Regretting not doing A levels

[teafor1]

My daughter is doing her second year at college and is working towards a level 3 qualification in a very niche area. She did fine/well in GCSEs but didn’t enjoy it and I had to chivvy her along quite a bit. She did not want to do A levels. But now she is afraid she’s locked herself in and is not sure she wants this as her career. I think she’s just afraid of the future and can’t quite see where she’ll fit into the industry. She wants to finish out this year and wants to do well. I offered she start again and do A levels and it was a firm no. It’s like she can’t see herself doing A levels but wishes she could go down that route. Maybe because where we are the vast majority do. She’s an outlier. I’ve said many people switch careers etc. I’ve also told her to try to not think too far into the future and settle into this year. At the end of last year she was intending on going on to the degree equivalent of what she is doing. I’m wondering if the step up this year has thrown her confidence. Can anyone offer advice?

My DC did an extended BTec in a niche area, and at the end of it decided they regretted not doing A Levels and found a college that was prepared to let them take A levels (funded) with them. They then went to Oxbridge on the back of those A Levels, completely different to the vocational route of the BTec.

How did she do in year 12? Did she pass all that was needed – what kind of grade is she on target for? If this is a Btec or similar I would expect her to have a good idea.

Does she do better with that kind of continuous assessment – for many, A levels are too much on end-of-year-13 exams and they struggle. There is certainly nothing wrong with not taking A levels. Maybe not locally to you, but in general an alternative to A levels post-16 is a popular route, and more and more alternative routes are acceptable at more unis.

Can you say what the course is – at least broadly? What A levels would she have taken instead?

I think this sounds like a wobble at the start of the year and she would do well to finish year 13 and get her qual. If she changes her mind about the degree and gets a job instead, that’s fine.

I think you and she need to do more unpicking about what's really going on.
If she's lost her "love" for the subject and can't see herself working in it in the future AND the current qualification won't easily be transferrable to her studying something different at uni or getting an apprenticeship or job in a field she is interested in, that's one issue.
If she doesn't like the mode of study (the continuous assessment) and also isn't that keen on the subject, but didn't enjoy GCSE, what makes her think she'd "enjoy" A Levels? What was it about GCSE that she didn't get on with? What A Levels would she take now if she was fresh out of GCSE? And what would be the point of them, that is, what university course would they lead her to? Is any of that going to lead her to a career that she is interested in?
If she's vague about all of this, and just isn't enjoying what she's doing, I'd encourage her to continue so as to have a Level 3 qualification under her belt. Then she can consider where to go from there.
But I'd not be encouraging her to change from what she's doing (unless she's failing at the vocational qualification). Good luck.

I think it’s quite normal to feel uncertain when moving into the second year, especially when the course becomes more demanding. It doesn’t necessarily mean she’s chosen the wrong path or that not doing A levels has closed doors. There are usually different routes into further study and careers, and she has plenty of time to change direction if she decides she wants to. Maybe focusing on finishing this year well, rather than deciding her whole future now, could take some of the pressure off.

She did well for level 2 in year 12. Merit in 3/4 of the assessments and distinction in 1/4. It’s a hands on, continuous assessment type course that is City and Guilds. I would hope she would do similar for level 3. There are only three girls in a group of over 20 which I’m sure also doesn’t help.

The only classes she would consider for A levels would have been maths and computer science and I think that’s because she’s so resistant to revising. She could just understand them and do well. At GCSE level anyway. The remaining she did well but it was a slog.

i think she’s doing the correct course right now for her and hopefully this is just a wobble.

Totally agree, thank you. It is more demanding and she’s still working at her part time job for too many hours. That will end in a week or so. She wants to do well this year so at least there’s that.

I think she’s unsettled and has gotten herself in a loop of self doubt and fear of the future. She wouldn’t get on with A levels and wouldn’t enjoy them. So yes she should finish what she’s doing and then reevaluate. Part of this is maybe talk of application for the degree equivalent next year. She’s been told that she would be a good candidate for it and she’s not sure she wants to. But at the end of last year she was very keen 😵‍💫. I thought she was happy and settled with her path and this came out of the blue!

Has she said what part of the course she’s finding more difficult this year?

There is more work out of school required but I think the bigger problem is more of a design element where they have to design the main project. I think she’s leaping from nothing to a finished piece and it’s too hard to imagine. They will of course lead them through the designing.

She can go to university with a L3 qualification. Even if it’s niche she will have transferable skills and subject knowledge that could get her into a range of degrees. For example, say it’s game design. That could include programming, UX design, psychology, graphics, business, etc. so provided her grades were decent she stands a good chance of getting into uni. If it is game design tell her to go into UX design. My DN did it and now has a great, and rather lucrative, career.

Not game design but I take your point! It’s way more vocational than that. Who knows where it take her.

I’m hoping once she’s solidly into the making after the design part she’ll feel more confident.