College courses that give the best opportunity to find work

[dave50]

Can anyone offer any advice on the best courses to take at college and possibly to continue at university that give the best chance of getting a good full time job at the end of it?

[Bluestone]

Plumbers course? There will also be a need for trade jobs.

[factor-fiction]

One that you enjoy and in an area that you have an aptitude and an interest. Your resultant qualification plus your enthusiasm and other relevant skills will then help you get a job you'll enjoy and do well in.

[factor-fiction]

That was mentioned for plumbing a few years ago but I read that the situation has changed and that a lot of Eastern Europeans have made up for any skills shortage

[Maydup]

There are always loads of driving jobs around here - no lengthy study needed to do that.

Otherwise dentist, vet, architect, politician, IT systems developer, Mechanic, Financial adviser, English Teacher in China, there are too many to list surely.

[dave50]

Thanks for the answers, the thing is my daughter mentioned doing History, art and English I think for want of something else that she might have an interest in. I would have thought they were a waste of time apart from English perhaps. Even then, what careers can those lead to apart from teaching which she doesn't want to do?

[factor-fiction]

I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few Historians go on to become layers and English graduates go into Journalism. But for many (possibly most) graduate training schemes the actual subject isn't the most important thing as long as it's one of the mainstream academic ones- it's the abilities to digest information, analyse it and persuade that's important.

[factor-fiction]

erm- some may become layers but I meant lawyers

[magsmay]

Hi Dave -i would suggest Business Studies -its a wide enough subject to perhaps inspire her and if all else fails she can set up her own business and get a stall on a market ;-)

[slaney]

History is in here ...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9415613/Graduate-jobs-Top-10-degree-subjects-for-getting-a-job.html?frame=2276252

[pastafreak]

It's all very well and good telling somene to become a plumber,English teacher,IT consultant or even beauty therapist. But it is of no use if they have neither the interest or the ability. Your daughter needs to look closely at what really gets her enthusiasm going...and what she likes to spend endless hours absorbed in. University is not the be-all and end-all. She may not even be ready for it once she finishes sixth form. It's a shame someone her age needs to be making choices when they have not even experienced the workplace yet.

[dave50]

Yes I agree pastafreak, I think degrees have been considerably devalued since the push for 50% of students to go to university. Some are not worth paper they are written on. The trouble is, university is all schools career advisers go on about, as though there are no alternatives, it's not for everyone, I'm thinking about steering her towards an apprenticeship somewhere, providing it is a genuine one with a real chance of climbing the ladder.