Help and Support

1. Be clear about your likes and dislikes and strengths and weaknesses. You can’t choose a course or job if you don’t understand yourself.
2. You need to realistically consider your GCSE predicted grades. Many courses require you to achieve specific grades eg to study Biology, Chemistry or Physics ‘A’ levels you will usually need to achieve GCSE grade B’s in your science subjects. Use Ucas Progress to find out about grade requirements, take the Skills health check quiz or look at the UCAS Buzz quiz.
3. What is important to you in doing a course or job? Make a list of factors e.g. travel arrangements, money, near home or away, hours, how a course is assessed, whether a job is mainly inside or outside etc. Use these factors to help you consider your choices.  National Careers Service website and UCAS explore jobs website will help.
4. Do your research.  Write down the main choices and then for each find out as much information as possible. Read this information in detail and compare it to what you thought about yourself. National Careers Service website will help.
5. For course choices, visit the place first, or at least have a good look at the College/Sixth form online and attend open events.You can’t be certain that you will like a place without seeing it yourself.
6. Watch free online videos of people in a range of jobs/courses. These can give you new ideas/inspiration.Try www.icould.com, www.careersbox.co.uk or www.youtube.co.uk or speak to people who do the jobs you are interested in.
7. Write down the advantages and disadvantages of each of your choices and then show this to someone else to get their opinion.
8. Try putting your main options in rank order from most to least attractive/suitable.
9. Test out your ideas by talking to a careers adviser or teacher/tutor. They will help you think through the options.
10. Always have a back up option in case your first choice doesn’t work out.