Predicting whether a teen would be successful

[CosyRubyDreamer]

Are there indicators of whether a teen would end up being successful in terms of their career?

Personally I think exam results more or less have a correlation to career success but I know a lot of people would dispute this. Thoughts please!

Successful as in rich? Interests and work ethic.

Who you know beats what you know when getting a foot in the door, but personality top trumps everything

At the extreme ends, I've taught kids who I would be surprised if they weren't very successful, and kids who I'd be surprised if they weren't very unsuccessful (i.e. the self-sabotaging "rebel" types, although they might grow out of it).

The ones who worry me are the autistic kids because it's not easy for them to find their niche in a job market that mostly just caters for very mainstream people.

Depends on the career, I guess. I have a good friend who is a very successful fashion stylist in New York and one who is Head of Year in a local school. Both had very average GCSE results!

I had excellent exam results but never been successful - life got in the way 🤷‍♀️

What are the kids you thought would be very successful like?

I taught for 20 years. The most successful group on average I see have been the middle group nice kids, quiet but pleasant. Maybe not the best grades, but work well.
They tend to be stable and steady, often actually leaving university with very good grades with their steady study habits or just getting on with people in life and work. Tend to have positive relationships. I’d say that’s successful, steady and self-sufficient and happy long term.

I think personality counts for everything. There is a correlation between some personality traits and exam success (eg intelligence, ability to defer gratification; goal-orientated) so successful people may have achieved good exam results, but imo there are some additional key personality traits that make for success, eg extraversion, charisma, capability for hard work, a bit of risk taking.

I was good at exams and have a good job but I lack some of the interpersonal skills and drive that would have made me really successful.

Obviously it depends what you mean by success too. If you mean ability to get and hold down an ordinary middle class job (eg doctor, lawyer) that’s different to if you mean big success (entrepreneur, head of law firm, big creative career, prime minister!)

I’d agree with @RaynorW the middle class kids who are quietly confident and articulate. I grew up poor and even though I’m fairly successful these days I often have a sense of imposter syndrome.

The stand out “successes” are hard to predict.

think pop stars, models, fashion designers etc.

most teens who have decent exam results, a supportive family and a good work ethic do pretty well. Not always in high earning careers.

Define successful. I got great results, had a few years in a reasonable career and am now a very happy SAHM. I have a friend who got average exam results, got into a poorly paid career they loved and is very happy. I’ve got a friend who did poorly at school (probably undiagnosed with dyslexia), now works in a relatively mundane low paid non-career job and they are really happy working flexible hours and with a team they consider friends. And I know one guy who got amazing results at school, Oxford degree, lots of extra curricular success, now in a high flying career who is utterly miserable and hates his job but feels trapped by other people’s expectations of him and his financial commitments.

Which of us is “successful”?

It’s important to define success here.

High salary?
Great work/ life balance?
High level of personal happiness?
Fame?

We could all name people in each of these brackets and perhaps they would have shown signs during their teens but surely the happy, well-adjusted, reasonably hard working and intelligent teens are on the right path for success if it’s defined in the second two categories.

I know of 2 brothers my first cousins.

Brother one did not take to school at all bullied by teachers and kids he walked out at 14 never went back he left and could barely read.
Brother 2 got on ok at school stuck it out good marks past gcse went to collage.
Mother all ways said brother 2 will make it.
Brother one worked from the age of 14 now runs 2 barrs in thailand doing very very well for himself money wise and friend wise build a lovely life for himself.
Brother 2 still lives at home no job and lives on uc and games all day.
I go to thailand twice a year to see him (i dont have to pay for a hotel) .

I think @RaynorW referred to the 'middle group' and @Lovelysummerdays conflated this to the 'middle class' kids? My take is the middle group kids seem to do well in life. Easy-going, personable, not taking life too seriously. Life is a long game and that pace seems to be happiest

I grew up solidly middle class I think and I still have imposter syndrome at the age of 51. I mask it well but it's still there. I don't know if that's a class thing, a gender/sex thing, or a personality thing.

I would say the first 3