What careers advice did you get at school, and did you follow it ?

[marinyork]

Careers advice virtually non-existent at school. Did a multiple choice questionnaire too on a computer. If you were inclined you could go to the careers centre in town (that was still open then) or the megaplush Connexions offices (before the mad Blair experiment was closed down).

The top few 'matches' were chemical engineer, civil engineer, aerospace engineer, mechanical engineer, psychologist , paralegal and national park ranger. And the extended list had just about every extended type of engineer you could think of. I didn't follow a bit of this advice, always found it quite funny as definitely not an engineer by birth.

Been told a huge number of times that I should be a teacher of maths or physics in my adult life .

 

[Yellow Fang]

My father was a careers advisor, but I still did not have any idea what I really wanted to do. We did have a careers advisor at school and even some time set aside for it.

There are some pretty good books on careers advice, giving details on what the job is like, what qualifications you need, what personal attributes, etc. I bought one for a friend's daughter. She's since decided to study law at university.

 

[Arrowfoot]

I seem to sense that your form teachers or even the head of the school who know more of a student and their indie individual attributes provide better advice. Certainly parents and friends helped as well but much of it in the end was due to opportunity, personal interest and underlying desire from an early age to go towards a particular vocation or field.

 

[midlife]

I was told I was going to be "A man about town" and a "fly by night" .............. very helpful for 1978.

Shaun

 

[winjim]

The computer thingy that we filled in at school matched me to Royal Marines Officer, followed by Royal Marines Commando. Although I'm pleased that it thought I was officer material, anyone who has ever met me would see how hoplessly inaccurate it was.

Unless the RM have started taking shy 10 stone weak pacifist cowards.

 

[Dave7]

I went to a secondary modern school and left in 1960.
I got called up by the teacher who said you (and 3 others) have got an interview tomorrow at the Royal Liver Insurance (Liverpool)..............no choice-that's your interview sorted.
We all sat down to a paper multi choice type questionnaire. I still remember one question was "the windscreen wipers on a car are for a) holding the windscreen up b) clearing the rain c) .........cant remember that one.
I got the job and walked out of school the next day without any teacher speaking to me or giving any advice.
Still hard to believe that's how it happened.

 

[tyred]

We did have a careers guidance person who was about as much use as a chocolate fire guard as her stock response to everyone when they suggested what they wanted to do was "no way, far too stupid!"

I've no idea how I've ended up in this job but I wish I could find the confidence to do something different!

 

[snorri]

Careers advice
The rector came into a mixed classroom and handed out five copies of a thick soft backed book titled 'Opportunities for School Leavers' to boys in the room. I was one of the five and took this as a hint to leave school at the end of the term. The other four stayed on and went on to complete their secondary education.
I arranged an interview with the Youth Employment Agency and immediately after that interview was informed that i could have a job interview later that day at a nearby company at which I was employed a month or two later.
The rector stopped me at school a week or two later and said "I see you have applied for a job", but offered no further comment. I'll never know if he thought I had reached the end of my schooling or not.

 

[growingvegetables]

None that I remember - for those doing enough Highers, it was just assumed they'd go to uni and sort themselves out.

No IT opportunities then - it was the year the first affordable (?) Texas Instruments pocket calculator hit the shops. "Won't last!" we said; "Cheating!" we said; "Don't trust them!" we said.

 

[ufkacbln]

Careers advice? Don't make me laugh! I saw careers advisors twice, once at school and once at Poly. On both occasions the conversation went like this:

CA: "What subjects are you doing?"

Self: "Modern languages."

CA: "Oooh, you could be a teacher, an interpreter or a translator!"

....thus ignoring the infinite opportunities for people with modern languages and the ability to travel and operate abroad.

Friends of ours have a daughter doing Arabic at Uni

They area along the lines of teacher or interpreter.

She intends to work for MI5!!!!!!

Not a popular move with the parents

 

[postman]

Those of us with just a smattering of intelligence,but never going to really shine.We got bused to Charles S.Roe engineers up in Seacroft,to a factory.This was 1966,we were fodder.I said no thanks.I had no idea what i wanted to do.Sorry to say i just drifted,and in 1972 found myself at Royal Mail.It was better than being a painter and decorator.I stayed thirty four years,left with a redundancy package and pension at 56,so all in all a secure job.But nothing to brag about.

 

[postman]

Unless the RM have started taking shy 10 stone weak pacifist cowards.

WinJim they took me.

 

[palinurus]

I went to a Grange Hill type comprehensive back in the late 70's. The only advice we got was on the basis of a multiple choice questionnaire ..

I also went to 'Grange Hill'. I filled in a multiple choice questionnaire which was analyzed by a computer (!)

It warned me- by a dot matrix printout- that there weren't many matches since many of my answers were 'dislike very much'

It recommended I become a theatrical lighting technician, I already had some experience so I gave it a little thought- even got a stage school prospectus- but decided against it. I think lab technican was my second match so I did that instead.

Someone else at my school found a very efficient way of choosing a job: on the careers advice sheet the top entry was 'abattoir', so he just chose that (and went on to work at the abattoir until he left after an argument about how many pigs he should carry)

 

[growingvegetables]

They area along the lines of teacher or interpreter.

Hmm - things haven't changed much for women's career advice in 40 years then.

Back in my day - primary teaching, secretarial work (on typewriters), or nursing.

 

[stephec]

I saw the careers teacher once and was told about a place that was advertising for trainee quantity surveyors.

She tried to make it sound very nice with on the job training and day release for professional qualifications but I just didn't like the sound of it, so that was the conversation over.