Careers?

[MissLydia]

I'm in year 9, taking an art GCSE now and for next year I've picked Italian, history, fine art and food technology. I've always wanted to be an English teacher, but tonight at parents evening my English teacher has told me to rethink my choice of career. She said I might be more interested in other career choices like an art historian, that could interest me more, give me the chance to travel and meet different people everyday. Then have the English teacher as a safety net. She said they were a good combination of subjects, and I could put them to better use by rethinking the careers that they will open. Whatever I choose, I'd like it to involve English somehow, speaking or writing. I've already chosen my options, and am keen to know where else I could go with them. Thanks.

[Mrs Y]

Gosh, Lydia, I really wouldn't worry too much right now about where you want to go with your life. How old are you; 13? 14? There are very, very few people who end up doing the career they anticipated at the age of 13. I'm nearly 30 and am about to undertake an enormous career change, totally different from what I've been doing for the last 14 years! My mum retrained as a teacher at the age of 45 after working in retail for 25 years!

Why not just enjoy your studies, take subjects you're interested in and then see where they take you? Over the next couple of years you may well find that you develop a better idea of the sorts of things that appeal to you career-wise. Try not to worry too much about what you're going to do when you leave school and beyond; there'll be plenty of time for that!

Good luck x

[echokilo]

Hi Lydia .... it's great that you are so focused on your future, but it is very early to be thinking about your career path .... as you say you have chosen your options now, so concentrate on getting good grades that way you can take any of your subjects on to A Level and this means you will keep your options open ......then you can look at doing a degree later perhaps in English together with another subject of your choice ..... and good luck .... don't lose your enthusiasm, at the risk of sounding patronising, it really is a great quality x