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Chemistry Vs Geography a level

I've been trying to decide which one to pick and I just want to know what are the benefits and consequences of each one.

Would really appreciate all advice and comments :smile:

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Original post by Priyanboss517
I've been trying to decide which one to pick and I just want to know what are the benefits and consequences of each one.

Would really appreciate all advice and comments :smile:


Which one do you enjoy?
Which one will you get the best grade in?
What do you intend to study at degree level and as a career? If its stem then Chemistry would keep options open. If not then it doesnt matter.
Obviously some careers relating to Geography would favour that.

Enjoyments and grades matter. If you are unsure then look at your chosen degree and see if either is required.
Reply 2
Original post by 999tigger
Which one do you enjoy?
Which one will you get the best grade in?
What do you intend to study at degree level and as a career? If its stem then Chemistry would keep options open. If not then it doesnt matter.
Obviously some careers relating to Geography would favour that.
I
Enjoyments and grades matter. If you are unsure then look at your chosen degree and see if either is required.


The thing is i enjoyed geography gcse lots and with chemistry I just didn't mind doing it and I thought in would benefit in the long run compared to geography. The grades were equal. And I'm looking for a science career.
Original post by Priyanboss517
The thing is i enjoyed geography gcse lots and with chemistry I just didn't mind doing it and I thought in would benefit in the long run compared to geography. The grades were equal. And I'm looking for a science career.


Hmm, what science career specifically?

Chemistry A Level is not "hmm, I don't mind it, I'll be fine", you need to be committed to it. You also need to be fairly competent in Maths.

I chose chemistry because "I didn't mind it". What a big mistake...
I do Geography now and I'm in a love/hate relationship with it - there is SO much work and content to learn but it does feel doable, it is enjoyable though as it's interesting, the content is so broad and the field trips are really good. I have friends who take Chemistry and have a pure hatred for it but can't drop it because they only do three, it is very maths and formula based which if it isn't your cup of tea, so to speak, I wouldn't go for it.
Use results day as a guide but don't go off it solely, and pick subjects you actually enjoy and that you can see yourself studying intensively for two years (or even more at uni). Obviously, if you are looking into a science based career/degree Chem does seem like the better option, but Geography is still classed (ish) as a science subject, especially when you look at the content in the Physical side of it.
Hope this was slightly helpful, I would say go for the ones you enjoy, I know you will have heard this before but the step up to A level is quite significant, so be prepared not to be getting the marks you would expect to begin with.
Reply 5
Original post by Priyanboss517
The thing is i enjoyed geography gcse lots and with chemistry I just didn't mind doing it and I thought in would benefit in the long run compared to geography. The grades were equal. And I'm looking for a science career.


What are your other subjects?

A science career in what field?
I wish I did geography AS now to provide a suitable comparison but as far as I can tell, chemistry is less work but the concepts are a lot harder to graph than geography's. Whether geography exams are harder or not will be down to your extended writing skills which is in geography but not chemistry. You do have to be fairly calculate for chemistry but it's not "all" formulas and the maths is actually very simple in comparison to maths a-level and even physics.
I do Geography A level and its also a difficult A-level.
1) Do you enjoy the subject?
this sounds obvious, but A Levels are TOUGH, and you don't wanna be studying for 1/2 years of a subject you don't feel passionate about, it just won't pan out well

2) Do you want to go in to STEM?
TAKE THIS SUBJECT, alongside one other science, if possible, Chemistry opens all sorts of doors for many many STEM degrees, but again, to each their own. I'd highly advise taking this with Mathematics if you are. If you are already taking 2 sciences, disregard this.

3) In terms of specialty vs generalism
As a GCSE student of Geography (and probably yourself) and one who has seen the syllabus, Geography prepares you to learn about more of a variety of topics and subjects, even socio-economics and demographic, tourism, etc, may play a role, this gives you a broader understanding of the world around you. Albeit at A Level it will be pretty in depth.

Wheras Chemistry is a lot more specialised, so if you liked it at GCSE, you'll love it at A Level, there's less variation (obviously there will be variation but less so than Geog), so you can focus.

Like I said, it's a culmination of future field and general enjoyment factor.
Well, your personal strengths and preferences aside, few Geography courses explicitly require Geography, although many consider it useful to have taken. Conversely, all Chemistry, Medicine, Dentistry, and Vet Med courses, most biomolecular oriented Bioscience courses (e.g. Biomedical Sciences, Biochemistry, Genetics, Neurobiology etc, etc.), and many Chemical Engineering/Materials Science/Bio-engineering courses require Chemistry. It's certainly useful even for those courses above that don't explicitly require it, and somewhat handy for e.g. Physics or other Engineering disciplines not mentioned above.

So, Chemistry certainly opens up a lot of options. However, if you're not interested in any of those areas, and are likely to do better in Geography, that's probably a better option. An A in Geography is better than a C in Chemistry at the end of the day. Is there a reason to not take both? Taking both Geography and Chemistry, alongside another science for example, would be a good background for most Earth Sciences type courses (including e.g. Geology, Oceanography, Environmental Science etc).
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Priyanboss517
The thing is i enjoyed geography gcse lots and with chemistry I just didn't mind doing it and I thought in would benefit in the long run compared to geography. The grades were equal. And I'm looking for a science career.


Youve got lots of good answers so I will pass.

When you ask a question and if you want a decent answer then do try and provide all relevant details rather than people having to drag the information out of you.
Reply 11
Original post by BTAnonymous
Hmm, what science career specifically?

