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I am not sure what to do as my career/degree, and was looking for advice!

Hello! I am currently year 13 in sixth form, and it's coming up to the time when we need to decide what we want to do with our lives. I, however, have no clear idea. I have tried to speak to my friends about all of this, but they are busy with their own lives so I never really get a decent conversation in about this, so came here to ask for advice.

For context, I take Maths, Chemistry and Biology. I also have an AS in psychology (an A). Although now I wish I had taken physics instead of psychology! Out of my subjects, I love maths and chemistry the most. Maths comes more naturally to me and I enjoy it (especially pure maths), but I also find chemistry very rewarding (I enjoy organic and physical the most).

I do want to be making a nice amount of money with the career I end up in, to where I'm financially stable and can have a nice life. I also like the idea of getting a job straight out of uni, instead of having to complete further education in order to get an actual job.

Over the past year I've played around with medicine and veterinary medicine. I've recently turned away from these ideas because with medicine, I honestly think I was more attracted to the idea of taking it, rather than having an actual passion for it. With vet med, I do have a passion for animals, however I find I cry very easily when it comes to animals being hurt, especially dogs. So while I would be working towards helping animals with a real passion, I would be breaking down every time somebody's pet gets injured - which would not make me a very good vet!

I've always like to idea of forensic pathology. It's always interested me, however I feel that this interest stems from tv shows, which are very unrealistic! It's also not a job that jumps out at me, although if you were to tell me that's where I end up, I wouldn't be mad.

A job which was always my response to "what do you want to be when you're older?" is accounting. Ever since I was young, I've always said accounting, even though I didn't really know what an accountant does (probably because maths has always been my favourite subject). Nowadays, accounting does seem interesting to me. I enjoy working with numbers, and I could see myself doing it in the future. Although, I do have a few issues with accounting. One being that I am worried that I will begin a degree or apprenticeship and I will find it boring. And two, there's a part of me that wants to learn maths in a much broader way.

Over the summer holidays I have been thinking about many different degrees: Mathematics, Chemistry, Accounting and Finance, Chemical Engineering and even Biochem.

I am very much drawn to the broader subjects of maths or chemistry, purely because I enjoy them a lot. It's also a safe option because I know I like the subjects. But I realise, in terms of careers, you usually have to complete a further masters or PhD. And even then I'm not drawn to many of the job options. My other worry is that if I end up taking a maths or chemistry degree, I will end up being a teacher. I am told that I'm good at teaching and explaining things, however I really do not want to be a teacher. I have nothing against teachers, and many of my teachers are extremely intelligent, however I am just not attracted to the job. Teachers always complain about their pay too, and I don’t want to put myself in the position of not being happy with my income.

I feel like with accounting and finance I will pigeonhole myself, and I may not even like the subject. Again, this is why I am attracted to mathematics as a broader subject.

With chemical engineering, I was originally attracted to it because it sounded like a degree about chemistry which would give me a good chance of getting a job after graduating. But I hear people say that it's 90% physics and 10% chemistry. Which would be fine if I took physics at A-Level, but I didn't.

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TL;DR: I am drawn to broader degrees such as mathematics or chemistry, but I would also like a well paying job soon after graduating, instead of further study.

Any degree/career recommendations would be greatly appreciated! I’m aware that it’s only a decision that I can make for myself, however I would really appreciate an outsider’s opinion/perspective right now. Thank you!
(edited 2 years ago)
How to Choose a Degree Subject - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/university/courses/i-want-to-go-to-uni-but-i-dont-know-what-to-study

Have a look down this list of degree subjects at just this one Uni - you might be suprised that some degrree subjects have no required A level subjects - Economics, Geograhy, Law etc - and at the range of joint-subjects that are available : https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/

I suggest that you dont focus on 'career' at this stage - its much better to think just about 'which degree will keep me really interesed for 3 or 4 years'. A good STEM degree will always be valued - there are numerous and varied career pathways / possible further studies after that.

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