Best careers with high wages & job opportunities at this present time?

[Starzinhereyes]

Just out of complete curiousity. Is it still law, medicine etc... Dc are still relatively young & it's too soon to tell where there interests lie... DH is a firm believer that tech is a safe gamble if dc are that way inclined...
Also when I was young business & commerce was always a safe bet...
So in your opinion what careers are paying the most & have the most plentiful employment opportunities after uni?

I thought actuary is quite prone to be automated. Have a google and read about it. I wouldn’t bet my future on that. Software developer here. Work life balance is excellent but money isn’t that great. It’s strictly 9-5 and you can attend all sports days, parents day kind of job. Very flexible really and you can work from anywhere. I never have any problem booking anytime off work. We don’t have to line up with other people on the team and everyone can be off the same week. We just need to project plan around it. This has to be the biggest perk.

Agree with @whitehat cyber security

I mean if you are high up in actuary you will be fine because you won’t be doing the menial data processing jobs. Critical business thinking cannot be replaced by a program.

I worked in corporate finance for an investment bank. Really interesting work and highly paid (a senior colleague of mine regularly had £1-2 million bonuses). But the hours were awful, it was extremely cut-throat and with downturns came mass redundancies, particularly at director level where they had to earn their fees or be at risk.

My younger son says he'd like to work in investment banking but I have reservations. Both my husband and I started off at a Big 5 (as was then) large accountancy firms, myself in audit and him in management consultancy. I'd say they were a nice place to work, good career progression and remuneration. I have friends that are partners at the big firms that enjoy their jobs. Their jobs aren't without pressure but I think it's a more rounded option than investment banking.

Veterinary doesn’t pay well for someone who gets 3 or 4 A*s. Neither does dentistry.

Funeral industry/mortician.

Not too sure that insurance is a good bet for the future - it’s predicted that electric vehicles will drastically reduce the number of accidents and thus insurance industry will contract significantly

Insurance isn’t just about cars, it’s property (skyscrapers), hurricanes, war, shipping etc. All of these areas require underwriters, brokers, actuaries, analysts.

Most of my lawyer friends wouldn't recommend it now.
In fact because of automated, I'm struggling to think of which careers will be totally safe to recommend to current school kids.

@AgeLikeWine

Veterinary medicine will provide excellent job opportunities and security post-Brexit, as it will be more difficult for foreign vets to come & work in the UK.

Nonsense - it's easier to employ foreign vets from all over the world now - if they speak english and the position offers over £26000 - it's fairly easily sorted. Not exactly a high salary is it?

I'd say Management Consultancy - long hours and hard work but the rewards are generous and for those with few commitments the travel can be a fun adventure. For the clever ones, over 6 figures by the time you hit 30 and excellent pensions too!
Would not encourage my kids to do medicine, it's brutal - easier ways to make money and be treated decently.

Given the way that algorithms are due to expand in application across finance medicine and law I would be looking for careers that won't be affected by that. These will tend to be the more creatively led roles which depend on humans making connections between data sets and devising solutions that can't be reduced to yes /no decision trees

Computer science,.coding, software development.

I'm a hospital doctor with a "desk" specialism. Yes the first few years after graduating are brutal, but maternity benefits are fantastic, guarenteed part times hours afterwards and yes I pull down a 6 figure salarly for almost school hours (7:30-4:30). I have a great pension and will never be unemployed.

Educational psychology. The pay isn’t all that great considering the level of qualification required, the responsibility, and the workload. And it’s a flat pay structure so after a few years you hit the top of your band and stay there... and if you rise up the seniority scale you will barely notice the pay difference.

BUT you’ll never be out of a job! And a defined benefit pension is always good.

So swings and roundabouts!

Working in the transport industry. I know one guy who worked his way up from the apprenticeship scheme and now in management earning very well. He has a good work life balance (has 5 DC). He doesn't do shifts like he did early on in his chosen career. All his hard work has paid off. He is in his early 30s.

