Maths, Music and Chemistry/Physics - the possible impact on university/career choices...

[magnaconcordia]

DS is thinking of Maths, Chemistry and Music for his A-level subjects. But he is also fascinated by Physics and is interested in engineering. He doesn't know what he likes to study for a degree, which university he likes to apply and no definite career plan yet. If he chooses Maths, Chemistry and Music, he can stay at his current school after GCSEs but if he likes to do Physics instead of Chemistry he has to move elsewhere.

Part of me thinks he could stay where he is and do Chemistry since he enjoys the subject anyway and as both Chemistry and Physics are the facilitating subjects, hopefully, won't cause a huge issue when he applies for university/work nevertheless which course/work he decides to pursue. I'm favouring this choice as it's less hustle. But part of me thinks he should have wider choices in case of change of mind and also am worried about the possible impact that may cause on his future choices. What if Physics would be needed for his chosen course/work?

What kind of courses/careers would favour or require Maths/Chemistry/Music and Maths/Physics/Music? It won't matter hugely as I am hoping or it could cause an issue?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Music Technology or Sound Engineering has fairly good graduate prospects as long as you research which courses are thought well of in the industry.

Surrey’s Tonmeister course is the best in the UK and possibly Europe and requires A level Physics, Maths & Music. Performance to Grade 7 is desirable but not essential.

I researched a bit and it seems FM is also a requirement for many science based degrees and even for Economics which could also be DS's choice. He is very much Maths oriented so he may actually wants to do it. But his current school doesn't offer FM. When I asked they hinted it's not impossible for them to support FM for suitable candidates, though at least they don't run FM at the moment. The courses requiring or preferring FM recommend self-study for those who have no option to do FM at their current school but how realistically possible is that? If we move DS I guess we should look for school where FM is available just in case.

Sound Engineering could be a choice for DS however it seems a hard profession to earn decent money, even for those who attended the best course. Or am I wrong?

I had a long and empty time in the middle of family chaos last night and started thinking about this again...

If you have a choice of Maths/Further Maths/Music and Maths/Chemistry/Music which you would consider a better combination, for someone who don't know what he wants in his future yet? I always thought FM would be the fourth subject rather than one of the three subjects but I heard it's now changing due to the new contents of A levels and it actually offers broader choices for degree and career plans. In that case DS may consider FM instead of Chemistry, provided he likes and does well both.

At my many schools Maths and Further Maths are regarded as one subject so pupils who are good at maths take both as well as 2 further subjects for A level.

In your ds's case I would definitely recommend not just Maths/FM and one more subject. I'd recommend Chemistry or another Science to keep his options open.

chemistry alevel is very dull. physics is both more interesting and a better fit with music - there are even some joint-honours physics and music degree courses. the kind of brain with a natural affinity for music tends to also have a natural affinity for physics.

I would move schools to one that can timetable the maths, music and physics.

Thank you so much for the advice. We'll definitely look around. DS is very happy at the current school so I really needed a strong reason for changing school. However it was DS who raised a concern over the narrower options in the first place. Now he's saying he could do Maths, Chemistry, Music and although I know he's always liked all those subjects, he might be trying to compensate his choice in order to stay. It's so tricky to break happy environment.

Dc is doing A level Chemistry, Maths, Biology and an epq. A level Music and A level History were dropped fairly swiftly after 1 half term (swapped history for Biology). They are also doing an arsm music diploma outside of school after doing grade 8 last summer.
Is he thinking of taking the music further or is it more that it’s a very enjoyed subject? Does he need to be doing it in school for A level too?
Dc is a good all rounder and found it hard to decide on A levels. They picked their favourite ones at first but actually it proved tricky once we started to think about the next step and potential degree courses.
I would recommend visiting a few universities open days now or September time. We did this . Once dc narrowed it down to course subjects, it made sorting A level choices a lot easier

I would look at further maths. Not necessary perhaps but very useful for getting into and thriving in maths/ engineering type degrees. Plus if you son is a bit of a high flyer I think its better to be in the double maths class as you know you are with committed students.

It is possible to get onto engineering degrees without A level physics. Electrical and chemical seem to be more open to maths + chemistry for example.

Chemistry, as I said, does narrow down Engineering options. If you think about the major strands of engineering: civil, mechanical, automotive, nautical, aeronautical, electronic and electrical, chemical - the only one that requires Chemistry is the last one. Don’t take Chemistry if he really wants Engineering in the traditional sense.

The higher ranking Engineering courses (MEng) are easier for students if they have FM. For plenty of BEng courses it’s not obligatory. I would also check MEng ones from other than top 10 universities because they may not either. They know not all schools offer it.

Few universities require FM for Economics. Only a few. However for the more mathematical courses it’s useful. It really won’t stop him doing economics or engineering with no FM. Unless you were wanting him to go to a top 5 university of course.

FM, Maths & Music would be incredibly limiting. Not that many degrees say FM is essential and some universities only count FM or maths and not both. If FM is taken it’s ideally a 4th.
For engineering the combo of Maths, physics, music is great.
For economics or finance then maths and 2 others is the general consensus (top economics universities like another stem)
I’m flabbergasted his current school don’t offer a core science subject such as physics! Is it clashing with music or just not offered?