Heading towards 4th year or post grad/jobs

[Xenia]

Continuation of the previous thread for those of us with children who are just finishing their 3rd year at university (so either "graduating" in 2020 or going into year 4 in Autumn 2020)..........

My twins' degree results will be out in late July. Good luck to everyone else waiting for finals results.

[Stopyourhavering64]

@En0laGay

Thank you for all the information, I'll pass it on. December thanks for emailing your niece, that's very kind of you.

Xenia I hope the mock results are good, anything to boost confidence in these difficult times.

Errol I think he will have no problem choosing what to put in the 5th slot, well in as much as he has two ideas for alternatives to medicine if he doesn't get in or changes his mind. He has one subject he's absolutely passionate about and another possible career option in mind which Biology and Chemistry would also be useful for.

I think he'd also consider Geography but he has no idea what career path he would want to follow except that he has no interest whatsoever in town planning.

If he's thinking of Geography...then a future career in public health and epidemiology could be a consideration ( very relevant these days!)...
a Geography degree is very well thought of by employers as it engages so many transferable skills ( I have MA Geog and ds will have BSc when he graduates this summer)

[En0laGay]

Oh! That's something we hadn't thought of and would fit in so well with Chemistry and Biology - thank you!

[Xenia]

I am another geography fan - two of mine with BSc geog are or will be lawyers. I think Economics is a useful A level too - not traditional but a useful 3rd one and 4 of my children did it to A level or AS and did like it and found it very useful in future business career etc.

[Horsemad]

I thought DS2 would do Geography, he did all the uni talks on it then when he applied he opted for History because his Geog mock was a C and History was an A.
In the event, he ended up with A in Geog and B in History!

I think he thinks he should have done Geog but hindsight is a wonderful thing and his Masters is in an environmental subject, so he'll have both once it's completed. 🙂

[ErrolTheDragon]

Geography covers an immense range of activities to be sure - nowadays they don't all even fit within its old definition of 'The study of the earth and its features and of the distribution of life on the earth, including human life and the effects of human activity.' by millions of miles.

More prosaically, it's never wrong to include maths in the mix.

[Parker231]

@En0lagay - DH is a GP. Thankfully DT’s weren’t interested in following in the profession.
DH came to the U.K. when he was 21 on a scholarship and completed his training in London. He had planned on returning to Canada when he qualified but only now nearly 30 years later are we leaving the U.K. (as soon as travel restrictions are lifted).
His only recommendation to anyone considering medicine is to think really carefully if it’s the life you want. His suggestion would be to qualify in the U.K. but then move to somewhere like Australia, South Africa or Canada where the quality of life can be better for medical staff.

[En0laGay]

Parker I think what your husband has said is spot on (I used to work in the NHS but not as a doctor). I was inwardly horrified when DS said he wanted to aim for medicine but I haven't told him that, I've listened to his A level choices (he has informed me that he's opting for Biology, Chemistry, Geography and possibly a BTEC in PE/Sport Science) and decided that I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

He's very determined and will dig his heels in, he's already told me I am to have nothing to do with his 6th form application and he's doing it on his own without my help. Well, so he thinks - he did listen to my advice when he was set on doing Physics and Biology and not Chemistry.

Errol he's mostly interested in human Geography because 'physical Geography is too easy'. He likes a challenge; he's not an enthusiastic reader (and won't often read for pleasure but I was doing some work for my MSc the other day and came across some stuff to do with Marx, it turns out he's read Marx's book; I wouldn't have predicted that. I was a bit embarrassed that I haven't but he's interested in that kind of thing.

[chopc]

@En0laGay to add to the previous advise - what I would tell any DC wanting to do Medicine is they have to totally love it and be passionate. I loved studying medicine and all my rotations I had to complete to be a GP. Even when I collapsed from exhaustion when doing 24 hr on calls 9 months after having my first DC. Of course some things have changed. Whenever I think of a career change due to various frustrations, I cannot bring myself to leave medicine.

However, he can pick his speciality wisely. Some of my Med school friends are earning very well in private practice but not all specialities lend to this.

GP has given me a very flexible, rewarding career. However I am not the main breadwinner in our household. I would have had to be a lot more creative and have less work life balance if I wanted to earn more and even then I don't think I could match DH. Something to bear in mind as well

[Parker231]

@chopc - DH swapped from hospital to GP when we had DT’s to improve work v life balance. Being a hospital doctor didn’t work with our home life; with me also working full time (corporate finance not medicine) and a young family.

[Xenia]

My sibling is an NHS consultant and has certainly had a busy life including private work although as a London lawyer I don't think doctors necessarily work longer hours (nor than those in corporate finance in some of its forms for that matter), never mind those who don't work but look after their small children 24/7.

My uncle was the chief medical office of health or whatever it was called in those days of his area in England but emigrate to Tasmania to practise medicine when he as in his 40s, quite a brave move but they had a lovely life out there in some respects although he missed England and could not afford to move back when retired. We never got to go as air travel in the `1970s etc was far far too expensive. Even the once a year phone call there was something you saved up for.

[chopc]

True @Xenia . However if money is important I feel if you work in the financial sector or are a city lawyer - you have greater earning potential unless you are in a speciality of medicine that lends itself to lucrative private practice

[latedecember1963]

I think your DH's advice is very wise, Parker.
My brother in law studied medicine and specialised in Psychiatry. When my niece was decuding what to do at uni she thought she wanted to do medicine but also loved History. Her dad's advice was to do History and if she wanted to train as a doctor as a post grad they would support her. It's worked out really well for her.

