in thinking that DD will get nowhere with these GCSE options...

[PosyPanther]

DD is 13, so, in my opinion still a child, she changes her mind about pretty much everything daily, school shoes, whose her best friend, her favourite colour, you get the picture...

She has just had the first leaflet from school about GCSE option next year and want to pick health and social care (double award)human health and physiology instead of additional science, child development, psychology and sociology. She says she wants to do social work or primary teaching (or win the X factor )

I think she's mad. She's in the top set at school, level 5 across the board at primary school and is working at solid level 7s now. I would much prefer her to take at least two science GCSEs, history and geography instead of psych and sociology and a language with one choice left for whatever she fancies (but I'd prefer a second language or triple science.)

I can't see that having History, geography, french, german, separate science would disadvantage her in applying for ANY degree/career pathway? How do I convince her that some subjects actually are better than others? Her teachers are insisting all GCSEs are equal but I can't see that sociology is as hard as German or Physics? I'm worried she's going to close doors at 13...

I've attended various open days for the past 2 years and 2 things have struck me as being odd.
Firstly the number of parents there, driving right up to the buildings, telling them where to meet for lunch etc. We all met up in the Bullring and huge groups of us had a big day out to each of the cities we fancied, had a night out and then caught the last train home, all part of the experience.

Also that the admissions tutors talk to the parents
There was a question and answer session at the end of the talk for my potential subject and more parents put their hands up than kids.
This must be due to the fact that the parents are paying. It's tainted the whole system if you ask me.

to look on the bright side, getorf, he was embarking on a long course, with no promise of big wages to pay off the debt at the end. If he wasn't committed, then maybe better he did something else (tho I'd question what that sometheing else would be).

True, sticky. But bloody hell the amount of kids who would have longed to have been accepted on an architecture degree, and he walked away without a backward glance, daft kid.

And now he is studying IT of all things.

All over a dozy girl.

I think it's awful mamatmany - if it's Mum and Dad rather than the student doing the deciding, it explains why students think it's not "their" degree course which they have to take responsibility for. It's what their lecturers tell them it is, and what their parents have paid for. A clearly defined product. Not about learning at all

I certainly agree with that getorf. Frustrating!

I think parents have to exercise right of veto over children's choices. Otherwise there is a risk of reducing their long-term options dramatically.

My DH still interviews for his old employer, a major multi-national. HR requires a 2:1 but in reality bin any CV that doesn't have an expected 2:1 in a "real" degree from one of < 20 unis in the UK. Straight A grades at A level help. Realistically, you need a MSc/PhD/MBA to differentiate yourself.

The UK students are competing with applications from the around the globe. HR get so many applications for so few jobs that they just don't have any alternative but to bin most CVs.

I'd be for a system that didn't funnel them all into university at 18. Fine for those who want to and are motivated, but some people are only going to realise that they really want to study something later on. Stupid to try and make universities the place where they discover that.

Dear me, can you tell it's snowy and I'm stuck at home with the dc? I'm Mrs Opinion On Everything. Good job I have a job to take my mnind off things, normally!

To the students of Albertcamus - 'out of touch' and 'stuck up' we may be. But we're the ones who will be hiring you in the not-too-distant-future. Not your teachers who have a vested interest in getting you to do their courses. Remember that.

LeQ - I am the same. I tell the recruiters not to darken my door with business studies or open university degrees. Also after being deluded with CVs written in 4 different fonts I tell them to put the whole lot in arial as well. Bloody CVs in Garamond, pah.

No, not out of touch, yes, demanding, but this is reality I am afraid. i am not the only CV bitch out there.

That's not to say I do not value OU degrees - I understand that working full time and studying is admirable (I did my first degree PT myself). But, OU degrees are suitable for particular industries, and they wouldn't be appropriate for the industry I work in.

But business studies degrees are a waste of time wherever they are from. Factamundo.

So, how much does experience count then? Dh has a 2:2 from a redbrick, an MA from KCL, his CEng and 31 years in the RN, where he is senior and highly experienced in several arenas. He retires shortly and will be job hunting - will his 2:2 pull him down, or will his years of experience and willingness to be mobile help?

