Anyone else with a year 12 who has no idea what degree/job they want?

[CarrieErbag]

Have a dc (home edded) with literally no idea of what job she wants to do and therefore no idea of what degree.
Doing history, politics, psych at A level.
I wondered if there are any other parents of lost students out there? It's causing quite a lot of angst at the moment.

Yep.

I have one. Stresses the hell out of me but I can't let it show as that makes it worse. I just encouraged voluntary work to help broaden horizons and gain confidence.

That's so young to have a firm idea of what you want to be. Just choose the broadest degree and go from there.

My DD has literally no idea. History, biology, music A levels.

I had an offer at university at 18 to do psychology. I ended up not going returning much later in life to do a degree that has a definitive career at the end of it. I'm so glad I didn't go earlier it would have been a complete waste. So rather than 'just choose the broadest degree' maybe a year in work would open her mind.
There are so many degrees out there that people don't know exist. Careers too. I don't mean flimsy degrees either. Vocational ones that lead to high paying jobs.

My Ds. He’s had the idea of joining the police but won’t do any voluntary work to help him into that. Won’t join the cadets.

He’s doing business btec that he was basically forced into as it was the best of some shit options as he cocked up his maths and a couple of other GCSEs and couldn’t get onto A level course.

I’m at a loss.

He’s so much like me though and it’s unbearable because I was the same and I’ve done jack shit with my life. I don’t want the same for him.

I was told to just go and choose broadest degree, what a waste of time and money. I got a first but all the careers that were open to me I didn't want to do.

My dd's year 12, a straight As student and has NO CLUE. Doing English, Sociology and Art. I was hoping she'd pursue the sociology but she's tending now towards art for her degree, but only because she likes it, and she's got no idea what she wants to do with it afterwards. But to be fair, I had very little idea at that stage either, and was vaguely planning to do sociology at uni. Switched the English solely because I was getting solid As for essays and my English teacher said sociology was a wanky subject and I ought to do English instead. So I did .

I do think 16-17 is quite young for most people to have decided what they want to do, unless they have a real vocation for something like medicine, or the priesthood, or summit. Don't worry.

I was like this, and while everyone kept telling me it didn't matter, I do think it has affected me now as I'm still like a rudderless ship! I was a high achiever as were all of my friends who have gone on to be doctors, lawyers and accountants. I couldn't pin down what I wanted to to do so took a range of A Levels and a generic humanities degree which I eventually dropped out of. Has she done any of those career aptitude type tests? Maybe a degree apprenticeship would be an idea, or looking at Civil Service and council websites for a bit of an idea. Does she have hobbies linked to anything?

careerswales.gov.wales/plan-your-career/job-matching-quiz this is a good place to start but I'm not sure if it's only accessible to those of us in Wales!

Much too young to decide. I wouldn't expect a child of that age to have any idea.

Suggest she gets a job, does some volunteering or suchlike. So many of the most dedicated students where I teach are mature-age students who have discovered what it is they want to do.

Law is a good degree to do if you don’t know what you want to do after university. It’s very useful and opens doors to lots of different career options. It’s also quite rigorous as far as undergrad degrees go so you get more value for your money.

careers or jobs for life are so last century. University isn't compulsory, but if she does want to go then choose something science based. Stay away from the 'feminine' stuff if she wants to earn money.

It's very young to know and I didn't have a clue then. I went to uni having been pressured to by my parents and school, dropped out after a year, went back for another 3 years but hated it and am now have masses of debt

I actually loved the working world and at about 25 worked out that I wanted to join the police, which is what I've been doing happily since. I suppose what I would say is that my degree will help me when if and when it comes to promotion.

Perhaps let your daughter take a year out after school and work or volunteer. That might give her a better idea.

On the flipside, I had friends who wanted to be doctors at school and did medicine and trained as doctors at uni. Lots of them have jacked it in now and are picking a new career. I really wouldn't worry too much

Degree subject and job aren't usually related. (Obviously there's exceptions before I get jumped on...), but most graduate type jobs just want a degree, not one in a specific subject. So choose a subject they enjoy. Taking a year out and getting some psychometric testing done to identify strengths are also good ideas, and thinking about what they want from a working environment - alone, in a team, indoors, outdoors etc. But don't fall into the trap of never making a decision in case it's the wrong one. There are very few decisions made at 18 that need to be lifelong. And people often have portfolio careers too.

@CovidicusRex law would have been useless for my career choice. Seriously why do people do degrees for the sake of it? My son is 17 and clueless too. As long as he works I'm not bothered. With maturity he may decide what degree he wants to do. I'd rather that than blowing his uni funding on a degree he's not 100% on board with.

I think the pp who advised her thinking about what she broadly wants from life is a good idea.

Does she want to earn a lot of money, does she want to spend most of her time outdoors, does she want to have the chance to travel with her job, does she want to learn and use a second language, does she want to work in an office, does she want to work with people, does she want to do something academic, does she want to help people, does she want to do some physical where she uses her hands?

One thing I wish I'd known when I was at uni was what careers were possible, my parents have very normal jobs and it never entered my head that i could have done architecture, interior design, quantity surveyor etc.

At the end of the day you can guide her but it's up to her to choose, and she doesnt have to go to uni.

One of my A Levels was in business studies and we did a module in marketing that I got pretty high marks in so I just kind of went with it and got a degree in it then worked as a marketing assistant and worked my way up, but it's not turned out to be as lucrative as I thought. I mean it pays alright but I'm not earning mega bucks and it doesnt challenge me.

@Northersoullover well a lot of people are never going to enjoy/be a 100% on board with because they don’t enjoy studying (like me for example). But you need a degree to open many opportunities whether they are good jobs, professional training, work experience opportunities, networking opportunities or whatever. It’s the way things are set up these days, they’re pretty essential, yes it’s possible to be successful without them but it’s easier to do well with one so why not hedge your bets?

What does she like?
What interests her?

Sometimes people think they need to know what they want to do forever and ever, and they freeze with indecision.
Maybe try and narrow down what next?
Uni
Gap year
Employment
Apprenticeship
Military

Try not to get hung up on finer points- narrow down the broad options that appeal.
Then research. Go to open days. Think about what goals she may have. What is important to her? What energises her?

She'll figure it out.

I'm not sure if the Prospects Quiz is similar to the Wales one linked by Wtfdidwedo.

I'm 36 and still don't know what I want to be.

One thing I wish I'd known when I was at uni was what careers were possible, my parents have very normal jobs and it never entered my head that i could have done architecture, interior design, quantity surveyor etc.

Same! I should have done a maths degree but I thought the only job I could do after was teaching so did a completely different subject that didn't suit me at all! If only I'd known...

Howabout take a year out. Get a job. then apply for next year? My oh didn,t know at that age. He went to uni a few years ago. (But a lot harder with 2 young kids in to care for.)

I think deferring for a year is a really good option just now anyway. It's impossible to get an idea of the universities and what they're like as there are no open days. So you can't see what life would really be like there, never mind what the courses are like, andhow the tutors are.

Shooting myself in the foot here, as I work in a university and they are desperate to sign people up for 2020/21. But it's what I'm advising my dd to do.