Things to consider and all your options
If you are about to choose your options at 18 there are plenty of things to choose from.
The choices you make will be affected by many things like your financial situation, interests, your attitude to study, your qualifications, the job market, etc.
Another big factor is the job or career you have
in mind and now is a good time to really get into the detail
about which job sectors you are interested in, what sort of
opportunities they offer and what qualifications they are looking for.
Choices you could consider at 18
- Doing a higher education level course – either full-time, part-time or by distance learning, at a university or a college;
- Doing an Intermediate, Advanced, Higher or Degree Apprenticeship;
- Getting a job that offers training;
- Doing a vocational course at a Further Education College
- Taking a year out (a gap year)
As
always, getting advice and support from those who know you or are
career specialists is very important, as is finding out about the
different employment options available to you and the qualifications and skills you need for a particular career.
Higher education
If you have Level 3 qualifications like A Levels or vocational qualifications like a BTEC Level 3 or Tech Level you could explore higher-level study. If you haven't, but would be interested in higher-level study later, there are lots of ways in through Access Courses and through study alongside work.
Not Going to Uni
If you are thinking that university is not for you then you could explore alternatives, such as:
- Work (preferably with training)
- Apprenticeships
- Sponsored degrees
- Further Education College courses.
The Not Going to Uni site and Student Ladder site have lots of information about the alternatives and advertise vacancies and opportunities for the different options.
Why skills are also important
Remember - young people with qualifications are more attractive to employers than those without. Work experience and general employability skills, such as teamwork and communication skills, are also valued. Do you want to know what skills employers want?
Complete the Skills Profile, which will help you identify your skills and promote them when applying for courses and jobs.
What do you think about Careerpilot?
A £20 Amazon Voucher could be yours!