Getting my 12 year old son to think of what job/career he want to do when he is older

Fieldsofgold

pollypenny wrote: »

That's another career aspiration to worry about!

Post CSI, Silent Witness etc so many young people have fancied themselves as Gil Grissom that there are number of new uni courses.

Trouble is, there are very few jobs in the field. 150 I believe.

And they prefer a boring old degree in a science like Chemistry rather than the more glamourously branded Forensic Science degrees.

eskimo26

Lily-Rose wrote: »

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that there's nothing wrong with having aspirations to be a teacher? :cool:

It's a good career.

Honestly I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I remember quite vividly when our new head of year started as a new teacher, within two weeks she looked as if she'd aged 10 years, her cheeks had sunk, her eyes were hollow and she looked seriously washed out.

My step dad would say the same as a teacher of maths for 35+ he 'saw the way things were heading' in the nineties and decided to become a private maths tutor.

Since then he has been teaching for a £35/40 a session to rich families, mostly indian, who pass on business by word of mouth. He is 65 and still going strong while his colleagues are retiring on their teacher pensions completely washed out and exhausted.

The difference in the standard of maths he teaches and what his tutees learn in school is like night and day and most of his tutees are going to private schools too.

I wanted to be an educator too but decided not to go for teaching, will be going down the route of qualifying as an OT.

Honestly the education system in this country isn't great in terms of consistency and I dislike the 'curriculum' too, I can't see myself working with it.

daisiegg

eskimo26 wrote: »

Honestly I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy..

Wow! That is a bit harsh, considering you have never been a teacher and all you are basing your assessment on is a new teacher looking tired, and your stepdad deciding two decades ago he didn't like it anymore.

I am a teacher and I love it. Yes, the systems and processes and rules and regulations and paperwork and so on are all changing at an alarming rate right now, and it can make your head spin to try and keep up with each new initiative (many of which barely last long enough to get them off the ground before they are scrapped in favour of the next big thing). However, I would say that it can't be the only career for which this is the case. Plus, the fundamentals of teaching - you, the students, being in that classroom - remain constant. There is lots of cr*p to deal with - as there probably is in any profession - but it is incredibly rewarding. Young people, despite much negative press, are amazing to work with and I couldn't picture myself doing anything else.

Person_one

daisiegg wrote: »

Yes, the systems and processes and rules and regulations and paperwork and so on are all changing at an alarming rate right now, and it can make your head spin to try and keep up with each new initiative (many of which barely last long enough to get them off the ground before they are scrapped in favour of the next big thing). However, I would say that it can't be the only career for which this is the case.

Its certainly the case in nursing/the NHS!

I have to say, I would never have wanted to be a teacher, several friends are and seeing the amount of time they have to devote to school work at evenings and weekends really puts me off.

They love it though, and its a good job that teaching suits some people because good teachers are incredibly important!

Slowdown

This thread is really making me laugh. I am a teacher and have been for 25 years. My husband is an executive head teacher in Inner London. We have 3 children, none of whom want to be teachers. We have neither encouraged nor discouraged this, they have worked it out for themselves.

One is now doing a Physics degree at York but has landed an internship for a finance company, one has been accepted for an acting degree and the other has his sights firmly set on zoology.

My eldest, a girl, doing the physics degree, wanted to be an X factor star, my middle son, soon to be on an acting course, told us he wanted to be a duck when he was older (aged 4 at the time) and whenever asked at the same age, my youngest son would reply with a loud "I want to be a baddie!"

Fortunately none of their ambitions have been realised.

I wouldn't worry at all about your son wanting to be a teacher, it's hard work no doubt, but we can be a pleasant enough crowd.
He doesn't have his head stuck in the clouds, or no interest in anything at all so I really wouldn't worry. Encourage him to follow his interests and most all what makes him happy.
Kind regards
Slowdown:)

Spendless

I was convinced my son was destined to be some sort of Engineer. Never interested in the kits you buy to make what's on the box, he built his own designs in lego from age 5, moving onto k'nex models when he was 8 that were so goodthat if he took them into school the kids used to ask where they could buy them ready-done. My f-i-l was an aircraft mechanic and I thought DS would do something along those lines.

So, I was amazed last Autumn when he came home with an application form to apply for an outreach programme run by a local Uni because his school participates in the scheme, in a totally different subject area and he's now chosen his options (he's in Yr9) to complement the scheme he was succesful in applying to.

My son's school is changing their option process this year so that kids choose them in yr 8. With a birthday that falls later on in the year, a 12yo could be choosing their options. If he's thinking of becoming a PE teacher then let him choose options that will compliment this, whilst not narrowing down his choices too much.

FBaby

What I have found is that most of my DD female friends at 13/14 can say what they want to do career wise, most of her male friends have no idea!

My DD has been set to go to medical school for 3 years now. At first I laughed because she was one of those girls who ran at the sight of blood. It all started when her Y7 science teacher took a real liking in her saying she had exceptional abilities and would she consider a career in medicine. Amazingly, since then, the idea has grown and she is now adamant that is what she wants to do. She has even studied the different schools and decided on which ones she aspires to go to. She now loves watching any proper medical programmes, loves disecting anything, and laugh at people who are scared of blood! She has already registered to do a placement at the local hospital next year. Will see, but I do get a feeling she will stick to it, that is of course if she doesn't get of track with her predicated grades.

daisiegg

FBaby wrote: »

What I have found is that most of my DD female friends at 13/14 can say what they want to do career wise, most of her male friends have no idea!

My DD has been set to go to medical school for 3 years now. At first I laughed because she was one of those girls who ran at the sight of blood. It all started when her Y7 science teacher took a real liking in her saying she had exceptional abilities and would she consider a career in medicine. Amazingly, since then, the idea has grown and she is now adamant that is what she wants to do. She has even studied the different schools and decided on which ones she aspires to go to. She now loves watching any proper medical programmes, loves disecting anything, and laugh at people who are scared of blood! She has already registered to do a placement at the local hospital next year. Will see, but I do get a feeling she will stick to it, that is of course if she doesn't get of track with her predicated grades.

My sister knew she wanted to be a doctor her entire life. She also knew she wanted to study at Cambridge from a young age. She was utterly focused and driven throughout all of her time at school. People may have laughed and said she would change her mind, but here we are and she achieved it all and more.

Good luck to your daughter

morganedge

BBQ141 wrote: »

This is true, when I was 4 I remember, vividly, wanting to be a vampire when I grew up.

lol, my nephew is 5 years old, and told a photographer from a modelling agency that he wanted to be a dinosaur when he grew up.

I just want a job that doesn't make me want to put a bullet in my head and i'm nearly 30!
Still searching for either job or training ideas!
Maybe i'll find something that interests me when i'm older and start university aged 70!

globetraveller

With the fast pace of change these days, it could be the case that your son's job doesn't even exist just now. The best thing you can do is make sure he doesn't limit course choices. Keep them as broad as possible. Point out that being a PE teacher doesn't just mean having an interest in sports. He will have to have good literacy skills as he will be writing reports and making up courses. He will need maths as he will have to deal with statistics and possibly manage a budget. He definitely needs the sciences as PE is not just about exercise its about body knowledge. He may not get college entrance as it could be a year when there are cutbacks and few places available. Therefore he needs to not limit what he can do at an early age. Finally, there may be a course choice that you don't see the value of but your son would love to do. Don't battle that one- it can't all be slog:)