Do your teens know what they want to do? Uni/Work/etc

[Carlottie]

15 and 16 year old DDs, halfway through GCSEs (5 last year, 3 next summer), ambling along happily with absolutely no idea what they want to do.

We've been to careers fairs, talked about jobs and work, they've clocked up some work experience in different places and do a bit of volunteering and local shop/cafe work.

Neither of them have a CLUE what they want to do. University, job or apprenticeship? No idea. Vague areas of interest? Not really.

They're both done/doing a range of GCSE's to keep their options open. They do loads of groups - drama, sports, music, etc. and see a fair bit of the world with travel and so on. We're totally fine with the lack of direction tbh - we're not putting any pressure on them at all. I'm just interested to know if people have teens with any idea about careers at this point?

We've discussed the possibility of having different directions through their working lives, and prioritising doing something that makes them happy, as well as paying their bills. DD2 wanted to be a vet, but changed her mind. That's about as far as we've got

DS (16/Y11) knows what career he wants, knows what degree and A levels he needs. Has done for a few years. He did relevant work experience recently.
DD (13/Y8) - hasn't a clue, but it'll be numerate. She's got a while though.

We're alive for 80-90 years, and are expected to choose at 15 what to spend the rest of them doing. It's mad.

I did a degree which I enjoyed but didn't find a job I would like using it. I trained in another career, did it for 18 years then retrained.

I get so stressed about my 15yo not knowing what he wants to do, when it's clear I didn't until I was 40 so 🤷🏼‍♀️

One of them has always known what they wanted to do so chose A levels and now at uni pursuing it, they’ll need to do a masters and beyond, so it will be a long uni journey if they don’t change their mind.

DS1 has just started his first year at uni but doesn't know what he wants to do afterwards.

DD is in year 12, last year she thought she knew what she wanted to do but she did some work experience in it over the summer and now isn't sure.

DS2 is in year 10. He has lots of different things he wants to do!

DS16 has his future planned out, as he wants to go into Law and hopefully get into LSE after A levels. DS14 WAS planning to make shed loads as a computer programmer but has taken a slightly sideways swerve and is possibly going to be a famous bass player in a band. Who knows!

DD15 wanted to do engineering up until a year ago. She's now interested in working in banking/ accountancy/ economics. Plans to do maths/ economics A levels, an economics degree (hopefully LSE or QMW), get some work experience and take it from there.

DS is only 13. He's interested in the film and television industry, maybe sound and lighting engineering.

I don't think it matters whether they've settled on something. More important is that they are having conversations about possibilities, and believing they can succeed in a chosen career.

Mother of young adult DCs here (18&20) both have v. clear career goals now, neither had a clue at 15 or 16. For Dd and myself it crystalized around the end of year 12. DS has decided just in the last year ( 2nd year university).

I was going to be a pharmaceutical chemist. I did the relevant undergrad and a chemistry PhD and am now…an accountant. Don’t fret. Get them to read subjects they love and get 2:1s from decent unis and it should all fall into place.

15/16 is too young for most people to know what they want to do with their lives.

You have barely started living in the adult world at that point, let alone have the life experience to base career decisions on.

If they have something they enjoy or are good at, just encourage them to keep pursuing it, and point out what people with those skills/ interests might do as a career. That's all you can really do at that age.

My 17yo knows. He is incredibly passionate about 1 subject and knows exactly where he wants to be.

My 15yo says she will work in aldi or do nails or 'whatever'. Coincidentally I just read an article about transition year which dd will be doing next year and Im hoping that that will give her some direction, it was great for ds, really pointed him in the right direction.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/oct/16/ireland-school-secret-transition-year-off-curriculum

None of my kids have ever known what to do. They fell into careers (well my two eldest, others are at school) and excelled at them after bumming around doing things they didn't end up enjoying at college.

I have never known what I wanted to do. I'm 46 and do a good I love that didn't even exist when I was at school.

I'm a strong believer in letting kids find their own way organically. Any A levels will help with employment, they rarely need specific ones unless they want to be a doctor or something.

I have a degree and a masters, no job has ever specified what my degree had to be in, just that I needed to be educated to that level.

My 13 year old has wanted to be an author for a long time, but she has no idea what she wants to do to earn the money to support her while being an author. She knows she wants to go to academic high school (they choose at 15/16 whether to go the academic route or vocational route, or combined) and then university.

I don't stress about it, I didn't know what I wanted to do until last year and I'm 38!

Dd22 wanted to be a pharmacist as a teen.. 2 weeks of work experience in community pharmacy later, she absolutely did not.

Still wanted to stay in the fringes of medicine so took a pharmacology degree... excelled with a first - but decided she'd rather put pins in her eyes than do pharma lab research.

Now training to be a secondary teacher and loving it (well first placement anyhow!)

Other Dd23 is looking like she will be staying in education forever... degree, added year abroad, now doing masters... probably do some teaching English abroad training next... just never ending. She feels safe I guess ... not having to decide "what to be"

Mine announced when she was around 14 that she wanted to be a doctor. She's now a medical student. I don't think many of her friends had specific career plans at that point though...in fact, apart from all of her medic friends, I think a lot of her friends are still undecided.

There is plenty of time for your girls to think about what they want to do. I think it's perfectly normal not to know at this stage.

Both of mine are quite clear on what they want to do. DD16 is studying professional cookery at college and wants to be a baker and DS15 wants to be a barber and does work experience every Saturday morning at a local barbers and is hoping to get an apprenticeship but has only just started yr10.

I remember having no idea and ended up just doing A-levels in subjects I enjoyed and going to uni to do a theatre degree (I am old so no fees!!). I have had a variety of jobs including event organising and office management and now work in IT project management office so completely unrelated!

They will find their way. I fell into the job I’m doing now taking on some temp work while saving to go travelling but really enjoy it.

Dd wanted to go to uni, she started A levels and decided she wanted to study psychology. She graduated this year, she’s decided she doesn’t want to work in psychology after all, she’s got a job that’s a temporary graduate position. She doesn’t know what she wants to do next.
Ds didn’t know what he wanted to do, he stayed on at 6th form because he didn’t particularly want to do anything else, he decided uni wasn’t for him. He’s just started an apprenticeship and so far so good.
I don’t think they need to know what they want to do in the longer term, choosing “keep your options open” courses at post 16 helps.
Edited to say dd is 22 and ds 18.

DD wanted to be a musician from the age of nine - she'd just turned seventeen and realised she wanted to play music and sing for pleasure, not do what someone else wanted. She ended up studying sustainability at uni, and is currently an Environmental Consultant - very happy with her job and looks as if she'll stay in that sector.