What career advice did you get at school?

[TazzyDrunk]

I honestly don't remember getting that much just wondering how much you got?

none. girls' state grammar, 1990s. There was an outdated assumption that because we were all smart kids heading for decent universities that we'd fall into interesting and reasonably remunerated employment immediately on graduation.

We did do one of those awful psychometric tests in year 10 though. I remember getting technical writer. A few mates got Chicken Sexer.

Private school, 2000s.

Advised to go to university and do nursing or midwifery and then go into the military as a nursing officer.

I wish I had become a civil engineer or something like that. Didn’t even know that was an option! There was healthcare, teaching, the military or office work.

I was told to consider becoming a librarian or a teacher. Apparently they were the best options if you are female, like reading but don't have any particular desire to work in education or with children. That was 1999ish.

I work in IT.

The computer programme told me I should work in an animal testing laboratory because I liked animals and was good at science. The day we took the test I was wearing my favourite STOP ANIMAL TESTING t-shirt. I can vividly remember how outraged I felt!

I was also steered away from the degree that I wanted to take and advised to choose a ‘more academic’ subject. A decade later I quit my career to retrain in horticulture. If I’d done it from the start I could have achieved my dream of being a head gardener in a historic garden somewhere. Too late starting in your thirties.

We had to complete a tick box questionnaire which then matched us with career options.
I can't remember what mine came out with but my friends was firewoman.
I do remember a conversation with the careers woman who came to speak with us. I loved writing and said I was interested in journalism - I was told to aim my sights lower as it's too difficult to get into so went into Nursery Nursing.
I don't work as a Nursery Nurse.

I too only had the computer quiz at a crap school in the 90s...the 2 careers suggested were vicar or butcher. An interesting choice for a vegetarian atheist!

South London comprehensive school in the 90s. We got no careers advice. At all.

I was ordered to become a secretary, because I was quiet with steady grades-"some day you could even make it as a PA!"-no other career would do! I wanted to study art, as it was my great passion, and did go on to art college, but have wound up working for an international company in licencing and certification.

I do remember bumping into my careers advice teacher when I was working part time in retail-she passed a few pleasantries, then called her teen daughter over and said "this is what happens if you don't study hard, you'll end up in a dead end job like Dubba!" I was an assistant manager at the time, and working towards my Masters in Fine Art, hardly failing at life!

"none. girls' state grammar, 1990s. There was an outdated assumption that because we were all smart kids heading for decent universities that we'd fall into interesting and reasonably remunerated employment immediately on graduation."

Me too - exactly. If only. If only..

We had a computer questionnaire too - Cascaid, I think it was called, very new and modern (we had to carefully fill in the circles so the computer could read them )

Unfortunately it was pretty obvious where all the questions were leading so my result was a strong suggestion that I be a teacher, with a selection of other things as near matches. Didn't attempt to find out from anyone if I could actually stand there and teach...

For a long time I thought I did my PGCE too young. I've recently realised that though I'm an excellent tutor for groups of up to 4, I'm a totally crap teacher, even for adults.

I left school in 1977.

I wanted to work in agriculture or be an author (I had very fixed ideas about my future!)
They knew NOTHING about any career paths into any of these jobs. I was clearly too plain to be an air hostess and too unsporty to be a P E teacher (the only careers that it seemed anyone wanted). I baffled them completely.

(I later went to agricultural college, worked with cows and am now a published author, but I cannot credit school with any of this).

1973

Senior Mistress: What do you want to do when you leave school?
Me: Be a teacher.
Senior Mistress; OK. Next!

I became a teacher but didn't have any idea of any other careers I could have chosen.

Nothing.

Others did as it was a top grammar school. But I was one of the ‘thick’ ones (I was bullied to fuck and depressed) so I wasn’t even asked if I was considering staying for A levels.

Ds is 17, be got nothing either.

None of any note. The advisor asked what i wanted to do, I said I didn’t know, and that was that.

I mentioned that I wanted to do medicine and had chosen o-levels accordingly. Careers advisor suggested that maybe nursing would be more appropriate. This was the 1980s, not the 1950s.

