Good professions without going to uni?

[Badbadbunny]

My year 10 son is a high achiever, straight A/A* student across the board and predicted 8/9's at GCSE.

Trouble is, he hasn't a clue what career he wants to do, and isn't really that keen on uni. Most of his peers are looking at doing history or classics degrees, and he's just not that interested in doing academic subjects. He's adamant that if he goes to Uni, he wants to spend his 3 (or more) years doing something that will be directly related to a particular career. He doesn't want to learn for the sake of it - he wants to learn specific skills etc for a particular reason.

He's good at sciences, so we've broached the subject of the medical profession, but he's not interested in being "hands on" with people, so that's put an end to any ideas about becoming a doctor or dentist!

Just wondering if there are any good professions where you don't actually need to go to uni, or where the uni degree is very practical and relevant?

Accountancy is an obvious choice as their are both degree and non-degree routes to becoming a qualified accountant. He'd probably be interested in that and would probably do fine for a career. But I'm just wanting to explore any other similar professions. I've looked into architecture, but it seems that it's definitely a graduate only route and quite a long uni course, so that's probably off the agenda. What about other professions, such as solicitor, actuary, etc - does anyone know if there are non-graduate entry routes??

There are also some universities which work hand in hand with employers and offer part time degrees where you work 3 days a week and attend uni the other two and the employer pays your fees. Can't remember the name of the scheme but would something like this suit him?

That sounds right up his street. I know they do similar for accountancy, but didn't know it was more widespread. Something we'll definitely be looking into.

Law at the best university he can get into. I use what I learned on my law degree almost every day of my professional life. It has been really useful. it's a very good degree. Make sure he goes to a good university however ideally top 10 or he will find it hard to get a job in the better paid firms.

And a law degree doesn't just point you at a career in law. Ds1 got a degree in law, and is now on the graduate scheme of a rail infrastructure company, training to be a quantity surveyor (and doing his Masters in it) whilst working in the commercial team - he deals with contracts (which uses his law degree - commercial law was his particular interest), but will be doing far more as well.

If he really has no idea what he wants to do, doing a good, academic subject at university would give him three more years (four in Scotland) to decide what he wants to do.

As another option, computer science might appeal to him, with what you said about him liking computer games - computers are a real growth area, and I see no risk of that changing any time soon - we are going to use computers more and more in every day life, in both work and leisure, so a good degree in this area should lead to work.

Bill Gates recommended students pick a career in AI, or energy, or...sorry, can't remember the third at the moment. For AI, you need good maths.

badbadbunny, I have exactly the same boy at home, albeit one year younger! He is academic and get top grades, with Maths being his top subject. It was picked up when he was only in his early Primary School years that he was gifted in Maths, however like you, despite regular conversations around aspirations, he really does know what really interest him.

Like your son, he loves sports, especially football, but also Formula1. The problem is that although he too can spend hours on his laptop, this doesn't expand to looking at things he could get involved in that would help him get a better idea of what he would really enjoy.

We've already talked about how an apprenticeship would suit him better than Uni, and discuss A levels. We talked about accountancy (as he loves numbers) and engineering, but he says, and rightly so that he doesn't fully understand what 'engineering really involves and think he lacks the creative thinking that would be required to take that route. I also think that the tourism industry would suit him as he has always shown a love and interest in other countries and cultures.

We've started to discuss A levels and he has already said he would definitely take Maths, and then most likely Physics, and either Geography, Economics and PE.

My plan is to start looking at the type of higher apprenticeships that are available and looking at attending an Engineering fair so he can get a better understanding of it. It's hard because he is hard working, clever, and has the good personal attributes to make it in various sectors, it's just making sure that he take the right steps towards a career he is likely to really enjoy.

It's all new to me as his sister is exactly the opposite. She knew from the age of 12 that she wanted to go into Medicine and ever since has done everything to make this a reality. She is very proactive and driven, so supporting her involved nothing more than doing a bit of research to be sure she did all that was required.

My boy lacks that thinking about the future mindset and also, whereas his sister can't wait to move as far away from home after she finishes her A levels, DS has already indicated that he loves it here and wouldn't want to move too far away (even though he loves travelling, he also loves to come home here! ).

swingofthings your DS in year 9 would be like the majority of DCs in not knowing what he wants to do. Great to expose him to different options like attending engineering fairs however maturity-wise the timing may not be right for the spark of interest nor should he feel the need to map out his career path now.

