What age do you think children should start getting careers advice at school? I think children in the UK get careers advice from year 9 (age 13/14) ready to choose their options (what subjects they want to take) Im thinking this is a little late. I would have liked them to have some career advice this year (year8 - 12/13) so it gives them the chance to to think things more. My daughter is still very unsure and i think she is going to struggle on what to take.
WOW that's a little extreme I'm 20 years old and still don't know what I want to do. I think as beneficial you say it might be to give careers advice at such a young age that it isn't always positive I mean the likelyhood that a young person at the age of 8 will change there mind anyway is pretty high to be honest so I'd see it as a waste of time. I think people should get intense career advice on leaving high school and going into college as I believe it's at this time it's the most vital to be honest to be deciding what you want to do in your future but like I said it's not Earth shattering important as I still don't know what I want to do now.
I don't think it extreme because a lot of their GCSE's count towards the A' levels that they need to take, so they need to have some idea what GCSE's to take (what the job requires) so they can go further on to study their A'Levels and if they have studied the wrong thing lower down the school it is going to take them far longer to get where they want in the long run and maybe qualifications that won't count towards the job they want in the end up
I started to plan my path when I was 16, that's when I took my o'levels. In Singapore, we take our A'Levels at 18 years old. I've decided not to walk that path and went on to take my Diploma in Digital Media when I was 17. I think that 13/14 is a little too early, I'm not sure if your system is different from mine though. However, if you children has very strong interest in arts or music, I think it'd be better if they start planning as early as possible. Arts and music takes a very long time to learn and improve. I have a friend who started planning his music career since 12.
Most people I know, even though they got career advice when they were in middle school and high school, STILL do not know where they want their life to head. I know that I still want to be in the marines, but other than that, I really do not know what I would like to become in the next few years!
The UK system of making kids start focusing at 16 is awful. I know because I was in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do because I didn't know myself well enough and I hadn't had enough life experience. Kids shouldn't be forced to specialize. That should wait until they are much older and know what options are out there, and they know themselves better to know what they truly want to do. A lot of kids who take business only do so in the hopes of getting a job, they have no idea what they want to do or be. So they take business and spend their lives being middle management in some company doing something they couldn't care less about. If you truly want to help your kid out, tell them to figure out what they love and how they can make a career out of it. That will lead to fulfilment.
I think it's better to get kids thinking about their future careers earlier. They don't have to choose one option and stick to it in Year 8 but it's good for them to start learning about the possibilities out there. I would suggest your daughter go to a high school with lots of courses options so she can be exposed to a variety of subjects. Community service and job shadowing also helps build life experience and will help her be more aware of what she's looking to do later in life. I was educated in the International Baccalaureate Program. While it's an internationally renowned program, the school I went to was a poorly funded public school that couldn't afford any course options. The curriculum was strict and didn't allow for any electives. There was only an option to specialize in purely visual arts or physical sciences. They didn't offer any commerce or computer science courses which was sad since these 2 fields are essential to modern society. I'm glad my path was in the life sciences anyways. But some of my peers weren't so lucky and struggled with deciding their career path after graduation.
I think at the beginning of high school students should start thinking seriously about their future careers. The earlier you know the better prepared you can be.
