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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder how youngsters decide what they do with the rest of their life after Alevels if they don’t know what degree to do at Uni or field of work to go into.

64 replies

P0m3l0 · 07/08/2022 23:30

My son is doing 3 Alevels, bright and should get 3 As,wants to go to Uni so he can leave home but hasn’t got a clue what degree he wants to do or which line of work he wants to go into.

We’ve said not to rush into Uni and to have a year to think if he isn’t sure, look at other next steps eg apprenticeships etc but to be honest we’re not sure what he should do to come to such a big decision. He really hadn’t got a clue and it’s stressing him out.

OP posts:
Kite22 · 08/08/2022 22:35

Crikeyalmighty · 08/08/2022 10:02

@Kite22 a bit pointless suggesting the casual jobs abroad. Brexit has put paid to those opportunities I'm afraid unless he goes somewhere like the US and can get sponsorship. In the EU you have to prove you can't get an EU person to do that role. My son did an apprenticeship in IT and networks rather than Uni and at 24 is way ahead skills and salary wise of his friends who went to Uni.

Odd, as two of dd's friends (that I know of) have worked a season in Europe since Brexit.

generalh · 08/08/2022 22:38

Mine did A levels then went into RAF. Has a great job. Able to buy his own home with his fiancee.

AlecTrevelyan006 · 08/08/2022 22:42

There’s too much pressure on youngsters to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Lots of people don’t really know what they want to do - which is fine.

Crikeyalmighty · 08/08/2022 22:45

I'm not sure how @Kite22 unless there was a real shortage and they were able to get round this -or it was via a friend going around the rules- or they had EU passports-,
when we were in Denmark till May this year - it was really strict on this, starting January 2021

I'm not doubting you- just saying those aren't the rules.

Hawkins001 · 09/08/2022 00:48

AlecTrevelyan006 · 08/08/2022 22:42

There’s too much pressure on youngsters to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Lots of people don’t really know what they want to do - which is fine.

But then society needs the brains of e.g. People like Jamie diamond, Albert Einstein ect, they need to be nurtured ect

mathanxiety · 09/08/2022 01:49

If he likes maths and wants to do something that leaves his options open, how about:
Economics
Statistics

Or something more specific:
Biostatistics
Actuarial science
Finance
Engineering

Something combining maths and psych:
Neuroscience

mathanxiety · 09/08/2022 01:52

@Kite22 - Is it possible the kids you know have EU passports as well as UK?

stormsurfer · 09/08/2022 02:03

Could he apply to Scottish universities where the degree will take 4 years and often has more flexibility? I know Dundee and Stirling University and probably others do modular system.

Namenic · 09/08/2022 04:38

I’d get him to look for jobs he might like.

what is the reason he doesn’t want an ‘office job’? Is it that he wants a social job? Or he physically wants to move around and exert himself?

Perhaps IT support, 1st line help desk (you get social interaction). Or data centre job (some of it is physically checking out the hardware). Working at an Apple store (experience of retail/sales but also tech/troubleshooting)? I’ve seen some geo-mapping jobs with ordnance survey before.

A lot of tech jobs are non coding - so having a tech career does not mean you will be typing at your computer all day. Also, some coding jobs are quite social - you have lots of meetings and get input and feedback on what you produce. You sometimes get on a call and solve problems as a group.

after he has worked for a year or 2, I’d ask if it had clarified for him any further study he would like.

toeyroughskin · 09/08/2022 07:34

My son has EU passport as well as UK. Have told him it will quickly become his most prized possession.

Ellmau · 09/08/2022 08:01

Accountancy? Business? Economics?

What non-academic interests does he have?

What grades is he predicted/likely to be predicted?

Ellmau · 09/08/2022 08:03

Sorry, just realised you said AAA grades.

Another possibility might be engineering.

Racingadmin · 09/08/2022 08:20

Dd just finished a levels ( results next Thursday) and had no clue what she wanted to do except not university.

She's 3 weeks into a one year , paid internship in the finance department of a medium size company. Basically office junior work but now they know she's competent she's covering roles like bank recs and credit control as people are on leave .

Still not sure if finance / accounting is for her but at least she's getting a taster without signing up to a degree and associated debt.

It's a fixed one year and then she might go travelling or do camp America. She's got 50 years of work ahead of her so as long as she funds her own fun and contributes to the home then we are happy for her to take her time

Kite22 · 09/08/2022 12:04

mathanxiety · 09/08/2022 01:52

@Kite22 - Is it possible the kids you know have EU passports as well as UK?

I honestly have no idea. They are people that dd knows through one of her hobbies. I might have said hello to parents of both of them at one point or another, but I don't know the families well.
One has been sailing in Greece and one working in a ski resort.

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