From very young I wanted to be a primary school teacher and probably would have trained to do that had I not been talented at languages at school. In 6th form my languages teacher was horrified at me “wasting my language skills” by doing primary teaching and not languages at uni. She had visions of me joining the diplomatic service I think (that’s just not me, though!). I also had a next door neighbour who was an experienced primary teacher and who was always ranting about how it has changed for the worse. So both those things put me off and I applied half heartedly for French at uni without looking too closely at the content of the course. No surprise that I dropped out in my first term!
Instead of taking time to really think about what I was going to do, and explore the option of actually doing the primary teaching after all, my mum panicked and told me I had to get sorted ASAP. That’s all the help she gave me. they didn’t have a clue how to help I suppose. I guess they should have really told me to stick with my gut instincts and look into the primary teaching but there was no easily available info then like there is these days on how to apply for a uni place once you’ve dropped out and no longer in school. I was lost, really, and needed someone to advise me but didn’t have anyone.
So ended up doing NVQ in business admin for a year just as something to do while panicking about “wasting my life”! I knew someone who was doing a new course at the ex-poly in my home town (hadn’t even considered that because I was academic and ex-poly’s were not something we were pointed towards by 6th form staff). I quite liked the sound of it, and it specifically mentioned that people from non-traditional backgrounds ie not straight from A-levels, would be considered. As a drop out I jumped at it.
Enjoyed the course and had a good time and I am doing what I got qualified in. (Very outing so not saying more). Also working in a secondary school so still that link with education that I always wanted! But the job has changed a lot, there is no real career path so quite poorly paid.
I have always wondered if I would have made a good primary teacher. I suspect I would have, I was a good “all-rounder” af school in terms of subject ability, and play the piano which is always useful in primary!
The time was never right to go back and do it though so too late for me.
I think young people are lucky in that it’s so much easier to find information on pathways into things. These days there are so many ways of doing a degree that it’s not just a “straight after A-levels or never” kind of a decision. Some of the people who are most successful in their career seem to have not been top of the class at school but have taken apprenticeships, worked their way up in a sector that way, then decided to do their degree at a later stage once they knew what they ACTUALLY needed to study to progress further.
I wish Labour hadn’t pushed for 50% of young people to go to uni. It’s a mistake for many to take such important decisions so young. Once the funding has been used on One degree at age 18 then it becomes virtually impossible to change careers later on if it needs another degree (and so many have changed to unnecessary degree entry when before it was training on the job - terrible idea!!). Your only option seems to be reducing to minimum wage starting at the bottom competing with 16-18 year olds who are doing apprenticeships and living at home with mum and dad so no outgoings.
Very frustrating and I will be advising my children very carefully