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What Careers Should I Consider?

Hi, I'm starting sixth form in September and I'm absolutely lost. I will be studying Biology, Psychology and History for my A Levels as I absolutely love those subjects and I think it gives me more choice for my future.

The problem is that I don't know what I want to do anymore. I was interested in Forensic Science and still am to an extent, but that would mean that I would have to consider replacing either Psychology or History with Chemistry. This would be an extremely difficult decision for me to make as I absolutely want to study Psychology and History. If Forensic Science is not an option, I want to do something related to crime investigation. I am not sure where my subjects are going to take me.

If neither of these options can get me near Forensic Science or Criminology as I would like to study one of those subjects in university in the future, what career path should I consider with the subjects I have chosen to do for my A Levels? Where will Biology, Psychology and History get me?

Thank you for any help you can offer. I will try to contact the sixth form and ask if I can study Chemistry as an extra subject as some students are able to study four subjects where I will be studying, but this might add extra stress into my life and I am uncertain as to what to do.
Reply 1
Original post by GoatWithAGoatee
Hi, I'm starting sixth form in September and I'm absolutely lost. I will be studying Biology, Psychology and History for my A Levels as I absolutely love those subjects and I think it gives me more choice for my future.

The problem is that I don't know what I want to do anymore. I was interested in Forensic Science and still am to an extent, but that would mean that I would have to consider replacing either Psychology or History with Chemistry. This would be an extremely difficult decision for me to make as I absolutely want to study Psychology and History. If Forensic Science is not an option, I want to do something related to crime investigation. I am not sure where my subjects are going to take me.

If neither of these options can get me near Forensic Science or Criminology as I would like to study one of those subjects in university in the future, what career path should I consider with the subjects I have chosen to do for my A Levels? Where will Biology, Psychology and History get me?

Thank you for any help you can offer. I will try to contact the sixth form and ask if I can study Chemistry as an extra subject as some students are able to study four subjects where I will be studying, but this might add extra stress into my life and I am uncertain as to what to do.


Even if you are super interested in history, are you interested in **history A level**? I'm a huge history nerd but didn't take the A level because they didn't offer the kinds of history I'm most interested in. Instead, I just read lots of history books in my spare time. Could keeping history as a hobby like that be an option for you?
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Original post by Etoile
Even if you are super interested in history, are you interested in **history A level**? I'm a huge history nerd but didn't take the A level because they didn't offer the kinds of history I'm most interested in. Instead, I just read lots of history books in my spare time. Could keeping history as a hobby like that be an option for you?


Exactly what I did, the course was nice and all but it wasn't worth doing an A level on
bro, I did history at AS after absolutely loving it at GCSE and i utterly despised it at college. I didn't get AS history, i got AS history of politics. Literally 90% of it was about 1800's legislation and political change, f****** dry as hell. Although the American unit was pretty good i wont lie. But like others have suggested, history at A level might'n be as cool as you think it will, just a heads up. enjoying it now really doesn't guarantee enjoying it next year, so if forensic science is something you really like, I personally wouldn't advise forsaking it for A level history. and it's a shame you're not allowed to pick four subjects, all of my a levels were linear but they still let me have 4 choices, weird.
(edited 6 years ago)
You could most certainly go into Forensic Psychology or Criminal Psychology?
http://www.seven-resourcing.com/criminal-justice/news/the-path-to-criminal-psychology-jobs-which-is-best/
https://careers.bps.org.uk/area/forensic/how-do-i-become-one

Slightly different pathways, but in both you need to do an accredited degree in Psychology and then a more specific Masters, and then usually there's a period of time where you are working but supervised, before you fully qualify.
Criminal psychologists may do research or may work in the prison service, giving therapy, assessing and working with offenders with psychological conditions.
Forensic psychologists are involved in courts and will give evidence in court cases, mental health tribunals, use research and psychological theory to aid criminal investigations, etc.

From psychology, you could also go into social work. One of my family's friends was a social worker and now works in a prison, dealing with welfare and families which are broken up/affected by/involved in a case with an offender.

You could also go into just Forensic Science from biology. The best route in my opinion is to do a degree in Biology/Biological Sciences and then a masters in Forensic Science (you'll see most big universities won't offer a Forensic Science bachelors degree). Then you'd be doing things like DNA profiling etc. http://forensicoutreach.com/library/5-reasons-you-shouldnt-take-a-forensics-bsc-and-what-you-should-do-instead/
You could just do a Forensic Science degree straight off but this can limit your options as very few universities offer it and they don't necessarily have the best reputations. You'd be up against someone with a masters in Forensic Science, who would have a much stronger, solid background with labwork etc, and more indepth Forensic knowledge.
Thank you for your responses, everyone; I reckon that I should consider replacing History with Chemistry then? That will be a painful choice, but I suppose some sacrifices must be made. I was looking forward to studying 20th Century Spain as well as 20th Century Russia, the Tudor period and more 20th Century Germany, but I am given the impression that it wouldn't be worth it in the end.

Alright, well it seems that I will have to contact the sixth form asking to change one of my subjects if I cannot find a way to study four subjects. Thank you for your help, everyone, I found your words very useful. Does anyone know if there are sometimes overlaps with the Biology and Chemistry A Levels? I believe they will be AQA courses, and it would make life a bit easier knowing that I can make connections with the subjects.
Original post by katiee987
You could most certainly go into Forensic Psychology or Criminal Psychology?
http://www.seven-resourcing.com/criminal-justice/news/the-path-to-criminal-psychology-jobs-which-is-best/
https://careers.bps.org.uk/area/forensic/how-do-i-become-one

Slightly different pathways, but in both you need to do an accredited degree in Psychology and then a more specific Masters, and then usually there's a period of time where you are working but supervised, before you fully qualify.
Criminal psychologists may do research or may work in the prison service, giving therapy, assessing and working with offenders with psychological conditions.
Forensic psychologists are involved in courts and will give evidence in court cases, mental health tribunals, use research and psychological theory to aid criminal investigations, etc.

From psychology, you could also go into social work. One of my family's friends was a social worker and now works in a prison, dealing with welfare and families which are broken up/affected by/involved in a case with an offender.

You could also go into just Forensic Science from biology. The best route in my opinion is to do a degree in Biology/Biological Sciences and then a masters in Forensic Science (you'll see most big universities won't offer a Forensic Science bachelors degree). Then you'd be doing things like DNA profiling etc. http://forensicoutreach.com/library/5-reasons-you-shouldnt-take-a-forensics-bsc-and-what-you-should-do-instead/
You could just do a Forensic Science degree straight off but this can limit your options as very few universities offer it and they don't necessarily have the best reputations. You'd be up against someone with a masters in Forensic Science, who would have a much stronger, solid background with labwork etc, and more indepth Forensic knowledge.


Thank you so much for your response, it was extremely helpful for me to consider which path to take. I think I will do a degree in Biology/Biological Sciences and then a master's degree in Forensic Science as other sources have recommended this to me as well. Of course, I will have to complete my A Level courses first.
I just noticed that the title of this forum has a grammatical error and that it should have been written as "Which Careers Should I Consider?", sorry everyone.

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