Chemistry A Level is not "hmm, I don't mind it, I'll be fine", you need to be committed to it. You also need to be fairly competent in Maths.

I chose chemistry because "I didn't mind it". What a big mistake...


See originally because I loved geography I thought I would go into something about earth sciences however this wouldn't be a long term job and the more viable option to go is something like electrical engineering, although I can not do physics but I don't know if a level chemistry electronics and math would be good enough.
Reply 12
Original post by CheekyAlice
I do Geography now and I'm in a love/hate relationship with it - there is SO much work and content to learn but it does feel doable, it is enjoyable though as it's interesting, the content is so broad and the field trips are really good. I have friends who take Chemistry and have a pure hatred for it but can't drop it because they only do three, it is very maths and formula based which if it isn't your cup of tea, so to speak, I wouldn't go for it.
Use results day as a guide but don't go off it solely, and pick subjects you actually enjoy and that you can see yourself studying intensively for two years (or even more at uni). Obviously, if you are looking into a science based career/degree Chem does seem like the better option, but Geography is still classed (ish) as a science subject, especially when you look at the content in the Physical side of it.
Hope this was slightly helpful, I would say go for the ones you enjoy, I know you will have heard this before but the step up to A level is quite significant, so be prepared not to be getting the marks you would expect to begin with.


Thanks for the advice, that's what I purely loved, the physical side of geography but for a job in long term I'm kinda doubting it that's why I'm in a dilemma.
Reply 13
Original post by Doonesbury
What are your other subjects?

A science career in what field?


Initially I wanted to go into something with earth sciences with geography but for a long term job in the future it doesn't seem the best option so that's why I'm considering electrical engineering which seems more viable. my other subjects that I'm thinking of taking is maths and electronics, that's if I go down the electrical engineering route.
Reply 14
Original post by black1blade
I wish I did geography AS now to provide a suitable comparison but as far as I can tell, chemistry is less work but the concepts are a lot harder to graph than geography's. Whether geography exams are harder or not will be down to your extended writing skills which is in geography but not chemistry. You do have to be fairly calculate for chemistry but it's not "all" formulas and the maths is actually very simple in comparison to maths a-level and even physics.


Thanks for the advice.
Reply 15
Original post by AryanGh
1) Do you enjoy the subject?
this sounds obvious, but A Levels are TOUGH, and you don't wanna be studying for 1/2 years of a subject you don't feel passionate about, it just won't pan out well

2) Do you want to go in to STEM?
TAKE THIS SUBJECT, alongside one other science, if possible, Chemistry opens all sorts of doors for many many STEM degrees, but again, to each their own. I'd highly advise taking this with Mathematics if you are. If you are already taking 2 sciences, disregard this.

3) In terms of specialty vs generalism
As a GCSE student of Geography (and probably yourself) and one who has seen the syllabus, Geography prepares you to learn about more of a variety of topics and subjects, even socio-economics and demographic, tourism, etc, may play a role, this gives you a broader understanding of the world around you. Albeit at A Level it will be pretty in depth.

Wheras Chemistry is a lot more specialised, so if you liked it at GCSE, you'll love it at A Level, there's less variation (obviously there will be variation but less so than Geog), so you can focus.

Like I said, it's a culmination of future field and general enjoyment factor.


Thanks for the advice! And that's where I'm stuck at. I enjoy geography more but I don't mind chemistry.The reason being that jobs with geography doesn't seem so good where as going into electrical engineering perhaps might be a more sustainable job in the future. See I'm passionate with geography but logic is chemistry (with electronics and maths a level). That's why I'm stuck :/
Reply 16
Original post by Priyanboss517
See originally because I loved geography I thought I would go into something about earth sciences however this wouldn't be a long term job and the more viable option to go is something like electrical engineering, although I can not do physics but I don't know if a level chemistry electronics and math would be good enough.


You need physics not chemistry for EE.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 17
Original post by artful_lounger
Well, your personal strengths and preferences aside, few Geography courses explicitly require Geography, although many consider it useful to have taken. Conversely, all Chemistry, Medicine, Dentistry, and Vet Med courses, most biomolecular oriented Bioscience courses (e.g. Biomedical Sciences, Biochemistry, Genetics, Neurobiology etc, etc.), and many Chemical Engineering/Materials Science/Bio-engineering courses require Chemistry. It's certainly useful even for those courses above that don't explicitly require it, and somewhat handy for e.g. Physics or other Engineering disciplines not mentioned above.

So, Chemistry certainly opens up a lot of options. However, if you're not interested in any of those areas, and are likely to do better in Geography, that's probably a better option. An A in Geography is better than a C in Chemistry at the end of the day. Is there a reason to not take both? Taking both Geography and Chemistry, alongside another science for example, would be a good background for most Earth Sciences type courses (including e.g. Geology, Oceanography, Environmental Science etc).


Thanks for the advice. And if I could I would pick both howeve my school decided to screw me over by putting both subjects in the same option block so...yeah. I'm equal in grades for both subjects and I love the physical side of geography however for jobs in the future it might not seem so good that's why I'm doubting geography, where as chemistry might benefit more.
Reply 18
Original post by Doonesbury
You need physics not chemistry for EE.

Posted from TSR Mobile


Yeah I know but if really am not good with physics but they don't mind electronics a level with maths and that's why I'm trying to substitute it with chemistry.
Reply 19
Original post by 999tigger
Youve got lots of good answers so I will pass.

When you ask a question and if you want a decent answer then do try and provide all relevant details rather than people having to drag the information out of you.


Aha thanks, what a levels would I need to pick to go into something that's in the physical side of geography?

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