A level subject too soft??

Don't think of any subject as "soft". It all depends what you want to study at Uni and what career you want.

Young people are being literally brainwashed into thinking only STEM subjects matter. True, we need more scientists engineers etc but with the government hell bent on alluding to some creative arts subjects as being "soft" there will come a time in the next 5-10 years when we will have a shortage of English teachers, psychologists and we already have a dire shortage of social workers willing to stick around in their job, due to severe funding cuts and lack of support.

My son has just done an A level in Drama. Believe me, that subject can never be classed as soft when you see what went into it which included public speaking, debating, constructive argument etc. In fact when employers came into 6th form to do mock interviews for jobs etc it was the Drama students who performed the best as they knew how to talk and present themselves properly.

Whatever you want to do go for it! And don't let anyone belittle the subjects you take.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 2

Asolare

20

English Lit is one of the most 'difficult' A-Levels you can do and is incredibly facilitating. Psychology and Sociology, not so much.

But it really does come down to what you want to do at university, and in most cases these subjects are't going to be the be-all and end-all providing you have a strong PS with clear commitment to the subject you're applying for.

Reply 3

English Lit is a hard A level. But psychology and sociology are not. They are soft A levels which require much less work both inside and outside the classroom. They also open up a narrower selection of careers post 18 and are not considered to be facilitating A Levels by universities. Take them by all means, if they apply to your future career ambitions, but don't if you aren't sure what you want to do.

Reply 4

Cubone-r

Original post by zara_xo6

Ive finished my gcse and ive chosen my A level subjects but looking at other forums and websites i feel as though my subjects are considered "soft". Help?
English Literature
Psychology
Sociology

You have most likely read threads written by 17 year old A level students who are bent on studying STEM and not actual statements from teachers/academics/researchers/lecturers/employers, etc.

No field of study is "soft".

I studied psychology and sociology at A level and am now pursuing a career in the field of eyewitness memory. Study what you enjoy and/or need to for your chosen career; that's all you need to do.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 5

somemightsay888

20

English Lit being soft lmao
English Lit is one of the hardest. The whole "Oh it's your interpretation, you just have to justify it and it's fine" goes out the window.
There's right and wrong and if you don't get the meaning of say, a metaphysical poem, you're ****ed cos you'll have to write a couple of pages of bs. It's honestly one of the more shocking GCSE to A Level transitions. All your A Levels complement each other well too, they're fine.

Reply 6

mollyjoy1998

It depends on what you class as soft. But there's no point in doing science based subjects if you don't like them, most people I know that have taken them just to look good have failed spectacularly.
Pretty sure Lit is a facilitated subject so universities want students to have done an A-Level of that difficulty. And in some cases Psychology can be classed as a science subject, but only some universities regard it as so, you'll have to have a look to find out. The only subject there I'd say is the most "soft" is Sociology, but that's only because I found it quite easy at GCSE - which in reality means nothing when A-Levels are completely different to GCSE.
At the end of the day, as long as you do subjects you enjoy and are related to what you want to do in the future, then it doesn't really matter. And when uni is concerned, it's pretty rare for people to not get a place as long as you get your target grades.

Reply 7

username2571271

18

Lol no

Take this from someone who took A-level Travel and Tourism :lol:

And even with that, I still got 2 offers from Russel Group unis, so this whole hard and soft subject stuff is rubbish
As long as you're studying a) a subject you enjoy or b) a subject that will help you access the career your after, then it doesnt matter :h:

Reply 8

Cubone-r

Original post by RBP_98

English Lit is a hard A level. But psychology and sociology are not. They are soft A levels which require much less work both inside and outside the classroom. They also open up a narrower selection of careers post 18 and are not considered to be facilitating A Levels by universities. Take them by all means, if they apply to your future career ambitions, but don't if you aren't sure what you want to do.

What evidence do you have that psychology and sociology A level require much less work?

Reply 9

Bernadette04

Original post by Reality Check

I couldn't agree with this post more. Where do they get this from...! What the hell has happened in this country when we weren't looking that has resulted in students thinking that English Lit is 'soft' (whatever that means) and it's essentially STEM or bust.

