell you why you should care.

Pretty much everything in Shmoop Careers can be an amazing career for the right person/ personality – not just a job. The focus here is on careers… things you can throw yourself into, and in whose skill positions you become more valuable over time, not less. A job is flipping burgers or delivering pizza. A career is something at which you are better skilled at age 50 than at age 20. We’ll show you the difference below: