Surrey

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1016" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/teenagers-jumping_rawpixel.jpg" alt="Teenager jumping with a city skyline in the background." class="wp-image-28086" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/teenagers-jumping_rawpixel.jpg 1016w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/teenagers-jumping_rawpixel-300x197.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/teenagers-jumping_rawpixel-720x473.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/teenagers-jumping_rawpixel-150x98.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/teenagers-jumping_rawpixel-768x504.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/teenagers-jumping_rawpixel-800x525.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 1016px) 100vw, 1016px" /></figure>



It&#8217;s a fairly standard question adults ask children: &#8220;What do you want to be when you grow up?&#8221; And when you&#8217;re only six, it&#8217;s quite easy to answer: footballer, ballerina, jockey, astronaut&#8230;



But fast forward 10 years, and life&#8217;s not so simple. Many teenagers and young adults don&#8217;t yet know what career path they&#8217;d like to follow, and if they do, it&#8217;s not always obvious how to get there.



Guidance and advice for teenagers and young adults in their education and early careers choices can be invaluable &#8211; especially when the options are so many and so varied. Degree? Apprenticeship? Gap year? Or not? 



Gah! My head&#8217;s spinning. As a parent of two teenagers I&#8217;m keen to help each of them find and follow their dreams. But I&#8217;m also fairly clueless about the best careers advice to give.



Then I met Sarah Dean who is like a fairy godmother when it come to these things. She&#8217;s a specialist further education and early careers coach and the woman behind Student Springboard based in Surrey, so there&#8217;s not much she doesn&#8217;t know when it comes to career advice.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="686" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/students-graduation_rawpixel.jpg" alt="Students graduating wearing gowns and mortarboard hats." class="wp-image-28083" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/students-graduation_rawpixel.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/students-graduation_rawpixel-300x206.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/students-graduation_rawpixel-720x494.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/students-graduation_rawpixel-150x103.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/students-graduation_rawpixel-768x527.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/students-graduation_rawpixel-765x525.jpg 765w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-let-s-start-with-teenagers-what-can-parents-of-senior-school-students-do-to-help-guide-them">Let’s start with teenagers. What can parents of senior school students do to help guide them?&nbsp;</h3>



Probably ensuring they try to think ahead (at least a bit!) in terms of their pending A level choices and considering alternative options to university such as apprenticeships. Not all students want to continue academic studies, and there are some great apprenticeship opportunities for school leavers and beyond.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Getting teens to talk to friends and family members about their jobs or careers is also helpful. At this point they won’t necessarily know exactly what career suits or interests them, but sometimes a conversation with a family friend can spark an interest. It can also help them know what they don&#8217;t want to do. 



Ideally get them to do some work experience or volunteering so they start to build employability skills. It&#8217;ll also help them see what they do and don’t like in terms of work. This can also help them choose more appropriate A levels (or equivalent) to ensure they’re well-positioned to get into degree courses they&#8217;re keen on, or careers they aspire to.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-should-parents-and-teenagers-start-thinking-about-their-future-is-it-when-they-re-choosing-their-a-levels-or-earlier">When should parents and teenagers start thinking about their future? Is it when they’re choosing their A levels, or earlier?</h3>



During A levels is usually fine. Although I help many students now at GCSE level because they want to make sure they pick the right A levels (or equivalent) to get onto university courses that interest them. They don&#8217;t want to close off job opportunities by not studying specific subjects.&nbsp;Most students I see are in the Lower Sixth, planning their next steps beyond Sixth Form, be that university/degree choices, or perhaps early careers including Higher and degree apprenticeships.&nbsp; I also see many students at university, who are applying for internships or graduate roles and need guidance to choose a career or help with the interview and assessment process which are increasingly competitive. &nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-and-what-if-they-ve-got-no-idea-of-what-they-want-to-do-or-worse-really-bad-ideas-or-even-ambitions-they-ve-got-little-or-no-chance-of-attaining">And what if they’ve got no idea of what they want to do? Or worse, really bad ideas? Or even ambitions they’ve got little or no chance of attaining?</h3>



Most students who come to me have no idea what they want to do – that’s one of the reasons I offer my service.&nbsp;The world of work and further education is hugely confusing and overwhelming even to fully fledged adults. I help to break it down to smaller chunks, and narrow it down to areas that will suit and appeal to their interests, skills and values.&nbsp;Often, talking to someone independent – and who’s not their mum – really helps young people focus on their future.&nbsp;&nbsp;



