If you had your time again, what career would you do? Did you know much about the options as a teen?

[AbsentmindedWoman]

Job hunting at the min so thinking a lot about different options...The more I look at, the more I realise I wasn't aware of a vast amount of careers when I was at school or university. My interests are all creative, so I was a bit clueless for a long time about all kinds of corporate careers, for example. Plus loads of other stuff.

If I was doing it all again, I'd like to have a broad idea of different potential areas that might suit me - a proper careers guidance service in school would have been so helpful. I'm working with a career coach now and she's fantastic. Why are schools generally not that great with this?

Has it changed now? Do your older teens get useful info in second level education?

Anyway, just for fun - if you were about to step into the world of work for the first time, equipped with what you now know about yourself - do you know what would you love to do?

Are there useful aptitude tests out there ?

I have a teen and I don't know how to advise them well.

School is very much get them on a university course, any university course.

I wasn't 'allowed' to do the options I wanted. Teachers & parents forced me down the academic route. I wish I'd fought harder.

Anthropology. I never knew it was even possible. It was such an out there idea

Im a nurse.

@SallySeven for yrs 7-9 the buzz quiz on I could is great. It’s Myers Briggs for kids, then links you to industries. There’s also one that the Americans use a lot , but my mind’s gone blank. I’ll look on Monday.

For older students, prospects.ac.uk, SACU again has a super visual quiz , Russell group informed choices website. Then there’s all the ones you can google. And school will have an independent careers advisor he can talk to. Ours is amazing and knows so much.

Absolutely no point in me going back to do the job I wanted to do, as it doesn't depend on me and my actions ... I wanted nothing else but to be a policewoman, I applied and was turned down because someone who I didn't know, had never met or even know of their existence had a criminal record. So someone broke the law and I got punished for it :-( unless that person went back and changed their actions I'd get the same result again.

I would have appreciated being pushed more to a high flying medical degree- very much able to have been, I was straight A grades. Have a degree and phD but not where I want to be aged 50. If I had my time again -def medicine.

I'm an accountant. If I could be more clued up as an early 20 something I'd have pushed a more lucrative course in say private equity of investment banking. I shied away from "london" careers and anything too corporate finance. Or anything more management led that would have got me the big bucks.

As it is accountants at my level make 6 figure salaries and it's stressful but not crazy. But I feel like I made the lifestyle choice. I'd like to have made some proper money. I'd have had to work just as hard. I wasn't confident enough when I was younger, or political enough. I spent too many years being ground down by the big 4 and I failed to capitalise early on my considerable skill set.

That said I'm happy with my job and even writing this makes me think I'm not sure I'd really want to work in these jobs.

Finance careers are great for a certain type of person.

I'm an academic. In a scientific field. It's what I wanted to do since I was about 12. I'm not sure I had much support in school or in uni either. But I was pretty determined. I'm really happy with the career I have (in my 40s now) and I wouldn't change a thing, but I think I'm pretty lucky to have had the opportunities to pursue what I was really interested in and to have had so much support along the way.