DS has no idea what he wants to do and what A levels to take and it is getting him down

[Monr0e]

He is currently in the middle of his GCSE'S, he has good predicted grades and has been offered a place at his chosen college for A levels. The problem is, he is getting himself in a tizz as he doesn't know what to do. He initially chose Law, Psychology and business studies, but he is now leaning towards physics, maths and law. The problem is, in his own words, he isn't interested in anything in particular and doesn't know what he wants to do!

Any advice I can give him? He has an open day coming up but no idea how to make a firm decision.

Has he tried using this website to give ideas of courses that fit with various combinations of A levels? Might give him some pointers.

www.theuniguide.co.uk/a-level-explorer

He needs to speak to the college Careers Adviser.

People who don;t have a strong vocation are likely to be best driven by money in adult life, so he should do the A levels that can help him towards the most lucrative careers. Definitely Maths and Physics as these open the door to the widest possible choices later on. If he like Chemistry or Biology, that would be a great mix. The issue with career specific A levels (Psych, Business, Law) is that unis will rehash a lot of the material in Yr 1 as so many students won't have done the vocational A level.

If he doesn't know what he wants to do, and loads of 18 year olds don't, I wouldn't encourage him to do a degree, with all the debt that entails just because everyone else is and because that's the route the school are pushing him down.
I would recommend some general, not too specialises A levels in subjects he'd like to study most (or that would be the least unengaging to study) and then on to a bit of work experience before applying to Uni.

Law, Psychology and Business Studies are 2 or 3 brand new subjects at A level which is high risk if he might have chosen them as 'new, not GCSE subjects'.

Does he not have any hobbies or interests that could help direct him?

Does he like debating, problem solving, people, working on his own, details, wider picture etc?

Thank you @Dreikanter we will take a look at that

He seems naturally gifted at science, and enjoys physics the most. But has also rlenjoyed psychology and history at gcse.

He has spoken to a careers advisor but they just gave him some handouts of different jobs associated with different degrees. I think the problem is at 15, you don't know what those jobs really entail, and obviously he has no real life experience!

We have said to do what interests him at this point, he's an over thinker though and struggling to decide.

It's more about choosing the right A levels for your career goals surely? He needs career discussions.

He's a bit of a perfectionist, loves explaining things to people! Not massively confident or outgoing but has a solid friendship group. He does work well with others but isn't driven by trying to fit in or be popular. He says he likes space 😒. Not sure what he could do with that, apparently astronaut isn't on his list!

If that's all the careers adviser did then I'd be putting in a complaint.
He should have been offered a proper guidance interview which should last around 40 mins. This is an opportunity to discuss all of his options in detail.
If they haven't offered this then they are failing in their statutory duty.

Unless he has a specific need for certain A levels eg sciences for vet or medicine, I would suggest he takes the ones a) he enjoys most and b) that he thinks he can get the best grades. He can think about what he might like to do later eg for law you don't have to have law A level for Uni

I suggested they do what they enjoy and if they know what they want to do when they grow up, relevant courses.
One decided child care, another catering, neither of them have worked in the field since finishing college.
Only one stuck with something they did at that age, IT

It's so difficult in the UK. Children are required to make quite pivotal choices very young.

I think the most sensible option is to take subjects that keep his options open, buying him more time.

Law at A Level isn't helpful in any way: if he wants to be a lawyer ultimately, this will probably hinder his prospects of entrance to a good university rather than help. Whatever he learns in 2 years an LLB will teach him in the first couple of semesters. So, he should ditch that.

I would venture that the same will go for psychology. And, as an adult, what do you think a 16yo would make of studying psychology that he wouldn't have a better grasp of at 18-21yo? Psychology appeals to teenagers because they're all about the feelings and emotions. It's actually a very dry and quite dull subject, quite disappointing to those who think it'll be more like counseling or therapy lessons.

Business isn't something you can learn in a classroom, imho. It's a complete waste of an A Level.

Honestly, the more technical subjects like maths and physics and history are his best bet. He can go into law, psychology, engineering, social studies whatever afterwards.

Astrophysics, rocket science. UK has a decent space industry as it goes so 'interested in space' is not as off the wall as it sounds.

Maths I'd always always suggest, regardless of degree pathway. If he enjoys physics and is vaguely analytical and vaguely interested in space then Physics sounds like a good second subject (plus there's overlap with Maths). For a third - any of Law, Psych or Bus to be honest. All sufficiently different from M and P to give a broad selection of subjects which won't rule out anything at uni that he seems vaguely interested in.