[Haffdonga]

@En0lagay ds2 is doing medicine and now ds1 (a Chemistry grad) is also thinking of going for graduate entry med as well or just stacking supermarket shelves for ever Arghh.

I was quite anti ds2 doing it because I frankly thought he wouldn't enjoy the relentless 'people-ness' of it all but how wrong I was. He loves it. Of course it remains to be seen if he'll love it as a job once he's done the course.

Both did Chemistry, maths and biology A levels and ds2 feels for medicine those subjects have been the most useful and course related.

[latedecember1963]

En0laGay, my niece says A Levels in Chemistry and Maths are essential in her opinion.
She says this website is useful:
//Https://www.medschools.ac.uk/studying-medicine/making-an-application/entry-requirements?type=standard-entry-medicine
She also says med schools are increasingly looking at extra curricular interests to show a rounded individual.
She acknowledges it's tricky at the moment with C19, but work experience or voluntary work in a care/ medical setting also helps to give a flavour of what caring for patients looks like in different situations. It also gives a candidate something to talk about during an interview.

[ErrolTheDragon]

DD called, mainly talked about the proposed final exam arrangements - online, using some 'proctoring software' which had poor reviews and looked to require a lot of stable bandwidth, more than many students will have. Hers is fine for normal purposes but there are 4 engineers in her house so some of their exams will be at the same time which doesn't help! Hopefully the department will rethink, but if push comes to shove DH will fetch her here for the exams.

[Xenia]

My son in Bristol is certanly coming back here (i.e. coming back for Easter holidays when those start and staying here until his final exams for the course this year are over - I think about a week after Easter and then he is free until his new course starts in September not that there will be much my twins can do in this almost 5 months they will have off over the extended summer, probably last time they have 5 months off and I assume would have had all kinds of one in a life time trips abroad now not possible due to the CV19 restrictions and will not be possible ever because they will then be working for life etc. May be they can do a few exciting things over the summer - we shall see, Hopefully they won't have to be in our house 24.7 and one will definitely return to Bristol until their tenancy ends in mid July.

On exam arrangements everyone should read the rules carefully. The twins get swamped with emails on their course and since Sept every one of them is headed - something like "your new course at XYZ" and they get them for people at their organisation's centres all over the country even if not relevant to them so very hard to sort out which they have to read and which not. If they could be headed -"important email giving the rules for your online exams" it would be a lot easier.

[Xenia]

How is everyone doing? I think there is not much happening hence not much to post as people are all just working or doing the daily walk. Our family wedding is now in April no March, as the ban was not lifted on 8 March but 29 March - the guidance was initially wrong or something. The MP working on it said they had been working towards all weddings of 4 guests back on on 8 March but that seems to have been changed to 29 March. Not the end of the world but a total ban of over 3 months on all weddings even if just 2 present is a bit much.

My twins re just busy working on their law stuff. I think they are finding this term easier as they are into the swing of the particular course and had practice with the online exams etc.

[SMaCM]

DD is on to semester 2. She has booked a summer holiday with her uni friends. Hopefully it won't get cancelled. She phoned to check it was ok to be away on her birthday, which was quite sweet.

[Parker231]

DS has had his new passport back from the embassy so his future employer can now sort out his visa. He’s hoping to fit in a holiday first but I think an overseas holiday is unlikely.
He seems to have plenty of free time and not finding his Masters too difficult. It’s lovely having him at home. DH and I are enjoying his company. He’s had us laughing until we cry over dinner with his impressions of the online lectures. I’ve been for a run with him this morning - lovely in the sunshine although he is making me run further each week!

[Horsemad]

Not much to report here. DS quietly working away. He was a bit grumpy yesterday but not sure why.

Hopefully he'll be in a better mood today. I wish he'd get outside for a while each day, he just locks himself away in his room, only surfacing for food - that can't be good for him. All his friends are away in their uni cities, I feel a bit sorry for him really. 🤨

His dissertation will require a fair bit of outdoor work, so I'm hopeful he'll start to see daylight at some point... 🤞

[Xenia]

yes, that should help. My son who is at home has his best from school also at home not far from our house and doing the same course and another school friend working from home in his first graduate (accountancy) job so he does a distanced walk every day with the first one and sometimes a weekend online computer game with the other and also has long calls every day to his girl friend also doing a law conversion course never mind I think speaking to his twin in Bristol every day doing the same course.... althouygh I wish he kept my hours. I heard him at mid night and between 3 and 4 and it is the smell of his cooking that wakes me which seems to be about 3am most nights, then he goes to bed (I hear him opening his windows at the point he is going to sleep some nights) and then gets up for his 11am online live workshop - ) can hear him on one now. I am not particularly woken up and he is really quiet but I don't see he cannot go to bed at 11 and get up at a normal time.

[Horsemad]

Yes, why are students nocturnal?! 🙄 Both of mine do it, they're pretty quiet, granted but I'm still aware of them moving about.

[Parker231]

The only ‘ask’ I’ve made of DS whilst he’s home is that eats the evening meal with us and goes out each day for a run. The running club he and his friends have organised seems to be working well with them going with a different friend each day. They’re usually out for a couple of hours.

[readsalotgirl63]

Dd's graduation just been cancelled so she is very despondent - not sure how to cheer her up as it is all pretty grim still !

[Xenia]

I did photos at home of my twins in my old university gown, hood and mortar board which unusually I bought rather than hired back in the day.... and a rolled up piece of paper. We got out other grad pictures of siblings and of me to get the set up right. At least w have faked mock up from their summer 2020 graduations and I got back the full £600 I had paid in early 2020 for the hotel rooms which I booked for the graduations. I don't think they will ever get one now although one son thinks his department might have them in due course.