Mumsnet Talk

Cross posting this so you may see it else where.

Do you know of any on line careers advice things or is there anyone out there who can help me steer DS round this maze of A level/uni choices?

He is academically very able at a selective school. Predicted A/A* across the board and B in French (he's going to re do a module- he just bombed in one I think). Not boasting, that's how he is.

He saw a careers advisor from connextions who did what ever they do and said "do psychology".......So DS (who has some ASD traits including a bit of literal fixation and change resistance though has bags of people skills and empathy) has fixed on this.

I rather feel psychology is an easy suggestion if you don't know whether to take a science or an arts path and maybe a bit of a "soft" choice. I can't help thinking he'd be better taking something rather more scientific as a 1st degree then if he still wants to do clinical psychology heading in this direction as a 2nd degree (1st degree psychology isn't in anyway vocational, you have to take a further qualification anyway).

He is currently very interested in how we learn/neuronal plasticity and that sort of thing.I'm worried if he wants to end up doing that long term he needs a more scientific path...

He also dabbles with medicine as a possibility but I understand that he will need chemistry for this even at graduate level?

His "easy" choice would be to take music though!

Currently planning AS levels in Maths Biology English Music

It's been suggested by a friend that he looks at Human Science at Oxford- but he thinks he's not good enough.....I think it actually looks like the right course....

THanks for reading. Any suggestions/thoughts anyone?


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Have you looked at Planit Plus Don't know if it's Scotland only, but it's really useful. Tells you entry requirements for every course and suggests courses based on strengths.

If he wants to be a clinical psychologist he'll need an accredited first degree. If he's interested in Neuroscience I'd recommend Chemistry A level to go with the Biology.

really, it is impossible for you to decide, it does have to come from him.

Messing up that French will seriously limit his choices, if he is thinking of medicine or Oxford, as many colleges don't look at the results of resits, and only accept the first mark.

I would concentrate on him making a decision on what he enjoys, then looking at the courses and career oppertunities that would be open to him, (and just as important - closed down for him) if he followed his heart in his choices.

Remember this is all incredibly hard work, and taking a subject you like is far more likely to lead to success than choosing entirely onwhat you think will be useful.

Having said that, it is worth looking at career oppertunities before you commit your self as well.

I agree. He must do chemistry and support it with Biology for any kind of Bsc in psycology degree. Drop either english or music

If I have a child that clever I would be encouraging him to do dentistry. I'm a dentist so I might be biased. There is a much better work/life balance with a career in dentistry than in medicine.

He won't need Chemistry for Psychology, but highly recommended (if not required) for many biological sciences.

THe french grade will probably go up to an A if he gets his head round it this time and I think won't appear as a "2nd attempt" in the overall grade? It's only a course work module.

I absolutely want him to do subjects he loves- there is too much study time to spend doing things you don't like at AS and beyond.... I just don't want him to close any doors further down the line by a duff choice now.

I'd really like school to be a bit more flexible and let him add chemistry in and start 5 AS courses and drop 2 when he's had a taster of them but I don't think they'll be up for that.

AKissisnot that's really interesting. I'm certainly not pushing him towards a medical career I have rather too much insight into that !

If he is not sure what he wants to do then a broad range of traditional A levels subjects is a good idea. I'd also second what asiatic said, better to take subjects that you can do well in than others than ones you think might be useful.

Also don't fret about it, it is not the end of the world if he changes his mind. My DN was in a similar position and only decided iat the end of year 12 what he want to do. He didn't have the right subjects so did an extra year in sixth form to be able to take different subjects. He is at Cambridge now so this did not have any negative impact.

Also one B at GCSE is highly unlikley to have a huge impact on university entry even for oxbridge, providing it isn't in the area that a student intends to study.

that's good advice, better.

Messing up that French will seriously limit his choices, if he is thinking of medicine or Oxford, as many colleges don't look at the results of resits, and only accept the first mark.

That's the second time this weekend that asiatic has given what I consider to be dodgy advice.
Resits are a problem for Oxbridge for AS, not GCSE. Why on earth would resitting one module in a subject you are not even taking to A Level, never mind applying to University in, make any difference.
I secong the opinion that Chemistry would be useful (more useful than Biology) for medical-type degrees.
A boring point about logistics: what combination will school timetabling allow him to do? He could come up with the perfect (for him) combination but if it does not fit into timetabling then it's a non-starter.

I'd suggest he do Chemistry and Biology for A-level, and the maths and one of English/Music for variety.
And consider a neuroscience or biological science/biochemistry/molecular biology degree.

The Chemistry is vital for any of those sorts of subjects.

Do you know of any on line careers advice things or is there anyone out there who can help

Ask this chap who has "particular responsibility for apprenticeships, careers guidance and vocational education".

i second purits idea, go on ask him about careers advice in schools - this government seem to think that the brighter students don't need it.

A private company came into our son's school and did all sorts of analysis with the boys and produced a full report on their strengths/weaknesses and potential for future careers. I will look up the name later today and pm you with the info. I don't think I'm allowed to post it on here because of advertising. They were very impressive though and produced a fantastic report.

Clinical psychology is ultra competitive. He will need an MSc after his degree, some applicants even have PhDs. He will also need lots of work and voluntary experience in the field of mental health. Even after all of this there is no guarantee he will get on the DClin course or even get a job at the end of it. I would suggest doing a professional degree with a better chance of a job at the end.

I would have thought that you could post on here MiW because it's a recommendation, not a (self)advertisment.
Either way, can you let me know too!

You could try the TES's new careers portal Growing Ambitions. (http://growingambitions.tes.co.uk/) Lots of useful information, videos and resources on different options available post-16. There is a section on going to university which includes useful links if you can't find the info on the site.