help me pick my career
Hello, I am currently in year 11 and I am thinking about my career options as it is useful to help me pick my a levels. I have a few questions to ask and I don’t mind if various people have to answer them.
First I was thinking about careers in mental health and psychology so I was thinking about clinical psychology or educational psychology. However I have researched and they are both very competitive and you have to do years of low paid work to get on the doctorate course. I was wondering if this career is worthwhile for the salary and whether it is a good career choice.
I was also considering medicine and becoming a psychiatrist however I feel being a psychiatrist is not therapeutic enough so I was wondering if palliative care or paediatrics would be better. However, I really don’t enjoy chemistry GCSE so I don’t know if I could force myself to do it in order to do medicine. Also, I have dyspraxia which effects fine motor skills and for example I can’t even tie my laces up so I was wondering if the procedural side of medicine would be too much of a barrier for me.
I was also thinking about law and potentially becoming a barrister. However I know that this is competitive and you need to go to oxbridge etc in order to get in. Also I am unsure whether being a family law barrister is actually well paid. I don’t want to do commercial law as I actually want to directly help people in my future career so it would not satisfy me. It also plays to my strength as I am slightly better at humanities than the sciences but not by much so maybe it would be better. However I don’t feel as passionate.
All these careers may potentially not be for me so what i want your advice on what careers could be suitable for me. I want to directly help people and I really want to have a direct impact. My main desire is not a large amount of money but I would like to earn 80k by about 35. I would like a good work life balance and a decent amount of annual leave as I enjoy traveling. I also want it to be quite academic so I am constantly learning new things.
sorry for the long post and thank you for reading
First I was thinking about careers in mental health and psychology so I was thinking about clinical psychology or educational psychology. However I have researched and they are both very competitive and you have to do years of low paid work to get on the doctorate course. I was wondering if this career is worthwhile for the salary and whether it is a good career choice.
I was also considering medicine and becoming a psychiatrist however I feel being a psychiatrist is not therapeutic enough so I was wondering if palliative care or paediatrics would be better. However, I really don’t enjoy chemistry GCSE so I don’t know if I could force myself to do it in order to do medicine. Also, I have dyspraxia which effects fine motor skills and for example I can’t even tie my laces up so I was wondering if the procedural side of medicine would be too much of a barrier for me.
I was also thinking about law and potentially becoming a barrister. However I know that this is competitive and you need to go to oxbridge etc in order to get in. Also I am unsure whether being a family law barrister is actually well paid. I don’t want to do commercial law as I actually want to directly help people in my future career so it would not satisfy me. It also plays to my strength as I am slightly better at humanities than the sciences but not by much so maybe it would be better. However I don’t feel as passionate.
All these careers may potentially not be for me so what i want your advice on what careers could be suitable for me. I want to directly help people and I really want to have a direct impact. My main desire is not a large amount of money but I would like to earn 80k by about 35. I would like a good work life balance and a decent amount of annual leave as I enjoy traveling. I also want it to be quite academic so I am constantly learning new things.
sorry for the long post and thank you for reading
Reply 1
11
Heyy, I'm also in Y11 so idk how much this will help but it's a summary of the jobs i was looking at
These are the jobs that I found were good in terms of a work life balance as well as not too demanding, but it ofc depends on your level of comfort and how well you would be able to cope up.
Hope this helps tho <3
•
Clinical Psychologist
•
Educational Psychologist
•
Speech and Language Therapist
•
Occupational Therapist
•
Teacher (SEN or Pastoral)
•
HR Wellbeing / Organisational Psychology
•
Research Psychologist / Academic
•
Family Law Barrister
•
Paediatrician
•
Palliative Care Doctor
These are the jobs that I found were good in terms of a work life balance as well as not too demanding, but it ofc depends on your level of comfort and how well you would be able to cope up.
Hope this helps tho <3
(edited 1 month ago)
Reply 2
2
Original post
by GCSE9'sHeyy, I'm also in Y11 so idk how much this will help but it's a summary of the jobs i was looking at
These are the jobs that I found were good in terms of a work life balance as well as not too demanding, but it ofc depends on your level of comfort and how well you would be able to cope up.
