Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

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

54 replies

CarrieErbag · 25/05/2020 11:08

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.

OP posts:

BearSoFair · 25/05/2020 12:27

Yep. He isn't going to uni, doesn't feel he could confidently pick what he'd want to do/what would be of most benefit until he knows what career he'd like to go down. He has A levels so could apply in the future. Initially we agreed he'd work for a year or two and see how he felt after that but he's now looking into barbering apprenticeships and courses as he's done his own hair for a few years now and in lockdown has been able to have a go with DH and DS2's as well with good results! I'm just being sure to support but never pressure him, it's not a big deal if he never goes to uni and gets a degree, as long as he ends up in a job where he's happy.

BellaVida · 25/05/2020 12:30

If she really has no clue then a good starting point would be to do some skills and career profiling. The school my older DC go to uses one called Morrisby which is very good. Basically you sign up, take some online assessments in different skill areas (verbal, numerical, abstract etc) then it produces a personalised report and web site to explore career options and routes to achieve them. The site also links to various careers resources, degree courses, apprenticeships. I think it’s just a one off payment then you can access for as long as you want.

greengauges · 25/05/2020 12:32

I'm pushing 60 and I still have no idea what I want to do when I grow up!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

General education Secondary education

Hopefulmidwife · 25/05/2020 12:32

Does she even want to go to uni? It's okay not to. I am 29, I did the access course a couple years ago and going to uni this year.

It doesn't have to be now, or at all. She could get a good job without a degree if she's willing to work for it

Bronzegate · 25/05/2020 12:34

DS has finished the second year of a History degree and still doesn't know what he wants to do as a career. He chose History because it's the subject he was most interested in at school and the only one he could imagine studying for three years.

Spillinteas · 25/05/2020 12:49

I’d take the heat out of the situation and ask them what they would enjoy doing.

We went through the mill with dd1 and I think that some of it was down to me having different ideas to what she wanted to do. I just backed off completely and she found her own way and now lives in Dubai in a job that loves and travels the world, She is also starting her own clothes range. - which if you could see her at 17 you’d be gob smacked

I know it sounds clichè but back off and leave them to it. If they are too late deciding or getting on a course there are so many doors in to learning and tbf it’s a life lesson.

Original poster

CarrieErbag · 25/05/2020 13:07

I feel I should point out it's not me stressing about it, the angst is all hers. She is very introverted, has done a few career profiles which suggest working with nature.
In an ideal world she would want to save giraffes in Africa, but in reality she feels that she is more likely to be monitoring slug behaviour in Skegness.
She won't do a degree for the sake of it due to the costs involved.

OP posts:

Vaki · 25/05/2020 13:18

This was my son and i posted a post about it and got rightly flamed due to my attitude on the subject at the time.

Some kids just need a bit more time to decide, my son was working in a supermarket full time, didn't really know what he wanted from life and was happy enough, he had ok a levels but nothing amazing as he accepted he didn't apply himself enough.

He decided uni wasn't for him as he couldn't pin down what he really wanted to do and didn't want to waste the money if he was unsure. After the thread we had a sit down and a real heart to heart chat and he is now on the management programme at work, soon to be on a minimum of 24k starting as a department manager for the biggest retail company in the uk.

Is that what i ever saw him doing? No, god no even. But you know what, he's happy, bringing in a good wage and is getting experience. This might not be what he does for the rest of his life, but that's fine

EnthusiasmIsDisturbed · 25/05/2020 13:29

DS changes his mind all the time as do the majority of his friends I really wouldn’t expect anything else at this age (Y7) if they do have an idea that they are intent on that’s fine too

He doesn’t need to being having serious thoughts about what he shall when he is an adult for some time yet

EnthusiasmIsDisturbed · 25/05/2020 13:31

Oops read it wrong and throught they were 12

Don’t worry about it

RaininSummer · 25/05/2020 13:36

If a young person has no idea where their interests lie then they shouldn't be applying to unis anyway. Let then find any job or apprenticeship after school and then eventually they may focus on a more specific plan which may include uni

StillGardening · 25/05/2020 13:39

This is v good careers quiz for inspiration

sacu-student.com/?page_id=2850

Aurea · 25/05/2020 13:44

Scottish universities offer four year degrees where in first year you study three subjects equally (although you have to apply for a specific subject) and then you specialise from years 2-4. Most Scottish Unis only charge three years of tuition fees for RUK students although you would need to allow for an extra year's accommodation costs for which you can get out a student loan, as per normal.

bluebluezoo · 25/05/2020 13:47

Yep also agree just picking any old degree is a waste of time and money.

