Help with finding career path?

[ZingyBlueShark]

Hi. I’m wondering if anyone could give me guidance on finding a career path. I’m 23, did very well in GCSEs but flopped a levels badly due to personal struggles at the time.

I’ve since just worked in hospitality, but I want to do something more meaningful and that I know I have the ability for. I have good analytical skills. I get on with most people but I wouldn’t say I’m a huge ‘people person’. I’m interested in medical based / healthcare fields but I’m not good at maths which concerns me. I wouldn’t be keen on working with (young) children. In the past I have had a strong aptitude for humanities subjects. I strongly considered vet nursing and thought this would be a good fit for me but apparently this industry is terrible. I’ve looked into apprenticeships but haven’t found anything that interests me so far. I really want to get some further education to increase my opportunities but I have been warned against pursing this without an end career in mind.

As a side note, I really worry that my poor A levels / gap in education would affect my employment prospects.

Bump

Would any of the allied health professions be of interest? Eg, radiotherapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy? Or would you want to be a nurse or a doctor? A lot of people who think they are not good at maths just lack confidence. You could look at an Access course in healthcare which will prepare you for university. I know someone who became a doctor through this pathway.

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/ try exploring this website and taking a skills assessment and see what that tells you. Take it as a bit more information, rather than absolute gospel. If you are an AI user, you can also ask it to act as a careers coach and take you through an assessment/session.

In your shoes and at your age I would be trying to get my foot in the door in a public sector organisation - NHS, Civil Service, Council, College or University at entry level. It really doesn't matter which role, just getting in is the first goal. Once you are in, work hard, go on all training, look at secondments, get mentor and just experiment with what might suit you. I think this will help you learn very quickly what you do and don't like.

There are a few health related occupational that don't need A-levels or degrees. How about Blood donation assistant? Or a health/maternity care assistant? My brother is a senior carer with adults with physical disabilities. He went into caring without any qualifications, a bit of voluntary work at an old people's home and then trained on the job until he got to senior carer. He earms a decent wage (more than my husband who has a degree!)

Your local library will be able to direct you to a careers service who can help you think about options. But don’t worry too much about what other people think of industries like healthcare. So much of work is about steps not whole paths. You don’t have to choose a whole career, just the right general direction.

This is great advice. There are lots of civil service jobs that (at entry level) will have similar salaries to hospitality, but sooo many options to grow/develop/switch it up. Just try something and see if you like it and learn about what colleagues do so you know what’s out there!

Also the applications ask you questions rather than request a CV which will benefit you if you’ve got career gaps or less relevant experience. Without a levels/a degree you will struggle to compete with grads for entry level corporate jobs - if you’re not having any luck after 6 months you may want to look at college/upskilling.

www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi

Would you consider dentistry?

If you'd be interested in going to university you could look into applying for an Access course which is for people who didnt get alevels, and gets them into uni. The course is a year long I believe and usually gives guarenteed access to a degree at the uni you do the access course at.