Careers/ideas for DS?

[WellyMcLonglegs]

Not sure if this is in the right place but after some suggestions.

Lovely DS about to sit Gcses, working hard and should get enough to stay on and do A'levels. He has picked subjects he is interested in but beyond that he's really not sure what he wants to do. He feels like all his mates have a 'plan' and he has expressed an interest in uni, which we will support of course but I want there to be an end goal of sorts.

His strengths are: very much a people person - gets on with everyone, is calm and polite and helpful. Good at drama and English. Not so good with maths/spatial things and is not practical (like his dad!) so trades not an option. Naturally fit.

We've considered teaching - he's great with kids and has volunteered at an after school club for dofe but Dad and I are in education and frankly, it's a shitshow.
HR? But what? Physio?

Speech and language therapy? What is he interested in?

Thanks, that's not a bad idea.
This is the problem, he's quite an 'all rounder' and isn't hugely passionate about much (except arsenal but that ain't happening 😂😂) He's not practical so I can't imagine him taking up a trade though I'm happy to be proved wrong! He's very level headed and calm so I suggested police but he was non plussed.
It's not that I want him mapping his future, I just want him to start exploring things he's interested in.

What are his A level choices?

He's still young, I would encourage him to just stick with what he enjoys at the moment and make sure he feels no pressure to know a career path.

What about criminology or psychology. He could then do law or prison work. For now try not to worry too much

I wish I'd considered SALT when I was considering my further education.

Does he have a preference between office type work versus something more practical? I always think civil service careers are worth considering, there are very many different opportunities to work in different types of thing and you can move around a lot between departments or specific topics within a department. No specific qualifications are required, people enter from all different types of backgrounds.

You are absolutely right! I know he hads oads of time to decide. I think recently a few of his close friends have decided on next steps and have it quite mapped out. Maybe that made me panic a bit? I'd just like him to start exploring things he likes the sound of. Interestingly psychology is one of his a'level choices (if he gets the grades).

Hospitality?
I have a friend, who is the managing director of a very historic hotel and does extremely well. She often hosts heads of state (including our own King and Queen Consort - 25 person pre-visit vetting/security team). All her staff adore her and some moved over 500km to follow her to her new job.

The first step for your dc would be to book an appointment with his Careers Advisor.
This is a Scottish website, but has online tools that are not Scotland specific.

Link disappeared when I posted, so trying again.

It's hard because even if he does have a plan, it's best to keep an open mind.
I studied theatre at uni, with hopes to eventually set up my own theatre company. Plans changed after uni and I ended up working on cruise ships, then in hospitality for years incl event management, I now work in finance.
Each transition was by pure chance but I've loved it.

He's 15/16 and by the sound if it not massively academic and you say he isn't strong in maths. I would think hard about Psychology A'Level if that's the case as it is quite maths heavy and he'd need good maths to pursue it at university.

There are companies that assess aptitude and intellectual skills for various careers. That might be worth a shot.

At 15/16, perhaps let him follow his heart but some suggestions:

Surveyor
Land management
Auctioneering (Christies/Bonhams, etc)
HR is far less about people and far more about data sets and Systems nowadays and employment law - although L&D might be worth pursuing.
Tree surgeon/gardening
Nursing
Marketing/PR
Teaching
Travel and tourism
Event Management

I believe Civil Service/NHS Management looks for top graduates nowadays.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I will pass them onto him to look at.

Re maths he's actually OK with the stats/number side of things - it's more space/shape things he struggles with. He's not super academic but should gets 6's and 7's with the odd 5 I should think and he's a grafter.

Much obliged to you all :)

Sounds like he might be suited to marketing?

otherwise journalism or law perhaps?