I wanted to get a job and work for a few years as I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do. Family pressure made me pick a generic degree. It was a bloody good degree and a top uni, and I really enjoyed it. However I graduated still without a clue on career. It was only after working a few years and getting to see what people actually did in their jobs and careers i gained a few ideas..

But everything I wanted to do required a different or more specific degree to the one I did, and I didn’t have the time or money to pay for a second degree. So i’ve pretty much floated aimlessly from job to job with no real passion or direction.

I’d suggest working, travelling, volunteering until she is more focussed.

titchy · 25/05/2020 13:48

If working with nature, whether giraffes or slugs (!) are genuinely her thing then a bioscience / conservation type degree might be a useful start, although obviously she's taken the wrong A level subjects. Which isn't the end of the world. She could start again, or look to do a foundation year.

MummytoCSJH · 25/05/2020 13:51

I've just finished my 2nd year of uni and I'm still not sure what the plan is afterwards!

Original poster

CarrieErbag · 25/05/2020 13:59

We were quite happy to support her if she needed to do different A levels in order to pursue a degree in conservation but she knows the realities of where she is likely to end up and it's highly unlikely it will be with giraffes.
She toyed with physio as she has overcome some physical challenges herself but she really can't stand people
I've told her to chill but she is anxious about drifting along indefinitely.

OP posts:

justamumof1 · 25/05/2020 14:06

Well doing any degree might be a better idea than waltzing in to a well paid job. Who is actually going to take on an 18 year old with just A levels and no experience?

Original poster

CarrieErbag · 25/05/2020 14:11

Doing any degree isn't quite as easy though these days is it?
It comes with a huge price tag.
I'm not going to pressure her to go to uni for the sake of it.

OP posts:

Nat6999 · 25/05/2020 14:30

Ds is hopefully starting A levels in September, English language, Geography, Politics & BTEC level 3 in Drama as a side subject for enjoyment. At the moment he doesn't plan on doing a degree, wants to be a train driver but can't start training until he is 19, wants to work for a few years & then review if he wants to go to university. I'm hoping he loves working & earning enough to not bother.

Mucklowe · 25/05/2020 14:44

Look at the most reliably stable lines of work within his broad areas of A-level study/relevance. It's not about having/following a passion anymore. It's about finding a job that will have longevity and bring in a decent wage.

MaddieElla · 25/05/2020 14:47

Luckily my DD has always known she wanted to do medicine, and pharmacy as a backup. So she focused on science A Levels, did a shed load of experience and got a job related to medicine. My only input ever into my kids' choices are that they should only really do a degree that leads directly to a job.

Dd1 is trying, albeit in a very competitive application process. DD2 has no idea whatsoever. Both are absolutely fine and it's more normal than you think to have no real idea of what they want to do.

Before choosing a degree (if they want to go to Uni that is) I would encourage them to have a combination of A Levels that Universities like, and not a mish mash. Competitive courses demand certain subjects, I would keep my options open that way.

Spillinteas · 25/05/2020 15:43

Well doing any degree might be a better idea than waltzing in to a well paid job. Who is actually going to take on an 18 year old with just A levels and no experience

My dd walked in to a Barristers Clark apprenticeship straight out of dropping out of college. After 2 years she left there and went in to high level management requirement and then after a couple of years was offered a role in their Dubai office, she flys all over the world doing this job. She’s 24 and loving life.

She came out of school with B&Cs - uni really isn’t everything

Spillinteas · 25/05/2020 15:50

However I graduated still without a clue on career. It was only after working a few years and getting to see what people actually did in their jobs and careers i gained a few ideas

This ^^

Sunny345H · 25/05/2020 15:52

As a year 12 I had no idea what I wanted to do career wise and still don't. I spoke to parents and teachers about my doubts about university but was persuaded to go because I wasn't offered any other options and was told I would like it once I got there. Then spent 3 years of hell getting through a degree that hasn't benefited me and I've been left with a load of debt for a course that wasn't worth it.

I got a business studies degree from a Russel Group university and was told it would give me so many options but it really didnt. Those that get the places on the best graduate schemes are those that know what they want to do and take the right steps to achieve it from the beginning. No one is really interested in someone with experience in various areas and a generic degree, they all want specalists.

I've since realised that I actually just want to be a housewife but unfortunately can't afford to be. If I had my time again I definitely wouldn't go to university because in all honesty they were the worst years of my life and I've got a load of debt for a degree that hasn't really proved useful.

Flip

1 2 3