I’ve not yet met anyone who has a really bad idea – but I’ve certainly had a few who dream of pursuing a career that&#8217;s most likely out of reach. For them, it’s a case of trying to find similar pathways that still tick their boxes, but which are achievable and realistic. It’s incredibly demoralising to continually get turned down for jobs.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-let-s-talk-universities-and-further-education-first-up-university-isn-t-the-be-all-and-end-all-is-that-right-what-other-options-are-there">Let’s talk universities and further education. First up, university isn’t the be-all and end-all &#8211; is that right? What other options are there?</h3>



Absolutely not. But university is fantastic for students who want to continue studying and are really clear about which subjects they want to pursue or which career they desire. A university degree is still an essential requirement for some careers, and can help get you on the career ladder in many cases. However, the growth in alternative opportunities in the last few years has been huge. Higher and degree level apprenticeships now exist in multiple industries including banking, accountancy, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, the armed forces, NHS, marketing, HR, telecoms, retail, travel. There are so many great employers out there.&nbsp; 



For students who quite like the idea of gaining a degree but don’t fancy the debt of university – or who like learning but also like the idea of starting to work, the degree level programs are amazing. They offer the chance to ‘earn and learn’.&nbsp; Of course, these schemes are extremely competitive. So if you think your teen/young adult would suit this sort of opportunity, they need to apply early and be well prepared for all the interviews and assessments they have to complete.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-have-advice-for-choosing-a-university-and-a-course">Do you have advice for choosing a university? And a course?</h3>



There are lots of things you need to think about when choosing a course or a uni – probably too much to write here.&nbsp;But as a starting point, finding the right course is key. So many students drop out of uni in their first year because they’ve chosen the wrong subject.&nbsp;Research is important – as well as considering things likehow much time is actually spent in lectures/seminars versus how much study you have to do on your own in a library. For some students the shock of only having eight hours contact time a week is huge!&nbsp;&nbsp;In a nutshell, I would say, play to your strengths in terms of subjects, choose something you’re really interested in, and do lots of research about the course content and modules as they do vary quite a bit!



Another valuable tip is to consider simple things like how far they want to live from home and whether they like the idea of a campus or a city uni. This can really help to narrow things down. I recommend making an excel spreadsheet to create a tracker which can include pros and cons about both the courses and the Uni’s.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-let-s-talk-about-degree-apprenticeships-can-you-tell-me-about-these">Let&#8217;s talk about degree apprenticeships? Can you tell me about these?</h3>



Many employers now offer degree apprenticeships (some offer sponsored degrees which are a little different but still mean the employer pays the costs of uni fees).&nbsp; Essentially, those doing a degree apprenticeship work most of the time for their employer. And then they&#8217;ll usually spend one day a week at uni, or they might go on ‘block release’ to uni for a few weeks to cover elements of their degree program.&nbsp;DAs are all paid, and the employer also pays all the university fees – so apprentices are ‘earning while they are learning’.&nbsp; 



I’ve helped students get into some fabulous degree apprenticeships in companies such as Jaguar LandRover, Nestle, and I am currently working with a student who’s applying for the 2025 Atkins, AWE and Balfour Beatty programmes!&nbsp; Obviously, degree apprentices don’t get the same university experience as a full-time student, but they will still be at uni with a peer group and will end up with the same qualification. It will take them longer to do it (around 5-6 years instead of 3), but they will also have 5-6 years of work experience on their CV. And no debt!&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-and-life-beyond-further-education-any-advice-anything-they-can-be-doing-now-to-help-them-stand-out-in-a-competitive-world">And life beyond further education? Any advice? Anything they can be doing now to help them stand out in a competitive world?</h3>



I think all employers look for well-rounded applicants &#8211; those who’ve done more than just studied and achieved amazing grades.&nbsp;Anything extra such as extracurricular sports, volunteering, work experience, (even jobs at McDonald&#8217;s, Sainsbury’s, car washing).Taking on positions of responsibility and getting involved in activities such as Duke of Edinburgh adds skills and experiences which students can include on CVs and talk about during interviews.&nbsp;



The assessment processes are getting increasingly tough. It’s incredibly competitive now because companies aren’t recruiting the same numbers and more people graduate from university – so thorough preparation is also crucial.&nbsp; I think the rapid acceleration of technology in the recruitment sector has also had an impact, allowing more people to apply &#8211; and AI does some of the ‘selection’ which means students have to really shine!&nbsp; Spending time making a few targeted quality applications, preparing well for every assessment and interview and really understanding the jobs/companies they are applying to will help – and at StudentSpringboard we provide support on all of these elements to help students stand out from the pack!



<a href="https://www.student-springboard.co.uk/">student-springboard.co.uk</a>

Need careers advice for your child? Student Springboard helps teens find their way

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