Careers advice for children

nightowl [smile[

They do Movedalot. If only we knew that while we were going through the challenging years! Perhaps it's because we have learned this that we can be more relaxed as grandparents than we were as parents

Nightowl I think we all have a rough ride at times with our children. The RBS was no picnic! DS2 was sometimes a stroppy brat and always very strong willed. We felt he would be successful but used to worry if it would be legal! He was also a dancer and one day decided to give up so he could have evenings, weekends and holidays when he wanted them. Now he is a successful copywriter who has benefitted from the determination and dedication needed to succeed as a dancer which stood him in very good stead when he went back to college. Most of them turn out OK in the end don't they?

But how wonderful to have such a talent Movedalot and to be able to bring such joy to people.

Each of my three children stumbled their way through school (or not in the case of my youngest - he simply opted out) but I think they are at last finding where they want to be. All the advice and guidance in the world was of no use until they were ready to hear it. I think it has been character building but it's been a rocky road at times.

DS decided he wanted to be a ballet dancer at age 7 and still is at age 30. He still enjoys it and has a very fulfilling career. He won't make much money but that doesn't bother him. The hardest thing for us was to let him go to the Royal Ballet School at 11 when he had won a scholarship to a very academic school. We trust that the right thing will come along when his career is over.

Quite!

Arthritis is an occupational disease in field archaeology. One of DS's friends began to devlop it before he was 30!

I'm sure, but with my arthritis which started when I was young, I couldn't have physically managed it!
But I still enjoy reading about it and visiting sites.

Galen, the career DS chose at the age of 4, was in fact archaeology. It doesnt pay brilliantly but the sheer pleasure he gets from spending his time doing something he loves makes up for the relatively poor financial return and the endless bureaucracy that goes with the academic life.

At 12 I decided I really wanted to be an archaeologist, but decided it wouldn't pay enough, so,
1 a lawyer
2 a doctor

It all depended which I passed or failed, Latin or physics.

Latin 23%
Physics 50%

I did medicine!

Now I sit on tribunals which combines the two. Very big

Some of us know what we want!

I do sometimes wonder how people got into their line of work. My youngest son's girlfriend has applied for a university course in shipping management. She used to live very close to the docks in Falmouth and became fascinated by shipping operations.

DH & I both ended up in careers that did not even exist when we were at school. Likewise DD works in an occupation that did not exist when she was at school. It is actually the third occupation she has had that did not exist when she was at school

DS decided what he wanted to do when he was 4 and barely deviated throughout his childhood, went to university, got the degrees and is now an academic researcher and lecturer.

Good advice from everyone- thanks! I agree that it's far too early to be thinking about a career and he does change his mind all the time, as children do. I suppose we were trying to give him the message that he should keep his options open and as Bez says, avoid closing any avenues. I thought of a careers book as a way of showing him that there were opportunities out there that he had never even thought of. Perhaps it would give a different message though. Always a good idea to try things out on Gransnet.

I've got a cartoon just next to me that was about me going for a careers guidance interview in @ 1972. It ended with me falling off the end of a conveyor belt full of skeletons and Although I do have a computer print out [done when computers were the size of small houses] that pointed me in the direction of reception work which I laughed at at the time. Which proves that computers have more intelligence than we give them credit for .

Me too Tegan but then I don't know when I'm going to grow up either!

Always stick to core subjects was the advice given to my daughter. She dropped History at O Level because she knew she would be able to still do it at A Level, which she did [and then went on to teach it]. For some reason I tried to dissuade my son from doing Art at A Level and it became his best subject [and one that he enjoyed the most as well]. There is so much pressure on children these days to make decisions so early; I do feel sorry for them. I'm sure I read once that very few people made a career out of the subject they did at University, but feel I must have misunderstood. I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up .

I think your grandson should consider opting for the GCSE subjects that he enjoys and is happy with, bite the bullet with Maths and English if these don't fall into the 'happy' zone, and take it from there.
Far to early for him to consider making a choice of career.
Wish him all the best.

Thanks for your replies- I know exactly what you mean and it's not something we would have brought up if he didn't keep talking about it himself. At school, they have already talked to his class about choosing subjects for GCSE and he is now planning which subjects he's going to drop because they're "no use". We are trying to say "Keep your options open, try hard at everything and decide later". I wondered if seeing all the different careers on offer might encourage him to do that. Maybe I'm taking him too seriously

When my children were at the stage of deciding which subjects to take or drop for O level, the Headmaster gave what I thought was very good advice and said they should consider what avenues close because you have dropped a certain subject. Puts quite a different perspective on things.

I agree glammanana At 12 there is so much time for change isn't there?

I remember telling my careers "teacher" that I wanted to work in a prison Jeez where did that come from? I would have been eaten alive !

Totally agree with glamma. Too, too much pressure on a 12 year old. I would wait for him to talk about a job he might want to do and then find out about and discuss it with him but only gently, nothing heavy at 12. He has plenty of time to think about lots of jobs.

Snoozy Trust me he will change his mind so many times during the next years at school I know all my DGSs did,one went from being a sports professional/dentist/gardener to now taking a year off from studying law at uni and working in a bar/restaurant.His brother always wanted to be a diesel mechanic and he has acheived his goal working for Land Rover after just coming out of his apprentership,so the options are all there for him in the future when he makes his decission.
I do feel though at 12 he should not be focussing to much on what he is wanting to do just yet,he should be out there enjoying his childhood as it is gone in a flash.