My Daughter, who lives in South Africa (Cape Town), has to choose her desired Degree course before the end of June- its different there as the school year runs on a Calendar year, and ends in Dec, and then Uni starts in Jan.
My first thoughts were to say to her to continue on with the subjects she enjoys , and not necessarily the ones she has good marks in (although generally you would expect them to be the same).
The subjects she enjoys most are Maths and Science.
She is very unsure of what path to go down, this weeks flavour is Law (which i've tried to dissuade her from), whereas last weeks was Accounting which i've also tried to dissuade her from - both from the boredom factor.
I'm trying to make her aware of other more interesting and maybe 'different' courses that might be available that would enable her to have a more outdoor life.
One that came to my attention was this at Stellenbosch Uni (Stellenbosch is the centre of the SA Wine trade)..
http://www.sun.ac.za/english/faculty/agri/viticulture-oenology(her old man could help her with her case studies !)
and also another thing to think of is becoming an airline pilot. For example, Oxford Aviation..
http://www.caeoaa.com/entry-requirements/#.V1QLavRdVEwAnother option i have said to her is maybe have some time out, come to UK and make your choice ready for begin of 2018 or end of 2017 if she wants to go to a UK Uni- though she is worried that she might get used to not studying and not want to go to Uni thereafter.
Just thought i'd throw it out there for you good people to provide your valued wisdom.
Comments
It's not the end of the world if she chooses the wrong course because there's always the possibility of change. I chose something I thought I'd love and ended up hating it, dropping out, and doing a different course in a different place which I was incredibly happy with.
Best of luck, hope she's happy with whatever choice she makes.
One thought on the accounting, could Economics offer up some more interesting modules?
If she likes science and has the grades, Forensic Science us interesting if popular because of the CSI factor etc. But it won't go away as a job, on the job training afterwards would be the new techniques etc.
BTW, what was the course you were happy with ? and the one you hated?
Silly to close off options at 18.
Many universities offer the opportunity for partial specialisation eg the Philosophy of Science or similar.
Just a thought.
A year out beforehand is definitely a good idea, I did mine after Uni but wish I had done one before too!
Or perhaps marine biology?
Their personality.
above, if she really wants to go for accounting after that she could come to the UK and get a training contract.
If she wants to become a South African CA, she will probably have to study for a business degree, with a large accounting component. After that there will be three dreary years as the lowest form of human life in a CA's office. That's the REALLY boring bit. Once she is qualified, however, the world will be her oyster, and somebody else will do the boring work. She should also be aware that there are as many bad jokes about economists, mathematicians etc., as there are about accountants.
I did the ACA in the UK, and spent a lot of time traveling round the world at somebody else's expense. The pay isn't bad, either
"Just choose what subject you enjoyed most in school" was the advice.
So I did Media Studies. It was alright. Although it quickly became apparent that there were very few employment opportunities and it didn't really feel like something I wanted to pursue. So I packed it in.
About 5 years later I tried again. "Do what your parents do" was the advice. So I did an education degree with teacher training. I didn't really think much of it to be honest. About the only positive I took from it was meeting my wife! She was probably the only reason I finished the degree to be honest.
Cut a long and boring story short, I've ended up in engineering which I much prefer. The only thing I've got to show for my time at university is a useless degree and about 15k worth of debt. And a wife.
I wouldn't change any of it now as ultimately I've ended up where I am now which I'm pretty content with. I'm not really sure what advice I'm trying to give here either actually I'm a bit pissed and rambling! It probably doesn't matter what path you take at the end of the day as long as you figure it out in the end.
Get some job adverts for things you'd like to do in three years' time - are they specific about nature of degree, work experience gained (etc), or are they happy with any degree?
If you're going to be lumbered with a lot of debt, there is pressure to study something that gets a job rather than something you enjoy, which is sad. There is little point (IMO) in studying for a degree in accountancy, as you still have to do the professional exams (they get you some exemptions but not all), so, if manageable, pick something you love doing and finding out about, and, if you have the time and capacity and think you might want to be an accountant, do part-time study of ACCA or CIMA (you can do these yourself without going to college - buy the books, teach yourself, book into exams) - if you do a couple of exams per session (which are 2 a year) then you'll get it done in 4 years; you then need to get a job to get the required 3 years' experience to qualify. In 3 years from now, though, you have a degree in something you've really enjoyed and are part-qualified as an accountant - or you've decided long since accountancy is not for you, nothing wasted but a bit of time.
For me, being an accountant has opened doors into a variety of interesting jobs - it's quite a wide sector so you can find your niche if working with numbers is your thing - we're not all boring, the jobs in it are not all boring etc - and chat with people who do the sort of jobs you're interested in to get an insight on how much you need a 'relevant degree' and what the actual day-to-day work is like - the 'relevant degree' might be interesting but you never use what you learn on it, or the study sounds fun but the job not, or vice-versa.
Computing is as close as you can get to guaranteeing making a fortune in the future, but if you aren't interested in it (and most aren't), that's not the career for you.
If it's a subject she likes - she'll enjoy it, do better at it as a result - and actually the end grade often matters more than subject (as long as it's not a 'joke' subject)... and you can train to be an accountant or whatever after graduating.
http://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/HealthCommunityEducation/Programs/EcotourismandOutdoorLeadership/index.htm
Something outdoors?
Does she like animals?
Perhaps study biology, chemistry and maths - possible pathway to zoology.
Sounds like with what she's already got, she could study zoology anyway.
I currently work in large scale web applications, doing everything from high level application architecture to contracts to emerging technology research and implementation.
A lot of people criticize liberal arts degrees, and yet if you can read, write, and think, you can be incredibly successful in whatever you want. I don't say this to try to steer her toward Liberal Arts, far from it, simply to illustrate that if you enjoy what you do, and if you're a critical thinker, you will succeed regardless.
I have incredibly bright, talented, and successful friends who do not have degrees, and others currently working on PhD level work. The ability to educate yourself, and to be curious (which it sounds like she had in abundance), is so valuable. I know the UK system is far less forgiving of changing your mind, but if she chooses to once she starts something, so be it. So many young people these days have multiple careers and professions, and learning flexibility is also important.
All the best to her, and to you. You know I've heard they do online courses for wine making...
I'm glad I did it because at least I knew it definitely wasn't for me. If someone had talked me out of it beforehand, I may have resented them when I was flat broke for the first 5 years after graduating.
So I'd only say be careful about advising her too much. She's going to have to make a leap whatever she chooses.
I think you're on the right track suggesting she choose something she enjoys, three years is an impossibly long time to study something you don't like.
I'd also suggest a more generalized degree of she doesn't know what she wants to do yet. Law, maths, science can get you into a million different fields whereas something like landscape architecture would restrict her opportunities.