You’ve received your A level results… how are you feeling? You’ve been in the education system since the age of 4 and you’re now 18. That’s 14 years of your life of going to school, with a regular routine, teachers you can call on for any assistance you may need. You’ve now been given your results and it’s up to you on what you do now and where you want to go. Let’s a address a few things first.
What are my friends doing?
Are you influenced by what your friends are doing? They all sound pretty set in what career they want to per sue and what university they want to attend and they’ve already predicted what their life is going to be like in 5 years time.
Be supportive of your friends lovely plans for the future and don’t worry if you don’t have quite a detailed plan, your plans will fall into place.
What does your family want for you?
Do you talk about life after A levels with your parents? Are they encouraging you to go to University? Do your parents understand what you want out of life and help you with a plan? If your parents or a sibling have gone to university, it might seem like a natural progression that the same expectation is there for you too. However, you must discuss with your family of the plans you have for yourself after sixth form. Any parent will want the best for their child and if they are encouraging your to go to University, explore the options together. If you are not wanting to go to University immediately after A levels, discuss the pro’s and cons of your choice together and share what you wish to do instead.
What do you want to do?
So we’ve looked at what your friends are doing and what your parents might want for you but what do you want to do? If you know what you want to do that’s great, you’ve got a plan. If the answer is, you don’t know what you want to do, did you know that any decision you make is the right one? Because it’s your decision and you know what’s right for you. Take time by yourself, what career you’d like to per sure instead.
The decisions you make aren’t going to destine the rest of your life. I work with teachers and teaching assistants and lots of them decide to do their teaching degree/PGCE later in life. What you’re interested in at 18 are you still going to be interested in that in 20 years? Some have a career change, or adapt and work in a different areas of their industry. I’m now 32 and I’m still taking courses and finding new things to develop myself, your A levels results are not the end!
