16 year old making poor career choices

[Tulipsdaffodil]

I’m a single mum to 16 year old DD. She is very bright and likely to get 8 and 9s in her GCSEs this summer. Her strengths are her sciences, maths and English. Her tutors all suggest sixth form doing A levels in these subjects to give her a wide career choice. She is unsure of what she wants to do as a career.

Instead she is determined to go to college and do A levels in subjects that leave her with no career options other than possibly the police. She is copying her best friend and her choices rather than making her own. She seems unwilling to think beyond college as to how to earn a decent living with a good job. The college will be an hours commute each way for her which will limit the time she would have available to get a job alongside studying, maybe in a pub waitressing.

I can see her making career choices that will not work for her long term, ending up with A levels in subjects that are no use to her. She is a very intelligent, caring and articulate girl who could have lots of options open to her if she picked her next steps carefully but she won’t listen to me or her tutors.

Any advice on how to get through to her over the next six months?

Looking back now, I wish I'd done Sociology and psychology instead of chemistry and maths. I hadn't realised that my healthcare related course regarded them equally (They did insist on biology).

Career wise with her choices careers that spring to mind would be, clinical psychology, law, forensics, youth work, social work, counsellor, therapist, mental health nurse, occupational therapist, probation worker, wellbeing practitioner, strategic planner... or she could use the UCAS points for something completely different.

She might find that she needs extra subjects, or access courses along the way, but thats OK she has plenty of time to make those decisions, the courses she did at A level won't determine her whole future.

I did what others have suggested and got several prospectus sent to me. Then gave them to DD, she looked at the degrees she found interesting and then looked at what A levels she would need to do those degrees. She made an effort to combine what she was interested in, what subjects she enjoyed, and yes there was an element of where her friends were going too.

There is also a good website www.whatuni.com where she can input her A levels and it will show what degree's others with the same A levels did. I have found it really useful for deciding A levels and chosing Universities.

If you continue to push her she will retaliate and won't bother, I really don't understand pushy Mum's

I tell my kids they can do whatever job they want when they are adults as long as they are happy!!

We march on.
The problem in this case is that the op’s dd does not seem to be thinking about what will make her happy as an adult (plus not every teen can predict that... I certainly didn’t). She is making her decision based mainly on what her friend is doing, which may or may not make her happy for 2 years.
The op does not come across as pushy. She has a legitimate concern that her dd is making choices based on poor rationale (and maybe not enough discussion)

I did Psychology, Media Studies and a language at A Level twenty five years ago - these are not "new subjects offered to less academic pupils". They are probably the most important and fascinating subjects I've ever studied. If it were up to me I'd put media studies on the curriculum from KS2 onwards. I went onto university and a job in a traditional profession.

Also if a career option DDs are interested in is available through apprenticeship with further study, then I'd be delighted if they wanted to go down that route. University is not the only choice for a successful working life.

I did half an A level before I lost interest and worked in a shop for a while. I had zero idea what I wanted to do 'when I grew up' and the thought of picking and planning a career at 16 was an unquantifiable task. I'm now 31 and just about to finish an art degree and apply for a masters. Pease leave her be and let her make her own decisions, the more you push her, the less attention she will pay.

Social worker
Fast track civil service
The Police
Public health management
Data analysis
Marketing
Psychologist

Just careers I think won't go away. I'd suggest she adds Business Studies, Economics, Maths, or History.

You study crime as part of Sociology. Similarly you could look at the psychology of criminal behaviour.

I think the issue might be that three very similar subjects won't challenge her enough. I did Sociology a language and English.

AIBU to take away DS's internet?

My almost 17 DS has quit college and spends all of his time shut in his bedroom on the internet watching videos or playing games. It has got to the stage where he is sleeping most of the day and staying up all night. He and is unwilling to even look for a job. He seems so unhappy and seems to have lost touch with his school friends, but I just can't seem to reach him. Today I took his internet access away but my DP thinks I'm being out of order (he spends a lot of his free time online!) Please help a desperate Mum!!!

Sorry I didn't mean to post on your thread!!!

I knew when I opened this thread the subjects you’d mention!

DD has chosen similar.

