Thinking ahead
Thursday 29 March 2007
If you're in the process of choosing your options, you'll probably start thinking about what you might want to do for a job in the future.
You don't have to wait until school is over before you get started on your chosen career path; there are many ways you can try your hand at working.
Which job is right for me?
You might already have an idea of what you want to do later in life. Maybe you have already chosen the options that go with the job you fancy doing after you've left school. If you're still not sure, doing subjects that cover a broad area is a good idea; it means that you've not ruled out all the possibilities once exams are over.
Start doing some research into the sort of jobs that you can do based on the subjects you've decided to take.
What can you do?
Think also about what skills you have, and what kind of job you might enjoy doing. What would suit you? If you're not an outdoors type, it's fair to say that gardening or farming wouldn't be right for you, whereas if you can think of nothing better than spending the day outside, it could be an option.
Get the experience
Most schools will give you the chance to do up to two weeks of work experience in either Year 10 or 11. This gives you the chance to see what it's really like out there in the world of work.
Your careers advisor will ask you what sort of work you want to do and they'll then match you up with something. This means that even if you haven't started thinking about your career in the long term, you'll at least need to think of what you'd like to do for your placement.
Taste of working life
There's no need to wait until you do work experience with school to get a taste of working life. You might want to start thinking of getting a part-time job or doing some voluntary work in your spare time. Doing a job like this will give you the chance to see if you would like to work in a particular career.
You'll also have the experience of what it's like to work for somebody, as well as meeting and working with people of all different ages and backgrounds. It's also a great way to find out what employers expect of you and develop your skills.
Placements
Some subjects you choose might give you the chance to take part in placements, which means you would go to a place of work relating to the subject you are studying for a few weeks, and work there like a regular employee.
You might go through training and could be given responsibility for certain tasks, as well as further study at home.
Now there's an idea...
What you would do depends on the subject you're studying. Placements can give you an idea of what your job would be like and can give you the chance to see how your skills need to be developed before you do that job.
Ask your careers teacher if your school offers any subjects that offer you the opportunity to do work experience in this way.