Hope this helps tho <3
•
Clinical Psychologist
•
Educational Psychologist
•
Speech and Language Therapist
•
Occupational Therapist
•
Teacher (SEN or Pastoral)
•
HR Wellbeing / Organisational Psychology
•
Research Psychologist / Academic
•
Family Law Barrister
•
Paediatrician
•
Palliative Care Doctor
These are the jobs that I found were good in terms of a work life balance as well as not too demanding, but it ofc depends on your level of comfort and how well you would be able to cope up.
Hope this helps tho <3
omg, we literally want to work in the same areas and thank you for the list
Reply 3
Original post
by Spiriphoex3Hello, I am currently in year 11 and I am thinking about my career options as it is useful to help me pick my a levels. I have a few questions to ask and I don’t mind if various people have to answer them.
First I was thinking about careers in mental health and psychology so I was thinking about clinical psychology or educational psychology. However I have researched and they are both very competitive and you have to do years of low paid work to get on the doctorate course. I was wondering if this career is worthwhile for the salary and whether it is a good career choice.
I was also considering medicine and becoming a psychiatrist however I feel being a psychiatrist is not therapeutic enough so I was wondering if palliative care or paediatrics would be better. However, I really don’t enjoy chemistry GCSE so I don’t know if I could force myself to do it in order to do medicine. Also, I have dyspraxia which effects fine motor skills and for example I can’t even tie my laces up so I was wondering if the procedural side of medicine would be too much of a barrier for me.
I was also thinking about law and potentially becoming a barrister. However I know that this is competitive and you need to go to oxbridge etc in order to get in. Also I am unsure whether being a family law barrister is actually well paid. I don’t want to do commercial law as I actually want to directly help people in my future career so it would not satisfy me. It also plays to my strength as I am slightly better at humanities than the sciences but not by much so maybe it would be better. However I don’t feel as passionate.
All these careers may potentially not be for me so what i want your advice on what careers could be suitable for me. I want to directly help people and I really want to have a direct impact. My main desire is not a large amount of money but I would like to earn 80k by about 35. I would like a good work life balance and a decent amount of annual leave as I enjoy traveling. I also want it to be quite academic so I am constantly learning new things.
sorry for the long post and thank you for reading
First I was thinking about careers in mental health and psychology so I was thinking about clinical psychology or educational psychology. However I have researched and they are both very competitive and you have to do years of low paid work to get on the doctorate course. I was wondering if this career is worthwhile for the salary and whether it is a good career choice.
I was also considering medicine and becoming a psychiatrist however I feel being a psychiatrist is not therapeutic enough so I was wondering if palliative care or paediatrics would be better. However, I really don’t enjoy chemistry GCSE so I don’t know if I could force myself to do it in order to do medicine. Also, I have dyspraxia which effects fine motor skills and for example I can’t even tie my laces up so I was wondering if the procedural side of medicine would be too much of a barrier for me.
I was also thinking about law and potentially becoming a barrister. However I know that this is competitive and you need to go to oxbridge etc in order to get in. Also I am unsure whether being a family law barrister is actually well paid. I don’t want to do commercial law as I actually want to directly help people in my future career so it would not satisfy me. It also plays to my strength as I am slightly better at humanities than the sciences but not by much so maybe it would be better. However I don’t feel as passionate.
All these careers may potentially not be for me so what i want your advice on what careers could be suitable for me. I want to directly help people and I really want to have a direct impact. My main desire is not a large amount of money but I would like to earn 80k by about 35. I would like a good work life balance and a decent amount of annual leave as I enjoy traveling. I also want it to be quite academic so I am constantly learning new things.
sorry for the long post and thank you for reading
Hey, sorry as this ended up a bit long.. I'm in uni and was at your stage once. I would advise you to keep the options as open as possible at your stage. For example, I was deciding between sciences and art so chose Fine Art, Biology, and Maths at A-Level but ended up going for a science degree and I have been enjoying it so far. I also hated chemistry GCSE but ended up loving biochemistry as a module at uni so things do change! Also, my uni has wellbeing services to support conditions like dyspraxia e.g. by adjusting exams so hopefully it won't be too much of an obstacle for you, no matter what you decide.
I also want my career to involve helping people and have an impact (which is why I decided to go for science) but I think one of the things that can help you is to try volunteering! It can be very rewarding - there are remote mental health volunteering roles you can try (that could also add as work experience) if you want a good work-life balance such as phone and text support. Trying out different experiences is a good way to see if the career is suited for you whether it is in person or online e.g. SpringPod and Forage.
If you have a career's advisor at school they might be helpful to talk to, although sometimes they just tell you to do your own research and find what is most valuable to you. There's also an AI powered career research website I used to find out what requirements certain careers need, how much it would cost, time and the estimated salary that could be helpful for you. Sorry for the long post but I hope this helps! xx
Reply 4
2
Original post
by harufolioHey, sorry as this ended up a bit long.. I'm in uni and was at your stage once. I would advise you to keep the options as open as possible at your stage. For example, I was deciding between sciences and art so chose Fine Art, Biology, and Maths at A-Level but ended up going for a science degree and I have been enjoying it so far. I also hated chemistry GCSE but ended up loving biochemistry as a module at uni so things do change! Also, my uni has wellbeing services to support conditions like dyspraxia e.g. by adjusting exams so hopefully it won't be too much of an obstacle for you, no matter what you decide.
I also want my career to involve helping people and have an impact (which is why I decided to go for science) but I think one of the things that can help you is to try volunteering! It can be very rewarding - there are remote mental health volunteering roles you can try (that could also add as work experience) if you want a good work-life balance such as phone and text support. Trying out different experiences is a good way to see if the career is suited for you whether it is in person or online e.g. SpringPod and Forage.
If you have a career's advisor at school they might be helpful to talk to, although sometimes they just tell you to do your own research and find what is most valuable to you. There's also an AI powered career research website I used to find out what requirements certain careers need, how much it would cost, time and the estimated salary that could be helpful for you. Sorry for the long post but I hope this helps! xx
I also want my career to involve helping people and have an impact (which is why I decided to go for science) but I think one of the things that can help you is to try volunteering! It can be very rewarding - there are remote mental health volunteering roles you can try (that could also add as work experience) if you want a good work-life balance such as phone and text support. Trying out different experiences is a good way to see if the career is suited for you whether it is in person or online e.g. SpringPod and Forage.
If you have a career's advisor at school they might be helpful to talk to, although sometimes they just tell you to do your own research and find what is most valuable to you. There's also an AI powered career research website I used to find out what requirements certain careers need, how much it would cost, time and the estimated salary that could be helpful for you. Sorry for the long post but I hope this helps! xx
Thank you
Reply 5
Original post
by Spiriphoex3Hello, I am currently in year 11 and I am thinking about my career options as it is useful to help me pick my a levels. I have a few questions to ask and I don’t mind if various people have to answer them.
First I was thinking about careers in mental health and psychology so I was thinking about clinical psychology or educational psychology. However I have researched and they are both very competitive and you have to do years of low paid work to get on the doctorate course. I was wondering if this career is worthwhile for the salary and whether it is a good career choice.
I was also considering medicine and becoming a psychiatrist however I feel being a psychiatrist is not therapeutic enough so I was wondering if palliative care or paediatrics would be better. However, I really don’t enjoy chemistry GCSE so I don’t know if I could force myself to do it in order to do medicine. Also, I have dyspraxia which effects fine motor skills and for example I can’t even tie my laces up so I was wondering if the procedural side of medicine would be too much of a barrier for me.
I was also thinking about law and potentially becoming a barrister. However I know that this is competitive and you need to go to oxbridge etc in order to get in. Also I am unsure whether being a family law barrister is actually well paid. I don’t want to do commercial law as I actually want to directly help people in my future career so it would not satisfy me. It also plays to my strength as I am slightly better at humanities than the sciences but not by much so maybe it would be better. However I don’t feel as passionate.
All these careers may potentially not be for me so what i want your advice on what careers could be suitable for me. I want to directly help people and I really want to have a direct impact. My main desire is not a large amount of money but I would like to earn 80k by about 35. I would like a good work life balance and a decent amount of annual leave as I enjoy traveling. I also want it to be quite academic so I am constantly learning new things.
sorry for the long post and thank you for reading
First I was thinking about careers in mental health and psychology so I was thinking about clinical psychology or educational psychology. However I have researched and they are both very competitive and you have to do years of low paid work to get on the doctorate course. I was wondering if this career is worthwhile for the salary and whether it is a good career choice.