Left school in the 70s at 16

School said you can do anything you want to but only if you do A levels and a degree.

Started off wanting to do acting. Was told not to be ridiculous and to get my feet back on the ground.

My mother gave me a choice of working in a bank or going into nursing.

Nursing, I knew I would have killed someone and I hate being surrounded by sick people.

I tried banking for 6 weeks then left.

Worked for the post office sorting mail for a few weeks.

Then decided to be an air hostess.

Mother said no as it was too dangerous and the selection process meant I would have been out of work for 6 weeks and I was just being lazy (would have got a temp job in the meantime but that wasn’t good enough) and I had my head in the clouds

Saw an advert for a Croupier in one of the cities casinos.
My mother said it was too dangerous and I would be killed

Ended up working in offices which was the most danger I have felt as my MH deteriorated and I did think I wouldn’t survive.

I look back on the missed opportunities and really regret not standing up to my mother sooner.
But equally wish someone had been there to advise me.
By the time I was 21 my life had made a turn I couldn’t undo.

Pretty much none. I saw a careers advisor when the school were sorting out work experience in Year 10, and the advise consisted of, "Here's what's left. Which one do you want to work at?"... I chose a local shop. I wanted to be an art teacher. I remember a lesson in writing a CV. That's it though.

@modgepodge - an actuary?

I did the computer programme thing as well, it suggested I work alone as I'm not team player material. It did even suggest a gardener (which I did do a few years later, although not deliberately).

There was also a short interview with a careers adviser. The only thing I can remember them saying was there was no money in jobs with animals. Which is probably true.

For my own children, Dd knew exactly what she wanted to do from a very young age.

Ds hadn’t a clue.
So I had him do loads of online careers test. I even did his horoscope.

If a career was mentioned I would look up all the associated careers and jobs and I made a huge list

It was then printed off and Ds did a cursory glance down it ruling out stuff he knew what it involved and really didn’t want to do.

We then worked out way through the list over quite some time till he got to 3 different possibilities.

He chose the sensible option to study at college. He is doing a trade and will be qualified by September next year. But can’t do the level 3 part as he doesn’t have English GCSE so that will be as far as he can go.

So he is going down his other choice which is a very precarious profession. He is trying to pick up jobs here and there whilst trying to complete his apprenticeship at the same time

I actually think he is happier doing the erratic 2nd choice than he would have been doing the first choice full time

Great - or sad - the see that it is not any different in other places.
I got none - my daughter in year 10, went to her appointment. The advisor heard ADHD and dyscalculia - stopped listening and told her to forget it. Luckily she's stubborn.
She's in the middle of her first semester at uni - just broke up for the holidays.

Nothing. Except being handed a small pink box in the guidance teachers office - like a recipe card holder box with 'career cards' and told to rifle through until I could find something that interested me. The first one I pulled out said - pig farmer! I put the box back and decided I would go travelling after school!!

I also wonder if some of the people you saw were qualified Careers Information and Guidance practitioners? Again, in England, school careers provision often consists of a member of school staff.
Fully qualified careers professionals have a post grad and often a Masters in Career Guidance.
The job is not a process of matching people to jobs, although it's important to be aware of local labour market information (I'd be daft not to point out to a client if career area was becoming obsolete for example). It's more about helping them to recognise and articulate their own skills and strength, as this will help them navigate their career path in the future.
Currently, the most popular job young people come to my advisers wanting to do is YouTuber or vlogger.

Doesn't everyone just want to be a celebrity 'slash' model now!?

Do you want to work in an office?
Do you want to work in a factory?
Do you want to be a secretary?
A nurse?
Hairdresser?

No to all of those.

Why don't you stay on and do A-levels? Then you could go to university.
Me: Then what?
Er... you could become a teacher?

No thanks.

That was pretty much it. They were crap. Late 70's.

We had a multiple choice test thing. My then boyfriend and I picked all the same answers. He was to be a scientist, I was to be a lab assistant. I was cross.