Please note this was originally published in March 2014 and has not been updated.
People often wonder whether being home educated will somehow prevent access to higher education or otherwise limit future career prospects in some way. However in reality this is far from the case.
Here are some examples of various subjects that older home educated children have recently taken at university: Art, Medicine, Music, Veterinary Science, English, Child Development, Humanities, Psychology, Sociology, Media Make up and Special Effects, Law and Photographic Journalism.
These are a few of the careers that home educated people are now doing: Musician, IT technician, IT consultant, photographer, shop manager, professional athlete, carer, cinema manager, artist, music producer and BBC technician.
One such person was home educated in America from aged 9 onwards, using a part autonomous and part structured approach. When he got to high school age, his parents gave him the choice of going to school or choosing between various home school programs which would give him a high school qualification. He chose a program which had some structure and his general life experience also counted towards his studies.
He then took dual credit classes at a community college (university) that counted towards both high school credit and an associates degree. He now lives in England with his wife and children, where he works as consultant for a company’s Cloud product and is also mid IT degree, via part time study with the OU.
Compare the two lists above to any group of schooled children and you will see very little difference in the type of higher education courses typically taken up or in the nature of employment opportunities after compulsory education is complete. The only difference is that home educated children, generally speaking of course, often have greater freedom to pursue their own interests and gain life experience sooner.
The alternative approach to education might also enable individuals to tune into their unique strengths earlier on, which perhaps might enable them to develop a particular expertise sooner. This means that in some cases these children may be more likely to follow personal passions and/or find their particular niche in life earlier on. In these instances, being home educated supports long-term career satisfaction and personal fulfilment.
Lastly some famous people who were apparently home educated:
- Hilary Duff (actress, singer songwriter, author and entrepreneur)
- Tim Tebow (quarterback for Denver Broncos)
- Venus and Serena Williams (tennis players)
- Agatha Christie (author)
- Thomas Edison (inventor)
- Franklin Roosevelt (president)
- Jennifer Love Hewitt (actress, producer, director, singer songwriter)