Thanks for all this information, I was in retail for years, started as a sales assistant & worked up to area & afterwards regional management... I had a great career, enjoyed all aspects of the role, had my own company car, salary of 80k (not including regular bonuses) then it all came crashing down, the company downsized, senior management roles all axed & I was made redundant... Retail had fabulous opportunities 20 years ago now the majority of it is online the pandemic is contributing to this even more obviously, many more big chains will shut before 2021...
Will be steering dc towards a career with longevity if I can... Dd1 wants to be a vet because she loves cuddling fluffy dogs🙄

Always think Merchant Navy as an officer must be interesting. Money is paid offshore and everything is shipped around the world. Those boats need navigators and deck officers, pursers and engineers as well as Captains

I studied law but started my career in the civil service as an Insolvency investigator before moving into the private sector. I had considered completing the qualifications to become an Insolvency Practitioner but the firm was making cutbacks so moved into the banking sector and I'm very glad I did. I've been able to use my legal knowledge and Insolvency experience to work my way up. There are many avenues to consider in the banking industry so it's definitely an sector for your DC to consider.

That’s an interesting point @NotGenerationAlpha. I asked DH and he said that actuaries are always automating things but the critical thinking is still needed. He writes models for life companies though.

Interesting view of the tradition professions - and I can see this in action - in our business we use lawyers for exceptions but generally we can pick up legal documents from an online subscription. The tradition professions will have to be creators, problem solvers employ original thinking - not enough just to have the knowledge. I think the future is with the creative industries with those who can think for themselves - it's an odd thing because school teaches you to think like the teacher - they test memory rather than original problem solving and creativity - in fact the focus on STEM has made this worse.
The trades will always be needed - everyone wants a clever tradesperson with an eye to the aesthetic - skill, talent and increasing ability to understand very technical home installations - you can't get a tradesperson around here - waitlists are over 6 months for the right person who can command high fees. The snobbishness over the trades is ridiculous and is preventing talented people from joining a well paid challenging career.

Data science, AI, coding - massive potential in all fields especially medicine. The combination of maths/stats degrees with a deep understanding of algorithms is a good bet.

@NameChangedForThisFeb21

My friends that are doing very well for themselves in terms of excellent work life balance and solid incomes are GPs and Accountants. The Accountants pretty much set their own hours and it’s been very flexible as they’ve had children. The GP friends I have all work part-time (they are also married to other GPS!) and pick up extra out of hours shifts occasionally for a fantastic amount of extra pay. I genuinely regret not pursuing Medicine now! I know I would have wanted to be a surgeon though so no worklife balance and hard to be there for children in the way I wanted to. The other thing I’ve noticed is how many GPs and Consultants are going private either part-time or eventually full time. One Consultant (Endo) I know charges £350 for an hour’s consultation and, due to specialising in menopause and female hormones, she’s been able to stop working for the NHS and has a 3 month waiting list. I think more and more private medicine will be the way forward whether we like it or not. I pay £50 a month to a private GPs and consider it a bargain.

Dentists are also doing very well but imo have been put at much greater risk than most GPs this pandemic. My Dentist friends also have a nice life.

Another option would be Nursing. Advanced Clinical Practitioners in GP settings make a very decent income. I know one who is frankly rubbish at her job, got awful grades at school, didn’t do A-Levels, did the bare minimum when she did her Nursing Degree and is now on £70,000 a year. She’s the Lead ACP at the Surgery she works at and has been able to also purchase buy to let properties so she’s set to do very well financially and can retire early.

Law and Psychology students have not fared so well ime.

I wouldn’t encourage my dc to go through the Law route. As another poster pointed out, Law is oversaturated. Finding a pupillage/ training contract is extremely difficult.This means that salaries are not as high as they once were unless one works for one of the big firms. My dd is going to study dentistry at university/ well paid, work life balance is possible . DS is interested in biomedical sciences. My dh is an accountant and runs a medium sized firm. I am hoping that one of my dcs goes down the accountancy/ finance route.

Also agree with those who say to look at Trades as an option.
The builder I use is extremely busy at the moment and makes more money than I do- despite the fact that I have a ‘naice’ professional job.

The world is screaming out for all kinds of engineers, people who can actually design and build and fix things

Mechanical engineering but also software, AI and product design

My youngest has no interest in any of this and wants to study philosophy or Spanish

Ultimately kids need to follow their “spark” and natural ability