What a mess... :frown:

I am hearing it all the time from students and young people in England especially. I think it's because the creative arts are disappearing from the English curriculum in favour of the Ebacc.

Th government education policy on a much narrower curriculum is pushing teachers into nudging students towards maths and science subjects. Many MPs have been vocal on "soft"subjects. and Michael Gove as Ed Sec positively insisted English, Drama, Art, Music, should be put to one side while STEM subjects should be pursued. As you well know this will result in a lack of skills and a shortage of creative arts people further down the line.

Providing non questioning, zero hours contract accepting, graduates in non graduate jobs, seems to be the aim of the current government. Everyone knows those in the creative arts will question at every opportunity if they see injustice.

I live in Wales where our government has refused to go the way of England and we have arts teachers flocking for jobs here. We have EMA, a grant system for Uni and all subjects are valued equally. I really do fear for the next crop of young people thinking their chosen subjects are in some way "soft" and unworthy. It really shouldn't be this way and it is shameful to see an English education policy not fit for purpose where only £££££ talks.

Reply 10

Candlewood

I know people doing psychology and sociology who found it really hard, so I wouldn't consider it a soft subject.
As for English, in my opinion that's one of the hardest courses out there.

Reply 11

Original post by Cubone-r

What evidence do you have that psychology and sociology A level require much less work?

-The 30 people I know who have done these subjects and what they have told me about the difficulty and how much work they have put in
-The fact that the teachers at my school teaching these subjects failed their a levels just 5 years ago (how hard can it be if these people are now teaching A level?)
-The fact that neither are seen as facilitating A levels by universities (why might that be?)

I have nothing against these subjects and if you want to do something that requires them/ you enjoy them/ you find actual sciences too difficult, then please do take them. But don't pretend that they are as academically challenging as maths, physics, chemistry, history, English lit etc

Reply 12

Original post by Candlewood

I know people doing psychology and sociology who found it really hard, so I wouldn't consider it a soft subject.
As for English, in my opinion that's one of the hardest courses out there.

Maybe they aren't very bright?

Reply 13

DustToDust

6

Original post by RBP_98

English Lit is a hard A level. But psychology and sociology are not. They are soft A levels which require much less work both inside and outside the classroom. They also open up a narrower selection of careers post 18 and are not considered to be facilitating A Levels by universities. Take them by all means, if they apply to your future career ambitions, but don't if you aren't sure what you want to do.

Coming from someone who has clearly never studied psychology or sociology

Reply 14

Bernadette04

Original post by Reality Check

101% agree. It's so totally depressing to see the subjects which civilise us - English, languages, history , social sciences, art - pushed to one side in favour of mediocre 'science' training just so they can sharpen their elbows a little bit more. What sort of a *****y country are we going to end up with.

You've got the right idea in Wales. It's just a shame we can't be as enlightened about it this side of the border.

I did A level English Literature many moons ago. There is nothing easy about studying Chaucer at all!

Gove and co who are avid theatre goers may end up in Cromwellian Britain of their own doing...with no actors to entertain them in future. It's truly heartbreaking what they are doing to education. My 6 year old nephew told me the other day he was going into his SATS year and how worried he is about doing well. He goes to school in Worcestershire and will have a year being purely pushed and coaxed through these SATS to satisfy a league table. We abolished SATS for 7 and 11 year olds in Wales a while ago. No wonder our children's mental health systems cannot cope and no wonder these kids are being burnt out by monotonous "one size fits all" Gove inspired "learn by rote" at a desk education where creativity is squeezed out of you at an early age.

Simply nothing less than a government ideaological attack on education policy..on a whim.

Reply 15

Noodlzzz

I took psychology and sociology - got offers from RHUL, Durham and UCL and interview at Oxford

Reply 16

Original post by DustToDust

Coming from someone who has clearly never studied psychology or sociology

Correct. Maths, further maths, physics, chemistry (AS) and EPQ

Reply 17

DustToDust

6

Original post by RBP_98

Correct. Maths, further maths, physics, chemistry (AS) and EPQ

So tell me - how can you comment?

Reply 18

Cubone-r