What degree subjects haven't we thought of?

[MotherOfSoupDragons]

DS is doing Maths, Physics and Biology A-Levels. Predicted AAA*/A. Originally thought he would like to do either some sort of Engineering or Marine Biology but he's gone off those ideas following uni open days. Are there any left field degree courses he could do with those subjects? Clutching at straws here.

Friend of mine did the same A-levels then a Prosthetics and Orthotics degree.

Occupational Therapy, speech and language, environmental science?

Archaeological science?

Lots of different directions possible within that - earth sciences, materials science, physics (for dating), computer modelling and computational archaeology.... The same degree will cover a lot of those options and he can choose which to specialise in after having a wide range of tasters

I’m going to suggest a degree apprenticeship in engineering or IT. More hands on and with real life experience.

Ppe?

Politics?

Engineering is a wide area.

A biomedical engineer tried to persuade DD that it was FAR more interesting than medicine and Imperial have great new facilities www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/courses/bioengineering-department/biomedical-engineering-meng/#entry-requirements.

Or robotics? Perhaps with a design element.

Just two ideas...

Hey @MotherOfSoupDragons I'm a Careers Practitioner, impressive grades for your DS, you must be super proud of him.

If he doesn't know what he wants to do in the future, but does want to go to uni this year, why doesn't he do a pure subject? More importantly, has he got an idea of what he wants work to be like? For example, does he want work to be practical or is he interested in research and academic based roles? A gap year with work experience could be helpful?

If you google SACU he can put in the subjects he's studied at A Level and they will generate a cloud to tell him degree subjects students have gone onto study with those subjects.

I'd say look at a Prosthetics and Orthotics degree with those subjects. It's a small field as only two universities offer in UK - Salford and Strathclyde.

www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses-listing/human-sciences#

www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/courses/bioengineering-department/biomedical-engineering-meng/

www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/courses/earth-science-department/geophysics-bsc/#entry-requirements

I would suggest he looks at a much wider field of engineering. My DH employs Civil, structural and Environmental Engineers and when Chartered they earn a lot! More than a QS! However always go for MEng.

He needs to think about what really interests him. Environment, Buildings, Mechanical, Electronic etc. Architecture usually requires a portfolio but Engineering doesn’t. I would wonder what engineering he actually looked at and where? Did he choose the best universities? There is also Landscape Architecture at Sheffield which could be of interest but he needs to evaluate what makes him tick!

Chinese

Actually, seriously. My Dd is in 3rd year and loves it. Very easy to get jobs afterwards as it's incredibly useful to international businesses.

Absolutely I would recommend a gap year if he isn’t sure by applications time! He doesn’t have to go to uni straight from A Levels and I think a lot of young people with this mindset end up picking subjects they’re not sure about and end up switching courses after their first year or dropping out completely. Could be an expensive mistake

Thanks again for the replies. Shame the site was down this morning so I'm just going through them and have booked some time with DS later to discuss. He was up for this, which is good.

To answer some of your questions:

Natural Sciences - interesting, we'll look into that.
We've done the 'Which University' tool and there wasn't anything new on there, which isn't really surprising, which is what I meant by 'clutching at straws'.

All the additional subjects you've mentioned will be put on a list and checked out.

He's been to a couple of open days for Marine Biology. He loves diving and is very knowledgeable about coral reefs. Not so keen on studying plankton under a microscope or spending his days in academia or in a lab. Good to know but it kind of removes this option.

He's been to Imperial, Loughborough and Bristol for Engineering. Has written off everything except Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, though has only been to the talk for that at Loughborough. Might be worth checking out the Imperial course and maybe visiting KCL for that one. Thanks to those that suggested it.

He has mentioned a gap year, but I'm not sure how useful it would be in terms of helping him decide what to do, unless it's very targeted. Also told him he'd have to largely plan and organise it himself (isn't that the idea?) He admits he's lazy. 6 days a week in school plus laziness mean he doesn't do much in terms of supercurricular activities. Gap year might be good to help him grow up a bit and become more independent. I'm not totally against it.

He doesn't want to look at Oxbridge. Says it's too privileged and pressurised (see also laziness, above).

Some of you ask some very good questions. I will put those to him. Sometimes advice or questions from someone who isn't a parent get a better reaction.

Again, very helpful replies, thanks to all of you. I really appreciate the time you've taken. We are very proud of him. What he could achieve if he gave 100% doesn't bear thinking about. He's been through a lot and is a smart young man, if very quiet, and has good instincts around people. Wish me luck.

Maths is a brilliant degree in its own right, and a course with lots of stats and computational elements will give him his choice of jobs.

Actuarial science. Physics/astrophysics/theoretical physics.

I had similar subjects at school and was always told to look at physiotherapy, occupational therapy, radiography and optometry (?). Not sure which of those would need chemistry.

Has he thought about general management? He could get himself on a Higher Apprenticeship. Or get a professional qualification and then move across to management. If he is numerate and logical has he thought about accounts or taxation (either client-facing or backroom technical expert).
Has he thought of being an actuary?

Soupdragon tell him to look at the courses suggested even if they are at Oxbridge or other universities he has dismissed. At this stage it is more about looking at the mix of subjects offered in some degrees as it may give a clue as to what aspects of subjects interest him the most.
If he is not interested in lab science then most biological natural science degrees are probably not for him.

He could of course also consider anything with management or business in it.

Medical Physics always looked fascinating to me - think there are various routes into it, but a Physics degree seems a good place to start: targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions/276115-medical-physicist-job-description

He has expressed an interest in actuarial science. I read it's possible to do post grad training on the back of an engineering degree, as there's lots of maths.

This is why he should look at Imperial for bio-medical engineering.

www.imperial.ac.uk/white-city-campus/research/michael-uren-hub/

Imperial is also part of the Triangle research group (Oxbridge and some London Universities). There is loads of interesting cutting edge research going on, and as medicine becomes more supported by technology there is an increasing diversity careers in the field.

I agree Needmore. I love the sound of that subject. Imperial require an A in maths though, which is his A/A prediction, so it would be a push.

Forensic Sciences?

Forensic Sciences?

I think it's generally reckoned to be better to do a 'vanilla' undergrad degree and then do a masters for some of these more specialised courses. I'm not sure forensic science is offered at undergrad level at the higher ranked unis.

Maths, statistics? Accounting...

Maths, statistics? Accounting...

Maths, statistics? Accounting...