Would you seriously exclude someone with relevant experience etc, just because they have business studies as their degree?

I ask as a final year full time student - also full time employed throughout with a shedload of relevant job experience, who is currently sitting with job offers from 2 of the big 4 and is through to final stages for another 6 graduate schemes.

My degree is a joint honours - accounting and business studies. I wasn't bothered about doing B/S, but the local uni with the best reputation only offered accounting as a combined honours.

absolutely, you can choose to come off the academic motorway and onto a sideroad of bizarre GCSE choices, A-level combinations or ex-institutes of higher education. Your life, your choice.

But then do not be surprised when those who took mainstream choices, worked hard and got into those unis who still are holding onto the vestiges of academic merit are then in the jobs that you wanted.

Any parents or teachers who are not explaining about these Harsh Realities of Life are hiding the truth (either lying or didn't realise themselves). And it't not that harsh really. Pushing yourself academically is kinda fun for those that like that kinda thing...

Scary - in the industry i work in (aerospace) ex RAF employees were highly sought after due to their experience on military equipment. I also (years ago) worked for a company which made missiles for submarines, ex navy engineers were snapped up. Am sure that would be the same now (for sompanies such as BAE systems, Thales Underwater Systems, Babcock marine, Qinetiq, VT Group, and working for the MOD at places like Abbeywood etc.

I did sociology at degree level, but our options were limited - one arts subject, one technology choice, one between history/geography. I wouldn't have been able to apply for my degree course if i hadn't taken a foreign language, and I wish I'd taken art rather than music (chosen as a friend was doing it and I played an instrument) as our teacher was crap and I would have enjoyed art more. And if I were choosing now, I'd want to do arts foundation and then photography, which I didn't at 16/18.

Scots - when I said i excluded business studies degrees that was when I was looking for someone with 1 year or so experience to be a junior in my department.

When I was looking for a senior buyer I wanted people with either military, aerospace or automotive companies on their CVs for the previous 5 years of employment. If they had that I didn't care what degree they had initially, it would have only been in comparison to others that I would have looked into their academic quals (and questioned them about it at interview).

Thing is, getting jobs where I work is very sought after, so in narrowing down to swcond interview stage there were 2 candidates which had similar excellent work experience. One had a masters in elecrtonic engineering from Bangalore uni (excellent) and one had a degree in Business Management from de Montfort uni. Guess which one was invited in?

My dad refused to let me take a B-TEC in media studies (I took four A-levels instead, a mix of traditional and modern subjects) and he was right. He also refused me a gap year as he said I'd never go back to education, though, so take that as you will.

I used to work for a well known retailer with a competitive graduate entry scheme (as a manager who had come via said graduate entry scheme.)

In the job ad they stated they wanted a 2.2 or better, and asked for a CV, with a covering letter and a photo. There a number of admin staff whose job involving sifting these. Basically, the harsh reality was they had a list of universities (Russell Group plus 4/5 others) that they were interested in. They actually only wanted a 2.1 or better. Any CV with a single error in ANY way was instantly binned - the same with the covering letter. If the photo didn't show someone neatly attired in business dress, the application also went in the bin. Only if you met all of those criteria did you even get to the recruiters/HR staff who would look at the CV in depth.

Getorf - not Marconi perchance? Dfil used to work for them, also RN WE Officer. Dh doesn't want to work for Thales, he knows too many who have done that and really not enjoyed the experience, even though his skills set would be right up their street.

We've avoided Abbeywood so far on purpose! Nothing doing at Babcock at present.

A friend of mine left his English course at UCL (which is v.hard to get onto) as he couldn't afford to live in London. He graduates from Salford this year with a degree in Journalism.

I went to an RG university, did an academically rigorous degree, but it took me a few years before I was in a 'proper job'. My first London job paid £18k a year. I'm in a job now that uses a lot of the skills from my degree, and where Media Studies is wholly relevant. Incidentally, the senior member of my team did a dance degree, and one of us didn't do a degree at all.

Only once has an interviewer asked why I took media studies at A-level, and the only other question I was asked was 'do you like Rod Stewart?'