I would agree with @Justkeeppedaling and encourage him to do what he is interested in. You have to be very, very motivated by some extrinsic factor to study hard and do well in subjects that you are not interested in. Definitely don't let him think he must go straight on to uni after A levels.

I did maths, physics and art A levels because those were the subjects I liked best, and was convinced I wanted to do graphic design or some kind of art degree. I went on a WISE (Women into Science and Engineering) taster course at the local uni and ended up doing an engineering degree, and still love (most of ) my job 30 years later!

Agree on getting a good careers advisor.

One bit of good advice given at a schools careers fair was ... if you are unsure, pick the subjects you are best at. Also think about what careers would be BLOCKED by your choice ... so for example if your son chose non-science based subjects then it would be a more difficult path to get into science or engineering, but with science subjects it would keep science/engineering career paths open and not close the door into humanities or law.

Bear in mind, subjects like sychology and history are also topics many people enjoy reading in their spare time or for their own personal development.

Good luck!

I'm not sure what to advise, but sympathies! My dd is coming to the end of year 12 and she was in exactly the same position as your ds at that point. Very bright, no idea what career she wanted, no particular interest in any of her subjects but doing well in almost all of them. She's doing Spanish, psychology and history. First two going fine but she's absolutely hating history!

In the absence of clear career goals I'd say to go for a not-too-restrictive selection of subjects he's best at, so as to keep his options open.

He sounds like an engineer in the making to me!

I think you can do general engineering type degrees where you have a go at lots of different fields and can then specialise a bit more later. Because while there is civil, mechanical, electrical, water, mining, nautical, aeronautical, chemical etc etc engineering, they are all quite different and there are specialisms within all of them, but, the common theme is maths.

I agree. Unless he knows he wants to be doctor/ vet / dentist he should pick A levels in subjects he enjoys and is good at (they are often the same! ) I would caution against law and business studies. Too specialist. If he likes science then physics maths and psychology? Or even physics maths and history. Unless he is allowed to start 4 and drop one later? Then he could start all four and see which he likes best

My DS1 started with biology, chemistry, history and art and dropped history. He could have got into most science degrees (not physics obvs!) with that combo and even medicine! He is doing fine art jext year at uni. In year 10 he had no idea.
DS2 is doing maths, bio, chemistry and music and wants to do medicine.
Law and business degrees don't need law or business A levels.

You could go on few university websites, and get free prospectuses sent to your house to give him idea's. Then each one will tell him what the entry requirements for each course is & A levels etc they accept.
So it could guide what he takes for alevels ( and picking most transferable ones). He can change until interview etc in August so tell him not to worry). This worked with my ds1 last year an she went from worry to a plan and back to her strong subjects instead of "newer" alevels

This is what we suggested to ours.

Law, Psychology and business studies, - I actually don't think that's a great mix - one of those with more "traditional" subjects would probably keep more doors open.

Maths is a good A-level - many courses value that - If he takes pure and mechanics maths - it supports the physics a bit. Has he talked to his subject teachers for maths science - see if they think he can do well - any other subject teachers suggested he take their subject further?

If he's interested in Space why doesn't he look at space engineering? That would make good use of physics and maths, you don't have to be an astronaut.

Aerospace Engineering is offered in the UK or Mechanical Engineering. Space Engineering is very niche for undergrad. Maths and Physics are a great combination. Any other subject works with them.

Law, Business studies and Psychology are not needed for those degrees. They are not subjects that sit well together. Cambridge university gives a list of subjects that keep options open and these three don’t. History would be far better. Or any other science or geography. This gives him far more options. Law, Business and Psychology as a trio close them down.

Exactly what statutory duty do careers advisors have? What would your complaint be about - there is no standard careers appointment criteria.

I agree with the advice to look at what is blocked by certain choices, rather than what he could do with his choices. If he's good at maths and sciences, limiting them now might not be the best move.

Exactly what statutory duty do careers advisors have? What would your complaint be about - there is no standard careers appointment criteria.

Schools have a statutory duty to provide impartial, Independent careers guidance to pupils from year 8 upwards. All young people should be offered personal guidance at key transition points (year 11 is a key transition point) and this should be delivered by an adviser who is appropriately qualified (Ideally L6 or above).
Failure to do so means the school is failing to meet The Gatsby Benchmarks, specifically benchmark 8 which covers personal guidance.
The Gatsby Benchmarks and the statutory duties related to careers guidance feature on the Ofsted schedule so it would be worth highlighting to the school that they are failing in their statutory duty.