Anyone with these jobs that can give an insight?For DN…

[Cuddlywuddlies]

My DN17.5 she will be finishing secondary school next year and is thinking about what she wants to do.
she has so many ideas so we need to narrow them down…

1. Engineering (automation or process/chemical)
2. Architecture
3. Economics (with French possibily)
4. Biochemistry

I have some insights into process/chemical eng and biochemistry but the other two I have no idea.

I appreciate these are all very different but she is a girl of many loves (and is very clever) and is inspired by them all. So if you did/do any of these? Do you have any advice or insights please? Thank you.

They are all very different! But all good solid degrees that will enable many doors to be open for her. I did Biochemistry and have ended up in Regulatory Affairs within Pharma as a career. High earner at a young age. But with the same degree you can stick to bench research which has lower earning potential. So it very much depends what you do with your degree, and the options are vast. Most will go on and do a Masters/PhD these days.

If she wants to keep as many options open for career post study I would recommend going with engineering or biochemistry. Many grad programmes don’t specify a degree subject. But if she studies economics it will be much harder to move into a career in science or engineering.

I lived with an architect at university. Very intense if I remember correctly. That’s a lot of specific training unless she wants to be an architect. I also feel like architecture is a bit of a vocation so unless she feels super strongly about it then she probably doesn’t really want to be an architect.

@Scottishgirl85 thank you so much for your response!! I too am in pharma (QC with a microbiology background)! Yes, I have said that to her, pharma is a great industry with fab opportunities which the engineering choices and biochemistry would enable her to work in the industry.

I have no doubt she will excel in whatever she chooses, she is a very clever a capable girl 💗

Haven't her A level choices pretty much narrowed her options down? She can't be doing 8 subjects surely?

@titchy we are in Ireland where for the A Level equivalents they do at least 6 subjects (most ppl do 7 but others do more!)…
they must do (and pass)
English
irish
maths
a language (she does French)

she also does
chemistry
biology
economics
geography
construction studies

If she is looking at university courses, she should maybe just look and see what is available, and then choose from what is available to her, rather than choose what to look for, if you see what I mean

Architecture is tough at the moment. I didn't the weekend with the parent of a young architect (late 20s) who loves it but a lot of his peers have struggled to get jobs. It is also much less well paid than it used to be. They said that he doesn't regret it but that he would not recommend it to someone else unless they were totally passionate about it.

What is she planning to do next year? Presumably she has looked at Uni courses and seen what options she has? Her school should have given career advice?

One of my DC hadnt a clue what she wanted to do so did maths at Uni. It meant she still,had lots of options open after Uni.

@2greenroses they are all pretty much available to her in some way shape and form. She can put up to 20 course choices I think. 10 at undergrad level (as far as I can remember) so that’s the process she is currently working with. Researching courses and unis that provide them.

@IfOnlyOCould next year she will still be in school and Sitting her exams. They start to research now in the year she is currently in. She will start university in Sept 24.

DP is an architect, echo the above about the pay being way worse than you’d expect which given it takes about a century to qualify is ridiculous. Lots of unpaid overtime seems to be the norm as well.
Its also not nearly as glamorous or interesting as most people think it is

@Lastqueenofscotland2 thank you very much.

Fair enough! The lack of art/design might mean architecture is out, along with what others have said. Lack of physics might make some engineering difficult. So that leaves science or Economics. Does she see herself in a lab or an office?

I'm an architect. The pay is absolutely terrible, the degree courses are grueling and long, very expensive and very arty unique design focused rather than pragmatic solutions to the problems (and the courses are not very good for preparing you for the realities of working as an every day non-superstar architect). I personally love it as a profession but I'm very much at the pragmatic end, but just be aware that there's probably a lot of routes into the construction industry that are shorter, better paid and more logical if she's not absolutely set on being an architect.

@titchy the lack of physics is something that she talks about yes, but if she has enough points (which she will have as she is a straight A student) it won’t matter. It’s a points based system here so if she gets the points she gets the course more than likely.

In terms of lab or office, I don’t think she minds the thought of either. I must ask…although I’m sure she’s thought of it.

Lack of physics won’t matter for most engineering courses - maths will be the key subject.

DS is a chemical engineer and says you need to love maths otherwise it’s a slog. Wide range of career options in lots of different industries.

I was a specialist civil engineer and moved into environmental engineering, so that could be an option (especially with chemistry and biology). Pay not as good as chem eng and you’ll need to enjoy an element of outdoors and practical work.

@Dreikanter thank you so much. She adores maths. She’s doing higher maths and finds it a breeze. 👍

I read economics at University and have worked in investment banking for 25yrs in a sales role - I help large corporates manage their exposure to interest rate fluctuations (so maths is pretty important too). It suits me, I find economics fascinating, work with a great team and have fantastic clients, but it's very stressful, the hours are long and you have the constant threat of redundancy hanging over you. The remuneration makes up for the negatives though!

@edwinbear thank you so much. Sorry for the silly question but why a constant threat of redundancy?

I dont know the Irish system but most Engineering courses at Uni like Further Maths alongside Maths.

Can she visit loads of Unis and the different courses and she how she feels about the course content etc. Always go with the one she loves not feels is the "best" for her future.

@ShouldIknowthisalready i don’t think it matters here. The only other maths subject is applied maths, I don’t know if that’s similar to further maths?

the chemical/process engineering course she is looking at requires English, Irish maths and a lab science or technology.

Yes she will attend open days over the next year 👍

@Cuddlywuddlies it's generally a very well paid (6 figures) career. With the pay, comes tough targets and a cut throat mentality, if you have a bad year and don't make your targets, you'll be 'let-go'. Banks are also constantly restructuring - jumping in and out of different markets, (either geographically or by product/sector). If you happen to be in one they decide they don't want to operate in anymore, they will get rid of you.

Thank you so much @edwinbear its something she will definitely take into account.