IMO doing that too soon could lead to a fixed mindset that then narrows down possibilities, excluding something that might really interest and suit him at 18 or in his twenties but was dismissed age 15 due to immaturity.

swingofthings your DS might be interested to learn that many (most?) engineering degrees also run an extra-curricula called "student formula" where they design, build and race their own sports car - not quite F1 but many of the engineers working in F1 have engineering degrees.
Not so long ago, Southampton Uni were able to say they had an engineering graduate in every F1 team.
If your DS is naturally gifted in maths, and enjoys physics, then an aerospace or mechanical engineering degree might appeal. It worth looking at the Smallpiece courses aimed at KS4 students which offer the chance to understand what the different engineering disciplines involve,
www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk/

How about joining a major company at entry level - the kind that has built-in career development, somewhere like John Lewis or Unilever?There must be loads of them. Or, since he's interested in sports and gaming - a company that runs gyms or Game. If he's bright and hard working he'll progress.

But he's young. There's nothing wrong with earning some money for a couple of years until he figures out what subject he's interested in. I know someone who did that - just worked in shops, earned a living then realised she wanted to do accountancy and ended up with a first which she'd never have got if she'd gone straight to uni from school.

www.nextgenskillsacademy.com

Have a look at this programme - the animation/visual effects/gaming industry have a massive skills shortage currently and have developed this programme to train 16-19 year olds with relevant skills and experiences.

Actuaries need to have an a level in maths, but other than that there's no specific requirement at degree level (maths/economics/physics related subjects help to get into graduate roles though). There's a lot of study once you're on the job - years of professional exams.

What about investment consulting and taking the CFA qualification? There are graduate schemes and post a-level apprenticeships for that - look for example at somewhere like Mercer.

Engineering also seemed to fit your DS's interests.

You say he loves computer games - are they the type that need fast reactions and good spatial skills? Reason I'm asking, a friend of ours who was good at these ended up going into air traffic control - he had a degree, but you don't need to be a graduate, you can go straight after school, and are paid (albeit a low salary) while you train which may appeal more than loans and fees. Starting salary once qualified is good, and rises once experienced. Personality is as important as skills, though - obviously you have to be calm under pressure. You also have to be willing to move to where you're posted and cope with shifts.

Broadcast engineering jumps out at me, as a confluence between IT and Sports, a quick google found loads of sites which might be relevant. Sorry, these are all Sky I'm on a mobile so have linked to all the sites themselves which may have other options....

www.notgoingtouni.co.uk/organisation/sky-300/3

careers.sky.com/early-career-opportunities-sky

www.ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk/apprenticeship-review/12571/sky/apprentice-journalist

careers.sky.com/starting-out/apprenticeship-programmes currently showing as closed, i understand they fill up pretty quickly so it may be worth finding out when they 'open' each year

the big issue for the future is going to be adapting to climate change so work related to that. My child's friends are graduating and seeking work and the ones that have the most choice are those with either engineering or maths degrees. OTOH I think the happiest person I know is a gas engineer, you dont have to have a profession (And btw they are clearly very comfortably off, although I dont wish to expand on how I know that).

Try and get him some work experience, a brief experience of a dead end job motivated my child well. You can also take him to universities near your home on open days to see what is on offer. Some are every good at offering hands on sessions.

Later on he might benefit from this www.cusu.co.uk/get-involved/campaigns/access/access-campaigns/shadowing-scheme

Computer programming/ software design.....dd bf just graduated this's year and has already been headhunted by several top software companies....his starting salary on graduation is £40k for first year and will rise! ( he knows many computer languages)

A lot of the big supermarkets do management trainee schemes where you work in various placements and study for a management degree part time. Starting salary is low but the degree is paid for and there is a guaranteed management job at the end of it.

I work in Big 4 and deal with a lot of our school leavers. They do a 5 year programme and are fully qualified at 23/24 with a salary of 35k. Not bad. Yes there is a lot of talk about robots etc but we're also having a massive move towards analytics and big data and also do apprenticeships on that side of things.

Interesting thread but most non-uni options seem to be aimed at children who are good at the sciences, computing and Maths.

Apart from law and management does anyone have any options for someone who is good at the humanities?
No higher apprenticeships on the government website seem aimed at careers in the Arts etc.

If he's good with computers, what about a degree in Ethical Hacking?

That's because the government has no interest in the arts, only STEM. If you are into humanities it's a lot more difficult to get a well paid job via apprenticeship hence the vast numbers doing law degrees.

I'm an ACA. Did it post-grad with ( then) Big 6. I am old so tuition fees didn't exist then. I would now not bother with the degree and just do it from 18 for 5 years. It's a no- brainer. No debt and a qualification that is much more marketable than most degrees.

Bit late to this thread - a pp mentioned it already but I'd highly recommend Air Traffic Controller. All you need are GCSES (lots have gone to uni but not required at all)
Fun challenge, every day is different, amazing colleagues to work with, well paid. Best job ever.