To ask what career choices available to DD16 that don't include science or law

[CaribGrackle]

DH and I didn't go to university and have jobs rather than careers. None of our family have professions.

DD doing GCSEs (will get a mix of 6-9s) and wants to go university. She's good at French and humanities but not sure what to study.

Any ideas what courses she could study and careers available to language/humanities graduates?

TIA

She can find out a lot about careers by looking at careers materials, taking on temporary office jobs, etc. She can also work things out at university, start one career and switch... The world changes all the time and options are only limited by capabilities at her age.

What is she actually interested in? What is she good at? Does she like making things, talking, writing, working with others, managing others...? She could try filling this in as a starting point: nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/.

Any idea what A levels she might want to do?

I did French and Spanish at university and ended up as a retail buyer. But I mainly did it for the year abroad and didn't want to use it in a career!

I have friends from uni who went into teaching, international banking, translation, and unrelated fields like head of customer service, F1 public relations, and journalism.

Politics, social sciences, humanities there is loads she could do which will give her a great base for a career. I'm a great believer in doing something at uni you will enjoy, find stimulating as you are more likely to stick at it and do well.
I didn't go into a career until now at 38 and had to the train, but my previous study and work brought me here.

She's doing French and History for A level. Undecided about the other two.

Definitely keen on a year abroad

Hardworking and diligent rather than academic.

Do you think she'll come across opportunities at university if she doesn't do a vocational course?

I work in a university careers team. If she wants to study at university then it's worth her knowing that around 90% of all graduate employers will employ graduates from any degree specialism. She should look out for skills awards at uni later as these teach them how to identify the skills they've developed and build the confidence to showcase their strengths to future employers. At this stage she should study what she enjoys and what she's good at.

Undecided about the other two.
She's doing four A-levels? That's unusual particularly in a child you describe as not academic.

Unless one of them is further maths.

If she has French as a second language, could she look at translation work? Not sure whether that involves going to uni or not but have a friend who works in Germany as a translator (Who didn’t go to university - Her father is Germany so grew up speaking it alongside English) and loves it.

I think that she should focus on what she loves for her a-levels, and even at university, a degree like history or history + french. These days, the MASTERS she does afterwards will guide her career too, as you sort of niche down at every level. For example,

A levels: French, History, Art History, Textiles
Degree: Art History + French
Masters: Textile Conservation at Glasgow
Career: Museum textile conservationist in France
or
Degree: History
Masters: International development
1st job: Any one of the big consultancy co's (or a small one!)
or
Degree: History
Masters: Economic and Social History at Oxford
1st job: Govt. researcher, consultancy or someting similar.

A levels: French, History, Maths, Economics
Degree: Politics and Economics at Bath or LSE
Masters: Politics at Manchester
1st Job: Researcher at the Houses of Parliament
or
Masters: International Development
1st Job: Civil service
or
Masters: Education
1st Job: Teacher

Civil service
Social worker
Local government
Retail management
Marketing
TV Researcher
Teacher
Librarian
Sales

I have two parents that didn’t go to university and I didn’t know what to do. I did an administration apprenticeship after my A Levels (English Lit, History and Theology) to earn a qualification whilst figuring it out. It happened to be on the local country estate which I loved. I then did a fairly unusual degree in country estate management.

I’m now a chartered surveyor as the degree was accredited, in my late 20s and have managed very large, historic country estates and a variety of National Trust properties. I am so pleased my parents didn’t push me into doing a degree for the sake of it like a lot of my friends. I found a job I’d never heard of that I love by taking a little time to figure it out.

She can do pretty much anything with most Humanities degrees. She should do what she enjoys most and is best at, both at A level and for her degree.

I teach a Humanities subject at University level. My students go on to all sorts: just the first few that spring to mind are business, accountancy, law, journalism, civil service, teaching, banking, museum and heritage sector, charitable sector, working for arts organisations. Most employers are not that interested in what degree you have, but in what transferable skills it has taught you, and Humanities subjects give you loads (critical thinking and analytical skills, presentation skills, organisation and time management, etc etc).

Career choices regardless of degree:
accounting (the Big4 firms take on grads regardless of degree), technology (there are lot of non - programming careers such as business analysts and project managers).
Finance takes people regardless of degree background but v competitive.

Languages is a good choice of degree - as teaching is an option. Also working for the government (MI5 etc).

The job market is competitive. Some people are lucky enough to faff about and land in a good career, others not so much. Some (like me) don’t have the luxury of being unemployed.

If a career is important make sure your daughter does her research, go to the uni career service, talk to employers, get relevant work experience. She will be fine with any degree as long as it’s reputable and she’s done her research!

Also OP have you considered degree apprenticehsips? You get paid and a degree while working... there are many options

I did a level the degree in history and I am now an Archive Assistant and I love it, if she likes humanities this could be a possibility although salaries are hit and miss. I am lucky my pay is fine (not high by any means but fine for me) but I have seen a lot lower

*then

I would say it is worth being prepared to do further study if she opts for a non vocational degree.
I did Geography with french and then after that went to law school and am now a solicitor.
It was much more expensive to do it that way than just study law from the start. On the other hand I wasn't sure what I wanted to do at 18 and it was a privilege to study subjects I really enjoyed. I also regularly draw my knowledge from my first degree in my job as a solicitor as it turns out, but that is down to my particular area of practice.

I would prefer my children to study vocational degrees - or do an apprenticeship or similar- but if they haven't settled on something or have a real passion for a subject then it would be a case of ensuring they were prepared for a longer period of further study after university.

to the PP lots of schools operate a system whereby they start 4 A levels in year 12 and drop one later if they wish to or continue all if they wish to and can cope with the workload. This actually works quite well when they take A levels they may not have taken at gcse because the school doesn't offer the gcse or they don't appreciate he step up for eg. chemistry or maths.

My background is accounting. Many accountants didn't do business or accounting at uni. You do a professional qualification after. Having a history degree wouldn't stop her from doing this just she would have to do all the exams where people who did a relevant degree skips some exams

@KingsRoad

Undecided about the other two. She's doing four A-levels? That's unusual particularly in a child you describe as not academic.

Unless one of them is further maths.

Mandatory at DD's school to start 4 then drop one part way through Yr12.

She does very well in the subjects she enjoys (got 9s in 4 subject at mocks) but 6 in Triple Science (compulsory) and 7 in Maths. So no point pushing her into STEM!

@NotAPanda

Also OP have you considered degree apprenticehsips? You get paid and a degree while working... there are many options

They look good but they're very competitive, aren't they?

Plus DD wants the "uni experience."

How about something like a general Business or Management degree ? I did one that had a French ‘option’ so looked at law, language etc. Most importantly I did a sandwich year in France, which not only improved my language and survival skills, but also gave me valuable working experience for my cv . I went on to gain a competitive place on a graduate scheme with a French blue chip company in the uk. The thing about business degrees is you (generally) get a taster of lots of things (marketing/hr/law/finance) and time to see where your strength and interests lie.

Apprenticehips are not as competitive as similarly ranked graduate positions (because less people even apply). Fair enough if she wants the uni experience.

Another suggestion - as pp have mentioned as general business/mgmt degree with a language option is good - but also go for a uni with a placement year! The work experience will come in quite handy and I know quite a few people who’ve been offered full time jobs at their placement company.
I myself did accounting and finenance

I did humanities then applied for graduate programmes, went to a big bank and did their management scheme, became a bank manager after a year. The degree subject didn't matter they just wanted a 2.1 minimum. I left soon after though as I hated it. I'm in HR now leading projects, weirdly more linked to my degree, and I'm now 40.