I have 1st hand experience with this. I hated school. All I wanted to do was work. My Dad owned a millwork company along with a couple of others. I was raised in the woodworking business. Built my first complete set of cabinets from blueprints at the age of 12. Cut every board, did the finish work and counter tops. When I was in the 9th grade, I got suspended for 3 days for cutting classes and I changed the date on the paper to reflect 10 days. School called dad on day 5 wondering where i was? We had a conference with Principal and he ask what I wanted to do. I said work. He agreed to let me miss the remainder of the year (2 months) to work full time. If I liked it, I was done with school as I would turn 16 before next school year. If I returned, I would repeat the 9th grade. I never looked back. I was 15 yrs old, making $35K/yr. I worked 50+ hrs a week for the next 3 years. Got married and bought the company from my father at 18. Ran it successfully for 3 more yrs and then BAM! One day I was burnt out. Wife and I had everything we wanted but time together. I worked constantly. I sold the company and wandered around for a year or 2. Job to Job, miserable. I had missed out on being a teen/young adult. Missed the social experiences of Prom, Graduation, College, etc.

I got lazy for a couple of years. Then I got back in the swing of things, changed industries, and spent 20+years with the same company and held very high positions within that company without a diploma or a GED. 5 years ago, I left that company and joined an organization with the intentions of buying it. I did that in May of 2022 at 50 years old.

I typed all of that out to make this point. Your Son can achieve great financial success without a diploma or GED. If he has the ambition, and it sounds like he does. Just remind him to not get too busy making a living that he forgets to make a life. I missed a lot of my kids moments and was there for a lot of them. I carried a laptop and cell phone on vacations and spent time in the room doing business while my family was on the beach. They have never wanted for anything but, if I had to do it over, the only thing I would change would be the missing out on the social experiences. Politics aside, kids get a lot more out of those experiences than some agenda.