I want her to pick things she’s good at and will enjoy - life’s too short to be bored for two years doing something you don’t want or enjoy. Plus college is different from 6th form.

DD has looked at UCAS points and knows what she needs to do to go to university

I think they sound like great, engaging subjects. So many possible careers. If she's into Psychology she could become a clinical/educational/occupational/prison psychologist amongst many others.

I think kids do need a bit of direction tbh. I was left to do what I fancied and came through HE without a career plan, got a job I could have got at 16, still dithering on at 42, albeit with decent pay but no proper vocation and I've hit a low ceiling.

I was like your DD in just following someone and did what my brother did, he had no plan either.

A-level does set you down a certain path, if you don't take science, that's a load of science careers off the table.

I wish someone had pushed me a bit and opened my eyes to options. Is work experience somewhere an idea for her to help think of life beyond sixth form?

You misunderstand the subjects. They’re all fantastic critical thinking, academic writing subjects that will create a real understanding of how to do research, how to really think and process information. Both involve maths and statistics. The sociology A level is more challenging in practice then history, and yet is still thought of as ‘not a real subject’. It’s maddening.

I studied sociology at a top 10 uni, it was heavily statistics and research methods based. Many people did a sociology and criminology combined degree, though I didn’t. Uni colleagues now work in research and data analysis, pharmaceutical sales, marketing, civil service, HR... clearly the police is not the only option!

Sociology is also a science - the science of society, which is rather important as things go. My bachelor of science will attest to that.

It would be fine if these were her choices but if she's just following her friend they seem too similar to me, and a bit limiting if she's not sure what she wants to study at university. Can you ask one of her teachers to talk to her?

Loads of people change career after uni, lots of my mates are on £40k+ age 23 in finance but they did history, I have friends who did geography and russian who are journalists..

Also I have friends who did all three of those subjects at Uni - the psychology student is now doing her MA, the sociology student is a primary school teacher and the criminology student works for a major water company.

You have a strange opinion about what academic subjects are around.

Also, my mum forced me to do a science a level (I got all A's in science at GCSE) and i fucking bombed it. I got a U because I didn't want to do it and it was hard. I would've been better off doing the course I wanted and passing well.
Luckily I had 3 other A results and so now have an MA... and have never needed a science.

She's only 16! Her decisions now don't have to determine the rest of her life, she can change track later if she wants to. I left school with 4 GCSEs, gained more qualifications via college and employment courses and changed career track twice. I now have 2 undergrad degrees and a post grad qualification. One degree I obtained while a single mum in my 30's

Various friends of mine now working in professions that require extensive qualifications, left school at 16 with minimal even no qualifications. The one who left with no qualifications is now a barrister.

My dd now 18 left school earlier than is usual now, with a few (good) Nats and highers. She's since gained further qualifications via college and is looking to possibly do a career that requires a degree, no reason why she can't.

What A levels is she doing? Is she intending to enter straight after a levels or do graduate entry? Or do a degree while in the police? (All possible, my brother did the latter he's currently working on a masters).

Ok so criminology, sociology and psychology. All good solid subjects, off the top of my head I would have thought (would need to check) that these could also lead into careers in forensic science, social work, therapy, youth worker, prison service, probation service, lawyer, insurance assessor, court reporter, young offenders worker, careers adviser, public relations, diversity policy worker, SALT, early years child care, teaching, psychiatric nursing,... There's loads!

A simple addition of a pure science
⁃ biology or chemistry - would mean she could go into paramedics

This is not a disaster.

Now I read you trained after leaving school too. So you know it can be done, and my understanding is vet nurse training is pretty tough.

My brothers A levels are in English, history and biology! He chose to do a sociology undergraduate degree and is currently (I think) doing a masters on social policy? He'd thought law or criminology would be more relevant (as I did initially) but was advised by his then boss to do this as more applicable and once he started it he saw it made sense.

A quick Google shows that apparently starting next year new recruits will be required to have or be working towards a degree anyway if I'm England/Wales and I can see that becoming the case in Scotland too.

This 'new' friend is it some kind of crush or limerence thing? I'm saying this gently op but might she have fallen for this 'friend'? Forget the A-level issue as others have said there are many paths to many careers.... I'd be more interested in finding out why it's so important she's with this friend and in the same classes.....