thinking of what i wanna do

im doing alevel math/bio/chem and im tryna think of which field i wanna get into:
-law(preferably corporate law, patent law?)
-medicine
-business/finance/banking
-STEM
I'm looking into getting work experience at a hospital to see if med is for me... In terms of STEM, ive realised I can't really apply for engineering courses beacuse they require physics, although some courses like biomed eng at KCL don't require physics...
Bearing in mind I'm in yr13 so i have my exams in less than a month and I don't want to take another a level during my gap yr, what courses would be suitable for me? Also, how emplyable are those fields(is job market saturated)? I'm also trilingual if it helps... Are there certain courses I should avoid? I've been advised not to get into humanities/non-STEM/finance/med unless its law...

Reply 1

username5706823

Original post by coolusername_03

I've been advised not to get into humanities/non-STEM/finance/med unless its law...

Who advised you? the person must've been very ignorant.

Reply 2

coolusername_03

Original post by Summer Bird

Who advised you? the person must've been very ignorant.

most of my classmates and my chem teacher

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 3

username5706823

Original post by coolusername_03

most of my classmates and my chem teacher

That explains it.. Teachers think that? yikes.
https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/a-level-explorer/biology/chemistry/mathematics?o=210
You can do plenty of courses with those A-levels but it's up to you to research and find what's suitable for you.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 4

Eigenvectorxyz

Original post by coolusername_03

most of my classmates and my chem teacher

Just do what you want to do. Don't let your classmates or teachers or even parents influence your decisions. From your A-Level subjects, medicine seems to be the most suited, but it doesn't mean you should do it. If you don't like it, don't do it.

Reply 5

ChichesterStuRep

Original post by coolusername_03

Hi @coolusername_03!

The best advice I can give you regarding what to do after a-levels is to choose a course that you're definitely passionate about. Choosing a course that may seem to have better career prospects or are perceived to be more "esteemed" might seem like a good idea, but degrees are roughly 3 years of your life, it's important to do something that you really enjoy. From my own experience as a uni student, I love media and that's why I did it at Chichester. But even so, there was some modules I did that I really didn't enjoy that much. I can only imagine how that would feel doing modules you don't enjoy, for a degree you aren't enjoying either.

Those who have advised you to stay away from non-stem courses might mean well, but it's likely they'll be saying that with their own pre-conceptions of those subjects. It's really important that you do your own research into what courses and universities you might like, because it's you who will be doing that degree. Each degree will have their own opportunities so it's hard to say if some are more employable than others, it all depends on your own career ambitions and what you choose to do with that degree.

Also, at University there should be careers teams there to provide advice and guidance to try and support you in finding those job opportunities, both during your studies and for after you graduate.

I hope this is helpful for you, if you have any other questions or would like some more advice then please feel free to ask - I'll be happy to help!

Tom :smile:

University of Chichester Student Rep and Alumni.

Reply 6

Mara1680

Original post by coolusername_03

Don't think about it only in terms of which job pays the best, is easiest to find, is most estimable etc. All of these field are difficult when you start applying them at degree level and higher. Some bits will bore you to death, I can promise you that. So you've got to think about whether you like that area enough to get through those tough moments, apply yourself to learn stuff you don't understand or don't find particularly interesting.
Do you have a particular goal in mind?
Do you prefer working in a team or by yourself?
Do you have good communication skills?

Additionally, university isn't the only path available. It isn't even the best one. For example, when it comes to engineering, apprenticeships are much more preferable and you would be able to apply with your A-levels.

Getting some work experience is a really great idea to see how you're doing in that particular environment.

And lastly, you can mix those fields to a certain degree. Especially med and engineering.

Reply 7

ThatguyAl

This is something I replied to someone asking similar questions:

There's plenty of advice on the internet in that regard I'm sure you're aware of that, so I'm just going to share what I did back when I was as confused as probably majority of people fresh out of school/college/uni are.

You need a plan and you need to remember that making up a plan is the easy bit, it's following that plan is what's hard.

First, establish what your long term career goal is. Like for real long - 20 years from now at least, what do you see yourself as, and why? Is it money, general job satisfaction, job security, ability to travel, being isolated from people or the opposite being in the centre of everyone's attention, etc. or maybe all of it together? Think of the type of work (physical, office, public, etc.), type of work environment, pace, time flexibility (wfh), pay and benefits, career prospects. Establish all of that before even thinking about the actual jobs that may fall into the categories.

Then when you figured out a number of options that are acceptable for you (not just the ones you'd love, but also the ones you won't hate), start working backward to present time. This will create your personal career plan, or plans if you have more than one goal, which is what I suggest you do. The more options - the higher chances one of them will drive your career without making your life miserable.

Don't just think about it, write it all down and give every choice your personal score. Use decision matrix, it's really helpful.

For example- "I can see myself a Boeing 747 pilot, because I love aircraft to bits, I'm very good at operating any type of machinery, I can control my emotions without much effort, I'm not afraid of big responsibilities, the job is very reputable, the pay is good and I'm okay with being away from home for long periods of time." What path do I take to become one? Well the average Boeing pilot has 1,500 hours of flight before they are considered for such job, therefore I'll need to have accumulated that amount of hours of flight with smaller jets which will take me about a year or two. Before that I'll need to clock in at least a few hundred hours on propeller planes so that's another year. Before that I need to finish flight school which may take 3-5 years. So overall it will take me around 7-10 years from now until becoming a Boeing 747 pilot. That's your career sorted.

To help understand what kind of options could be the ones you may like, it may help to establish what you don't like. For example, I personally hate repetitive tasks, therefore I excluded any environment or work that has more than 50% of it to be repetitive, therefore I'll never consider working an office admin job filling forms and excel spreadsheets all day. You get what I mean.

Also, remember that people start feeling more satisfied at work when they acquire certain level of skill for that function. With skill comes confidence, reputation, good pay, self sufficiency and therefore job satisfaction. Not the other way around.

I hope that helps, all the best,
Al