I was also considering medicine and becoming a psychiatrist however I feel being a psychiatrist is not therapeutic enough so I was wondering if palliative care or paediatrics would be better. However, I really don’t enjoy chemistry GCSE so I don’t know if I could force myself to do it in order to do medicine. Also, I have dyspraxia which effects fine motor skills and for example I can’t even tie my laces up so I was wondering if the procedural side of medicine would be too much of a barrier for me.
I was also thinking about law and potentially becoming a barrister. However I know that this is competitive and you need to go to oxbridge etc in order to get in. Also I am unsure whether being a family law barrister is actually well paid. I don’t want to do commercial law as I actually want to directly help people in my future career so it would not satisfy me. It also plays to my strength as I am slightly better at humanities than the sciences but not by much so maybe it would be better. However I don’t feel as passionate.
All these careers may potentially not be for me so what i want your advice on what careers could be suitable for me. I want to directly help people and I really want to have a direct impact. My main desire is not a large amount of money but I would like to earn 80k by about 35. I would like a good work life balance and a decent amount of annual leave as I enjoy traveling. I also want it to be quite academic so I am constantly learning new things.
sorry for the long post and thank you for reading
Hi @Spiriphoex3 ,
I want to start by saying it's great to see you already taking such an interest in your future career - I certainly didn't have a clue what I wanted to do at your age and simply picked my A-levels based on what I was enjoyed/good at (which is also perfectly fine too!). While I can't comment specifically on psychology or medicine, I may be able to advise on the route into law here.
Firstly, it's important to note that you *do not* need to go to Oxbridge in order to become a barrister. While Oxford and Cambridge are certainly respected universities, what is most important is that you have (1) a degree and (2) the necessary skills needed to become a successful barrister (there's a really helpful article on this here). You don't even need to have studied a law at A-level or as an undergraduate degree - you could study pretty much whichever A-levels and degree you wish (such as Psychology) and then take a postgraduate conversion course, followed by the Bar Practice Course. In fact, coming from a non-law background can sometimes be an advantage - studying a science like Psychology, for example, will present you with certain problem-solving skills and experiences that you may not necessarily gain through a traditional law degree. For example, I studied English Literature, History and Geology at A-level, went on to do an Archaeology and Anthropology degree (with a random placement year in Marketing, which was valuable to explore this as a potential career path), and am now studying the PGDL.
While I'm planning to become a solicitor, not a barrister, I also completely understand your concerns about the industry being competitive. Your A-level choices may be of some assistance here (as I explained above), but you'll also need to make sure you're developing your CV with a range of useful experiences - such as mooting opportunities, retail/hospitality work, shadowing opportunities, mini-pupillages etc. Try not to worry too much about all this right now (usually you won't start doing this until you're at university), but it may be helpful to bear in mind as you map out the next few years. The University of Law certainly has a great employability programme that could help you if you were to apply 😊
Ultimately, I'd highly recommend speaking to someone in the industry about all of your concerns - such as balancing pay vs passion, work-life balance, academic development - whether by reaching out on LinkedIn or attending an event run by the Inns of Court. At this stage, your A-levels could be a strategic way of shaping a specific skillset for law early on, but realistically, your choices are really broad and flexible at this stage! Keep researching and best of luck with whichever route you decide to take.
Holly - PGDL Student
University of Law
Reply 6
You've already been told correctly that you do not need to go to Oxbridge to become a barrister, but I would add that even in family law you should very comfortably be earning more than £80,000 by the time you're 35. It's not a career that you should go into for the money, but financially you'll be perfectly comfortable, even in family law.
Reply 7
2
Original post
by Crazy JamieYou've already been told correctly that you do not need to go to Oxbridge to become a barrister, but I would add that even in family law you should very comfortably be earning more than £80,000 by the time you're 35. It's not a career that you should go into for the money, but financially you'll be perfectly comfortable, even in family law.
Thank you
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