career advice for teenager

[Pugwash]

Both my daughters, having had degrees from Central Lancashire and Brighton ( Psychology and English with Education Studies)found it difficult to gain employment after they qualified and did work which did not require a degree for a while, they eventually settled into the careers they have now, although eldest daughter took a 2nd degree and got a first class honours in Occupational Therapy. It would appear that if you have a 'professional' qualification i.e. OT, Social Worker, Nurse, Physio ,you have more chance of employment than if you had for instance a Business Studies English or Sociology etc degree.

Speaking to Granddaughter today, she was saying that there were no apprenticeships in Art or Science related jobs, and she will just carry on with her A levels next year and take pot luck and may have to take a year out to test the job market. I have encouraged her to attend a few local colleges/University's open days just to get an idea what is on offer and there maybe courses which she would not have considered.

I am in a career which I wanted when I was 18, but did not have the academic qualifications for it ( 8 O level and 1 A) I finally achieved my dream at the age of 45 having a degree and a post grad professional qualification. It is a stressful job, but interesting, thought provoking and I have a great team of people working with me.

[Saffron]

Pugwash Wrote:

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> Both my daughters, having had degrees from Central

> Lancashire and Brighton ( Psychology and English

> with Education Studies)found it difficult to gain

> employment after they qualified and did work which

> did not require a degree for a while, they

> eventually settled into the careers they have now,

> although eldest daughter took a 2nd degree and got

> a first class honours in Occupational Therapy. It

> would appear that if you have a 'professional'

> qualification i.e. OT, Social Worker, Nurse,

> Physio ,you have more chance of employment than if

> you had for instance a Business Studies English

> or Sociology etc degree.

>

I agree that is often the case, with the exception of areas which become saturated. Both pharmacy and optometry appear to be saturated at the moment. Also some qualified fields have high rates of burn out, such as midwifery.

> Speaking to Granddaughter today, she was saying

> that there were no apprenticeships in Art or

> Science related jobs, and she will just carry on

> with her A levels next year and take pot luck and

> may have to take a year out to test the job

> market. I have encouraged her to attend a few

> local colleges/University's open days just to get

> an idea what is on offer and there maybe courses

> which she would not have considered.

Definitely worth a look at different open days and courses. A lot of fashion and design seems to be very technical now. Kingston Uni rates very highly in fashion and design, and UCL offers a BASc in Arts & Sciences.

http://www.kingston.ac.uk/undergraduate-course/fashion/

http://www.kingston.ac.uk/undergraduate-course/graphic-design/

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/basc

>

> I am in a career which I wanted when I was 18,

> but did not have the academic qualifications for

> it ( 8 O level and 1 A) I finally achieved my

> dream at the age of 45 having a degree and a post

> grad professional qualification. It is a stressful

> job, but interesting, thought provoking and I have

> a great team of people working with me.

That's fabulous! :)

[DaveR]

"It would appear that if you have a 'professional' qualification i.e. OT, Social Worker, Nurse, Physio ,you have more chance of employment than if you had for instance a Business Studies English or Sociology etc degree."

Maybe. The essential nature of professions is that there's some sort of effective monopoly over certain types of work, but those monopolies can be shaky, and there's a lot of competition to get in and then get established. There are lots of other professional qualifications - law, accountancy, architecture, surveying, engineering - and the picture varies a lot between them. Plus, I'd say again, a good academic degree from a good university is still the most likely to open doors to a variety of careers.

I can't help but notice that almost every job that appears to have been contemplated is broadly in the healthcare/therapeutic sector. It's obvious, but worth saying, that there are loads of interesting jobs in all kinds of sectors - manufacturing, retail, professional services, financial services, IT - and relatively few of those jobs require specific qualifications.

[Pugwash]

I suppose that as a family we have been drawn naturally to healthcare etc type jobs. I originally was a senior administrator with responsibility for 120 staff and a ?1m budget - I liked the work but people more than figures are more 'me' One son in law is a plumber, the other works in newspaper advertising/sales. Hubby worked in a Post Room before retiring. One grandson works in a warehouse So we have mixed connections.

I work with people who have for their first degree -Law, Social policy, Nursing, European Studies,politics, with the exception of the nurse, all found difficulty in gaining permanent work, or even in some cases, casual work, which eventually lead them to train at post graduate level for a 'professional qualification' - none of them have been out of work since. If you have a flair for IT/Finances - then it is great

We all bring different skills etc, a now elderly cousin for many years was a shop assistant and loved baking cakes. This lead her in her 50s attending a course in cake decorating at the local polytechnic - she ended up in her 60s teaching cake decoration at the local Adult Education Centre. Most of us start out our working career doing one thing and it is rare thing to still be in the same type of job 20 or 30 years later!