How to identify what your child wants to be?

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pheasantchick
Posts: 2439
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:28 pm

Re: How to identify what your child wants to be?

Post by pheasantchick »

Pharmacy, biomedics (not sure what that is, but niece is applying to do it)
doodles
Posts: 8300
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:19 pm

Re: How to identify what your child wants to be?

Post by doodles »

I'll make you all feel better and hold my hands up to a BA (Hons of course! :wink: ) in Applied Sociology. Fab degree absolutely loved it but that was in the days when you did degrees for interest sake.
JamesDean
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Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:03 pm

Re: How to identify what your child wants to be?

Post by JamesDean »

doodles wrote:I'll make you all feel better and hold my hands up to a BA (Hons of course! :wink: ) in Applied Sociology. Fab degree absolutely loved it but that was in the days when you did degrees for interest sake.
Me too, Doodles - BA(Hons) in Politics! And no, I've never harboured any dreams of being a politician :lol:

JD
pheasantchick
Posts: 2439
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:28 pm

Re: How to identify what your child wants to be?

Post by pheasantchick »

In the olden days, getting a degree was a sign of a certain level of intelligence, and I remember that it didn't really matter what you did, as long as you got a degree. Then the 1990 recession came along and all the graduate jobs magically disappeared.
doodles
Posts: 8300
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:19 pm

Re: How to identify what your child wants to be?

Post by doodles »

pheasantchick wrote:In the olden days, getting a degree was a sign of a certain level of intelligence....
A little less of the olden days if you don't mind PC but the other bit makes you my new cyber BFF :lol: :lol: :lol:
ahap
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Location: Ēastseaxe

Re: How to identify what your child wants to be?

Post by ahap »

ginx wrote:I wanted to be a writer :lol:

Forget your science degrees, Mills & Boon here I come!

Do you think English and humanity degrees are worth anything?

Maybe good for teaching?
My father did humanity subjects. & alternative medicine.
B Theology, B Divinity, PGDin Islamic studies, PhD of some sort. Was a minister of religion, chaplain to schools, unis, prisons, volunteered in NGOs, counselling & rehab of people then accidentally went into another field :shock:. Now retired and plays with grandchildren whenever possible. :D
So humanity subjects do open doors in its areas and some other areas when you research.
He wanted to join the police or be a minister of religion or both at first so he asked permission to be both and the church refused so he chose the church.
Last edited by ahap on Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:07 pm, edited 7 times in total.
'What we have learned is like a handful of earth; What we have yet to learn is like the whole world.' Auvaiyaar.
Kit
Posts: 132
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 11:58 am

Re: How to identify what your child wants to be?

Post by Kit »

Thanks for the great ideas- I'll encourage DD to research them.
And of course if anyone is keen to offer a couple of days work experience I'm sure DD would be keen to find out more :D
Rob Clark
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Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2008 1:59 pm

Re: How to identify what your child wants to be?

Post by Rob Clark »

I wanted to be a writer
Do you think English and humanity degrees are worth anything?
Maybe good for teaching?
Ginx, you've just described my life :lol:
English degree because I wanted to spend 3 more years reading books :D Tried teaching and didn't like it (have huge respect for those who stuck at it), so became a writer and have made my living that way – not a particularly wealthy one, admittedly, but quite fun…
Amber
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Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: How to identify what your child wants to be?

Post by Amber »

Kit wrote:
Amber wrote:
Shame this is buried in Devon... Nothing against it - but maybe deserving of a wider audience, this topic?
Hey- we're not ALL farmers down here! :lol:

I'm going through this at the moment with my sixth form DD. She wants to do Medicine, but I worry that it is more a default "respected profession" every teenager has heard of, ideal for those who are good at science with a string of A* at GCSE, rather than a burning ambition at this stage.

I'd like her to consider other options, but the trouble is Neither she nor I know what else is available these days beyond research scientist, teacher, doctor etc. in science.

She did a questionnaire at school, but one of the options it suggested was librarian, not her at all, so I don't think it was much use.

Any career ideas for a sciencey, creative, artistic person who wants to travel??
Oh I didn't mean that - I know you are not all farmers. Some of you make cream teas too. :wink:

My own DD sounds much like yours - and has decided to take some time out to think. Medicine is, as she says, a huge commitment and you sort of sign your life away to it, so you need to be jolly sure you really want to do it. She looked at the Biomed type courses and they look very interesting, but many are full of people who didn't quite make the grades for Medicine and are hoping to sneak in later (it is actually much harder to do that) - and Pharmacology etc should be a positive choice I think rather than a fallback - it is robust and challenging scientifically. Genetics is one which received a bit of thought here. Before being dismissed. My DD is very creative and arty too - I think it is harder when you can do anything, almost - and you don't really know what is out there.
southbucks3
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Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: How to identify what your child wants to be?

Post by southbucks3 »

They have some pretty fine looking lifeguards around croyde as well....or are they all seasonal immigrants on summer breaks from BIrmingham or somewhere.

Amber my friends wife did medicine at uni, but became a very successful forensic pathologist in THames Valley...yeuch (although she is currently on a kiddy career break with third child). I also know someone who went into high end pharmaceutical sales, and has just moved to Saudi for his job...keeping his million pound uk house as a rental investment. So tell DD that it is not necessary to stick at the obvious career with a medicine degree, there is certainly no shame or lack of finances in diversification.
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