DS is going into year 13 and going round in circles about what he should be doing next year.
Ultimately he’s interested in a career in the built environment/real estate world. He’s particularly interested in big building projects like the redevelopment or regeneration of cities/areas; sustainable design; impact of design on how we live and quality of life etc.
He started off this year leaning towards architecture but it’s so competitive. As he’s not doing Art he has limited material for a portfolio so I have concerns about whether he’ll get in and tbh how he’d cope on the course. Have read some horror stories about 60 +hour weeks. I’m just not sure how well he’d cope with that week in week out.
He’s doing DT, Geography and Maths A-levels. Whilst he hasn’t had his predicted grades yet I would expect them to be DT (A*/A), Geography (A), Maths (B) However that B could easily be a C on a bad day!
So we’ve started researching alternative degrees / careers and routes in to this type of work. He’s particularly interested in the design side. Ultimately he would love to be part of the team coming up with the designs for new big projects.
Does anyone have any experience in this area and can offer any advice? Does he need to do architecture to end up in a role like this. Or would an Urban Design/ urban planning degree lead him there too?
Or would he be looked on more favourably by employers if he had a broader undergraduate degree (ie geography) and then did a specialised Masters?
Where do planning degrees fit in with all this?
When I was at university (a lifetime ago) Town Planning was seen as an “easy” degree. Unfairly I’m sure. But is that still the case now? Or within the industry are they seen as good qualifications to have. I hope that doesn’t offend anyone - am just keen to explore all options for DS and give him the best advice.
If anyone has any experience of degrees in this area I’d be really grateful.