What career if you're good at exams but shit at networking?

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I keep pondering a career change but I don't know what I'd move to. Classic school overachiever who couldn't translate that into the real world- I got As at A level including both Maths and English, had no idea about career so did an English degree because I loved reading. Looking back at the STEM opportunities I missed makes me 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

I feel as though being good at studying is really my only/major skill. I get on well with people, but I don't have the confidence or outgoing personality to be a go-getter. I like numbers, I like words, I currently work for a university in a dead end admin job. My IT skills are okay but untrained - I can teach myself something in Excel when I need to but I've never done any coding etc.

Anyone have suggestions please?

Why on earth are people suggesting accountancy - if you're not good at networking then that's a dead end career. Accounting careers are all about people skills and winning work.

Data analysis? I am a Analytics Business Partner in the NHS and worked my way up through the NHS Graduate Scheme. You can go down lots of different routes within Data Analysis, some which will require more engagement with people (stakeholders), and others that require less.

I would revisit STEM if I were you (2 decades younger). Like you, I was an A student and chose Arts instead of STEM, and boy, what a mistake. Most of introverted people I know do some kind of IT job and they earn loads. You are very young, you can do it. Retrain and good luck!

Patent attorneys tend to have a STEM degree (often PhD too), but how about patent paralegal work?
I can send you a couple of links that may help if it would be interesting.

Actuary. Lots of exams.

In the broad areas people are describing on this thread, there sre almost always different kinds of roles.

For example, someone above has described the more senior roles in Accounting, about networking and winning business. There are plenty of roles at more junior levels in accounting which are much more about 'crunching numbers'.

You don't say how old you are OP. I'd encourage you to start looking for routes into software development, there are opportunities for especially women to retrain. Cyber security is a particular buzz at the moment with demand far outstripping supply.

The subject matter matters a lot less than how in demand the skills are. Always build in demand skills then find the kind of role that suits you.

When you find your niche, you will most likely find that you are plenty good enough at networking with your peers. Good luck

I would suggest you start a thread on careers for people without any confidence. This is your real issue. At some point with the STEM jobs and accountancy jobs people are suggesting you have to have confidence in and defend your work. I wonder if this is what you are hiding from in your dead-end (your description) job.

IME lots of finance manager roles in smaller organisations don’t require any networking. Ours works from home most of the time with lots of lovey spreadsheets.

I really someone who really recommended the HMRC tax thing someone suggested upthread.

I was very similar - A grades at school but quite shy and introverted and not sure where to go after university. I have definitely worked on the ‘soft skills’ side of things but my nightmare jobs would still involve networking, performing or sales!

Have you considered working in health care? There is a lot of people interaction, but not in a networking sense. It tends to be a lot of listening and discussing with patients and a healthcare team rather than putting yourself out there to win contracts etc. There is also quite a lot of academic research to look through as part of your work which you might enjoy. So occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, psychology etc. There are post-graduate courses in some of these areas that you could look into.

Environment Agency initially in an admin role and then move outwards into a more science based role or into finance, data analysis, asset management, communications, contract management . They'll pay for your qualifications for future development and conditions are excellent even if pay is lower than the private sector as is expected in that type of role.

Sounds like a lot of the finance team / accountants or the analysts in my company. If you’re not earning mega bucks already, you could take an entry level finance roles and do your exams along side it. This is how most of our teams work.

None of the accountants in my company have to network or win work.

Try hyperskill.org

It's seriously one of the best training sites I have ever come across. It's a lot of fun too, but unfortunately it's not free.

My answer will depend on your salary expectations and feelings about the public sector (local government, mayoral authority, civil services). I am a technical specialist in public sector and it suits me down to the ground. I have no management responsibilities and work in a multi-disciplinary team of people with a similar nerdy delight in their specialisms.

Things to consider would be finance, law, architecture, archeology, cartography, ecology, planning, civil engineering sorts of things. Add a couple of side courses in policy and government for the applications and interview chats.

What about a STEM or clinical degree? You can get funding/ loans/ bursaries as a graduate.

Being good at numbers and words is a good sign of being an academic all rounder and you say you're able to push yourself and do well in exams and understand concepts readily.

You say networking isn't your strongest point, that's fine as the pathways are quite ordained, you just have to be able to get through interviews (quite an interesting process for Medicine at least) and have the empathy and care to work with patients rather than necessarily propel yourself through a corporate career. I can't see your age but knew people starting up to early 40s.

Yes, this. Even if not in a firm there is a LOT of talking to people. OP, I am you, except I did become an accountant initially. Did it for 15 years, hated it. Now have similar-ish job to you in HE trying to figure out what on earth I can do. Am in middle management. I have 5 A levels (including sciences and maths), PPE degree, MSc, ACA - all top grades, all came to me very easily - but I am terrible at actual work, no good at the schmoozing and bigging myself up necessary. All the people who do well are talkers. They waffle on too much in my opinion, but it seems to work. Anyway, sorry I cannot help but please don't do accountancy. I wish I'd gone into science in some way, feels way too late to be retraining in that (also can't afford it).

Work on your social skills and study for a masters in something?

None of the accountants in my organisation have to network or deal with clients.

STEM careers have changed: the ability to communicate and justify your solutions is vital even for coding roles.

I think this is true . My son is doing a grad scheme in accountancy and has lots of socials after work it seems to be expected of them. He isn’t an extrovert but I think introverts can improve their social skills. I chose careers where I was forced out of myself and got better at communicating with people . I knew I could never be a sales person though. Try doing the Myers briggs personality test and see which careers are best for you ?

I'm taking the OP as asking what you can do without Comms as a particular forté, not 'i don't want to have to speak to anyone at all'. I am a medic, my partner is a senior specialist engineer.

You need to be able to communicate appropriately in different ways, but it isn't like sales or PR where networking per se is a key part of the skill set.

Frankly, I'm good at it but know loads in medicine that aren't and they're great at what they do. DP hates it and he's very well respected. Of course in medicine there's the question of a specialism that's a good fit but if she's academic and enjoys learning plus already has a degree (funding), it's one to consider.

"You’ll get more value for money by doing classes to improve your networking / communication skills."

Isn't this a personality thing? I'm sure people can improve with practice? But a class to be better at networking? I'm sceptical, because if they existed we'd all be really popular.

I've never seen this either. I suppose you could say the ones I know are book-keepers rather than really accountants, but the head of department is a chartered accountant and at most, he'd occasionally have to speak to members of the board.

Maybe the poster meant in companies that focus on accountancy.

Plenty of successful people in IT who are only barely communicative.

Wow, I wasn't expecting this to randomly take off two months later- thank you very much for all the replies!!

To elaborate on the social skills, I'm not completely shy, and in fact have had several jobs with public speaking / managerial elements, which I'm fine at. I'm just rubbish at remembering names/faces and I don't enjoy meeting people / work events / networking at all. Nor do I really want to, with thanks to the people who have made suggestions about improving my soft skills- I'd much prefer to find something which plays mainly to my existing strengths if at all possible. @Frogandfish basically nailed it, I can communicate fine I just don't want to spend my time meeting new people.

I'm 43.

I'm fascinated that accountancy is so polarising! 🤣

@Spondoolie and @JaneandtheLaundry thank you for the links. @CardiCorgi yes please I would love some more information.

There's loads here for me to go away and research, thank you. I think as a "jack of all trades / master of none" type it's always been really hard to find a starting point for a potential career. So this is very very helpful (and if anyone else wants to chip in that would be fab).