Degrees which are in demand, good graduate schemes etc.

[jennylamb1]

Wondering which university degrees lead into good careers. My son is keen on history and geography, however is also getting good reports for science, although he is not super keen on maths. We have been encouraged to look at 6th form colleges options as part of supporting him in choosing his GCSEs. A local 6th form college strongly recommends taking A level maths if choosing a physics A level which I'm not sure he'll enjoy. He loves history but apart from generic 'any degree' graduate schemes it doesn't seem to lead him directly into a job. Given the cost of going through university we are keen to know a bit more about potential post-graduation destinations.

History and geography are both good TBF. Try and go to a good university though.

Maths really is needed for physics and most engineering type degrees. If he doesn't love maths, A level will be tricky.

Best do what he enjoys. Geography and History degrees both teach loads of transferable skills which will lead to graduate opportunities beyond the confined of the subject if that's what he wants.

Re-reading your OP @jennylamb1 - I assume your DS is about to sit GCSEs and it's A levels you are helping him choose, not GCSEs as stated?
If he is picking GCSEs then don't worry about A levels and degrees at this stage!

If I was Ur DS and I liked these subjects. I would try and go to the best unis for these subjects

If he’s in Y8/9 the thing that matters most is picking the options he’ll enjoy most and therefore get better grades in - I wouldn’t be too stressed about graduate destinations at this stage!

Thank you! He does love history and geography to a lesser extent. He has additional needs and we would like him to go to the University of Southampton since he could be at home. He has OCD and autism and living away from home might be an issue and of course it would save a great deal of money. History at Southampton is well-regarded I understand. I know I'm thinking a long way ahead, however good to have a general plan. :)

Southampton is a perfectly good university

Hi, OP.

Former Russell Group STEM admissions tutor here, in strong agreement with @Bunnyannesummers for the second time today.

With the best will in the world, many DPs push their DC towards my subject for employability reasons. It often backfires, sometimes spectacularly.

Students do best when they are happy and self motivated. A good degree from Southampton - a fine university indeed - in History or Geography and a record of UG engagement (volunteering, involvement with uni clubs, summer employment, an internship if possible - but these are super competitive in his fields and everyone knows that - etc) position your DS for a good start professionally.

I agree 100% that doing Physics A level without Maths is a bad idea. The mathematically motivated and gifted can sometimes fill in what they are missing. Doing it because you dislike Maths is daft and puts you at a disadvantage compared to the other candidates.

Best wishes to your DS

Thank you all, especially Poetryandwine. Yes, we are very much into supporting him in his choice and I think history/geography is the way to go. He loves playing online strategy games such as Medieval and trips to the Royal Armouries/anything to do with military history. Also enjoys geography, particularly field trips. I work at Southampton and also did my BA and MA there and I'm still impressed by the quality of teaching, so I'm sure that he would enjoy it.

apart from generic 'any degree' graduate schemes it doesn't seem to lead him directly into a job

The majority of students aren't studying subjects that 'lead them directly into a job'. Generic 'any degree graduate schemes' provide perfectly acceptable careers! At this stage, let him study what he's good at and what he enjoys.

Thanks OMG, it seems a very different landscape from when I did my degree, which also didn't lead directly into a job but which I enjoyed hugely. There weren't any tuition fees then and I was fortunate enough to get a full grant, but now the financial debt that students are saddled with does give parents more pause for thought I think.

Firstly he should choose the GCSE that he will do best in, usually correlates with the subjects that he enjoys the most (in reality there’s usually very little choice after doing the various compulsory subjects)

Secondly, this is far too early to be thinking about A levels - some kids peak at GCSE, others (mine included) didn’t really get going till A levels. Any decisions made on the basis of their GCSE results would have seriously under played their actual skill and potential. A level choices will hang on their GCSE grades and different 6th form settings will have their own requirements for pursuing an A level. Bear in mind also that there may be A level subjects that are new to the students such as Economics, Sociology, Psychology and Politics which may open up different degree considerations. One of my kids chose their degree subject based on a new subject started at A level and that has directly led to their current career path.

Thirdly, if not pursuing something vocational or scientific, geography is widely regarded as a really good generalist degree and employability stats are extremely high out of RG universities.

My son did both GCSE and A Level History and Geography. His great passion has always been military history for as long as I can remember.
He is currently studying History and War Studies at York St John and loving the course and uni life. Maybe worth you and your son looking into similar courses down south.

DS2 is doing a Geography degree at Uni of Notts. He has no career path but is enjoying the degree.

Look at degree apprenticeships too. More available these days eg.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-social-research-degree-apprenticeship-programme

My middle one did a geog degree then graduate scheme. However he could have done a degree apprenticeship with same company and got to the same level more quickly (and would have been richer).

Thank you, yes I do think history and geography are useful degrees, geography especially given climate change and the impact on the environment/infrastructure etc.

Geography can lead to well paid careers, not sure history can.

Worth thinking a bit about the long term career.

I agree target GCSEs that they will score well in to get the A-Level college they want/need.

Don't fixate to much on grades though, B (in old money) and above is fine. A mix that opens career doors is key. I say that as a B grade student who got a 2:2 at uni and now earns just shy of 140k. The willingness to keep going , confidence and resilience, common sense and ability to apply logic are hugely important soft skills from an employment perspective.

PS I did music, English Lit, biology and business as A Level and went into urban planning. I now design villages.

Have a think about how AI is going to affect the job markets. It seems likely that maths and computer type jobs will mostly be done by AI in the future.

It’s much better to do a degree he’ll enjoy rather than pick a subject because it might look good on paper to an employer. Work experience is the most important thing now I would say.

I work in accountancy and my colleagues have degrees in all sorts! History, geography, economics, and civil engineering, maths.

I think his dream job would be to design villages! Yes my partner talks a lot about AI, I read recently that a lot of artists eg Damien Hirst have concerns/involvement in the issue of the AI production of art.

amp.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/21/we-need-to-come-together-british-artists-team-up-to-fight-ai-image-generating-software

For designing villages, look at Town planning, or architects/graphic design if he's more of a drawer.

Best of luck.

I'm a historian now but had a very lucrative career in a city accountancy firm pre DC and a lot of the lawyers I worked with on clients' affairs had history degrees. It teaches you to assimilate a lot of information quickly, draw conclusions and marshall arguments/defend positions. A good history degree from a good university is going to stand him in good stead.

I would just warn that Southampton is very good for history and has quite high entrance criteria.

If he likes military history then it might also be worth looking at war studies as a pp mentioned.

Not sure if Southampton does planning. You can go on to be a planner after a geography degree though. Housing is designed by architects but maths is desirable for architecture. Southampton does Civil Engineering and Architecture but maths will be needed and possibly physics too.

Many history grads go on to do law. Or he could start a law degree. History is a good A level for that.

Geography can lead to well paid careers, not sure history can.

They have the same short term grad salary - average of £34k.

I would guess that with both of those subjects, it's less about the subject itself, and more about the demographics of people who study them. It will be very rare that a 21 year old graduate will be talking much about their actual degree subject in an interview or application. Even at that age, it's going to be more about part-time and summer jobs, extra-curriculars, internships and volunteering. The typical history or geography student is likely to come from a background conducive to that, and also a greater awareness and confidence towards the world of professional work. i.e. they are more middle-class subjects these days.

So basically, don't confuse correlation with causation. Look at what employers are actually assessing applicants on (it's not usually bachelor's degree subject). Or don't - just nurture his confidence, passions and work ethic, and let him work it out as he goes. If he suddenly decides later that he desperately wants to pursue a line of work that he hasn't got the necessary qualifications for, he will find a way.