What career would you recommend for your kids?

[PinkChaires]

Dd is 16 and currently researching careers. She's noticed that many careers she's interested in have a resounding ' don't do it' vibe.

Tech/law/finance - lack of jobs , taken over by AI, no work life balance etc
Med- lack of pay, horrible working conditions,NHS etc
Midwife-NHS.
Teacher- do i even need to explain?

Which one is the least worse?

Which one of those does she find most interesting?

What does she love? What does she enjoy doing? I work in HR for a charity I absolutely love, with a cause I’m 100% behind and we’re really good at what we do. I work with great people and it’s easy to be passionate about what we do and how, even though I don’t personally work directly with the recipients of our charitable work. I have good work life balance (part time, small kids) and no extreme stress. I’m paid on par with a more experienced teacher/nurse. There’s lots of jobs out there she won’t even know about yet. I come from a line of teachers and knew it wasn’t for me although there’s lots of things about it I love. It looks like she’s drawn to roles that work with people maybe?

What does she enjoy?
Academically what are her strengths?
Would she be open to being in a profession that is currently dominated by men?

If she does something she enjoys then it will feel less of a chore. What does she have a natural aptitude for?

She needs to go with what she is passionate about and enjoys. Plus if she finds in a few years she doesn't enjoy it there's no reason why she can't retrain, many people do throughout their lives.

I work in early years, its underpaid, we aren't appreciated or respected by other professionals or teachers, and occasionally parents speak to you like we are just the staff who are uneducated whilst they go off to their important jobs. However I love it and couldn't imagine doing anything else, it's hard work but so rewarding. I would earn more working in mcdonalds but I wouldn't get the same job satisfaction.

I would imagine it's similar for teachers, spending time, money and never leaving the job at work. You have to be passionate and nurturing, it can feel difficult at times but very rewarding knowing you are making a difference every day in those children's lives. You could be the reason they believe in themselves, pursue their dreams and feel like someone cares about them.

One of my sons is a radiographer which seems to be a really good career if she likes sciences ?

For tech and finance there are degree apprenticeships if that might interest her.

Get her to try something like this for ideas…https://www.16personalities.com
.and she may end up in careers that don’t exist today….
focus on what skills she enjoys using….

Rather than focus on how the career sounds focus on what skills she will use day in day out. That way lies fulfilment. Choose a career that plays to strengths.

What I’d recommend?

Dentist
Renewable energy engineering/ marine engineering
helicopter pilot ( just cos fun)

What kind of research is she doing, that's giving her, erm, 'vibes', resounding at that, instead of actual, useful information?

For a start, tech and finance are not careers. They are two very broad fields, with a multitude of different jobs and career paths. Requiring many different skills and personalities.

I have worked in both - I was an accountant, banker, and then software engineer. I'm very confident in having a job even with AI, because, contrary to popular perception, I don't just sit and write code all day.

There are many other jobs the general public don't know about like logistics and supply chain management, sustainability, environmental engineering, risk management and analysis, forestry, hundreds and hundreds. What you have posted are 'popular' careers, I guess many consider them because people know they exist and hence they seem accessible but there's so much more than that.

There are some good career quizzes about but also, she should focus on skills, her likes, dislikes and go from there. Also she's only 16 she doesn't need to have her whole life mapped out, unless she finds something she's fiercely passionate about.

I’d tell my 16 year old they don’t need to chose a career. Just look to gain skills and experience in jobs she’s interested in. And have fun!

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers
https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/search-job-profiles/job-profiles/?orderBy=Title

Also just for fun - a random job I found out about on Instagram. i'd love to do this although a lot are being replaced by computerised sounds

https://www.berklee.edu/careers/roles/foley-artist

How about starting by getting a Saturday job? Work is fun, after all. Getting paid. Workmates. Work crushes. Finding out what is the right and wrong sort of place for you.

I gravitated towards jobs that suit people who need a fresh start every day - I'm really bad at slow sustained work on a long project. I'm an NHS speech therapist who's worked mostly in hospitals, and it's a great job. With lots of frustrations, but honestly, there isn't any job that is pink clouds every day, and I've never been bored, ever.

Honestly? Plumber. Always in work, never replaced.

If she’s interested in tech and concerned about having a fulfilling / future proof career then I’d say that’s the way to go. Tech is either already a big part of most industries now - fintech and medtech are huge - legaltech not as advanced but plenty of companies starting to ‘disrupt’ that now too.

There’s a huge variety of roles you can do under the ‘tech’ banner - it’s not all coding - companies still need people with expertise in law/HR/marketing/product design etc - advances in AI are delivering huge change but you’ll still need people that can operate it and be able to be the ‘human’ in the equation.

My kids picked their careers, nothing to do with me.. the only one I encouraged them to avoid was the one myself and their dad were/are in.

They both have degrees in their field of choice and both have jobs in their chosen career

Pharmacy, cardiophysiology due to the pay. some of the AHP professions like OT, Physio, podiatry as you can rise up the pay bandings quickly and have the option of private practice.

Tech/law/finance - lack of jobs , taken over by AI, no work life balance etc

Well speaking for accountancy, there is a shortage of candidates and more jobs than can be filled, the AI takeover is massively over hyped, and outside of the Big4/Top10 work life balance is perfectly fine.

I think the quality of research is the main issue here.

Secretly I'd be happy if they ended up in a leadership role in tech, law or finance. AI will not replace all to these roles.

Data seems a good area right now.

Engineering maybe OK. Maybe. Doesn't seem as well paid as the other things I've just mentioned.

Running own business with a trade.

Lots of good options.

People slap the 'tech' label on everything because it's trendy.
They often confuse working for a tech company, with an actual tech role.
We wouldn't generally refer to a hospital accountant or chef as a 'healthcare worker'.
Yet bog standard HR (not even technical recruiters or learning and development specialists) in tech firms are keen to brand themselves as tech workers.
A business analyst, program/project manager, UI/UX designer, service manager, product owner, technical sales, account manager all these are actual technology roles that don't require programming.

And professions like accountancy are protected by the need for qualified, chartered professions, as @folkjournals pointed out there's a shortage.
The key skill is subjective judgement - and AI, although it can reason to a great extent cannot take legal responsibility.

What is she capable of / excelling in / interested in? There is no point anyonerecommending a career requiring a specific qualification she isn't on track / interested to achieving.

All career paths can lead to an enjoyable and successful career, it depends what tbe motivator is.

I’d encourage her to think about the type of working environment and lifestyle she wants. How does she cope with stress? Does she like being on her feet or in an office? Is working from home important to her? Is she happy to live in London if her industry is based there? Etc.

Mainly interested in law or med (not really finance or tech) . She loves the helping aspect of both , finds med slightly more interesting but has been told by alot to avoid. About researching careers , she didn't have any inspiration so yes was maybe researching paths rather than career