Missed career choices

My abiding interest and passion for the last 40 years has been archaeology, especially landscape archaeology and history. I did a degree in it when I retired.

But I could have done this from Day 1. In the Sixth form. we had a temporary geography teacher. Anew graduate, whose specialism was historical geography. For end-of-term relaxations she had us looking at place name elements and what the ditribution ofthem on some areas told you about settlement, farming and geology. I was totally fascinated. If she had talked more about what and where she was at universoty, I would have followed in her footsteps, but she was 21, didn't want anyone knowing she was a 'schoolmarm', she was only doing it for a year, and talked very little about the possibilities.

So I went somewhere else and got a degree in economics and have never had any reason to regret it, but, but, but - there is always that nagging regret.

As a retired careers adviser, I must stick up for our much maligned profession! Remember it's advice not a magic wand! A short interview/ careers inventory/ careers lesson can't look into your soul and give you the perfect career! I do think 16 - 18 is incredibly early for young people to know what they really want out of life and, for many of us, our 20s / 30s is still too early!
Nowadays there are all sorts of games/ questionnaires etc online and in education to help develop career awareness. However, unsurprisingly, a lot of young people will stick to a limited number of career ideas they see reflected in the media. Or they take advice from their family / elders which isn't always the best thing. Before I retired an awful lot of young people wanted to be forensic psychologists based on TV programmes they had seen - no real idea of what such a career involved or how they might get into it. I suppose the one thing that's important is to get young people to think about their skills, qualities, ambitions, preferences and then do one hell of a lot of research and keep an open mind. Work experience used to be a great idea too, when it was properly administered. Nowadays we've gone down the route of internships ..... hmmm.
I haven't posted very much so far as I'm new to all this so do be kind - this is just my point of view!!!

I don’t think most on here missed out on a fulfilling career, they’re just musing about could-have-beens. Several have said they’d like to have been translators/interpreters, and that was one of my jobs. Not always all it’s cracked up to be if you’re translating engineering specs and shipping documents, but I enjoyed most of it, as I did the rest of my varied working life. I still think I’d have made a cracking crossword compiler though. Or a code cracker.

Loved my job - only went to Uni aged 29, when our youngest started school. But I think I would have been a very good Tour Operator.

I would have been an estate agent as I love buildings of any sort particularly victorian

I decided to get a professional qualification when I returned to work after having children. Best thing I ever did, just because you missed out at school doesn't mean that you can't achieve a measure of success

Do watch the film Hidden Figures over Christmas, if you dion't know it already. I bet those fabulous women were never told as school that they could do their important jobs.

I really wanted to be a policewoman but there was height restrictions at the time, and I was too short!
So I went into nursing and am still nursing now
I can’t wait to retire though, I’ve had enough and this last year has been particularly testing. Although I don’t completely regret this choice I would have enjoyed it far more if it was better paid !!!

Your headmistress was a good'n, Maggie. At my state grammar we had one interview with the senior mistress and she told us what we should do. It was either nursing or teaching and I was told teaching was the one for me. That completely set me against teaching as I did not like the senior mistress so I worked at a bank as 'suggested' by my Mum and I hated it. Funnily enough, what did I get into fifteen years later? Yes, teaching, and I loved it.

Funnily enough, Granny23, a discussion on my old girls’ forum has just reminded me that my headmistress had plenty of ambition for us at our state grammar. If anyone dared suggest they wanted to be a secretary, she’d say that she expected her girls to have secretaries, not be them.

DH & I went to the Parent's Night at DD1's high school. This was towards the end of her 2nd year in High School - time to make her subject choices for year 3. Every teacher gave her a glowing report, every one thought she should continue in their subject. Finally we had to stand in a Queue to see her form teacher who was charged with recommending a way forward. She started well by saying that DD was a very clever girl, but then suggested that she should drop Latin and instead take shorthand and typing then she could "rise" to be secretary to a Managing Director. DH, normally a quiet man, said loudly for all to hear - "Miss N...... , My Daughter will be that Managing Director', turned on his heel and walked away to applause from the queue of parents.

When I passed the eleven plus and my mother and I went to the meeting at the High School, we were told by the Head that you may think it is not important to educate girls, but it is. The girl will then get a good job and meet the right sort of man to marry and settle down with, My mum was shocked. I still had to leave school at sixteen because my mum had to leave work as she had her sixth child and I had to contribute to the household. In my forties I studied for 6 years while holding down a full time job and achieved my goal of getting a good degree and now have BSc to my name. It enabled me to get a good job to build up my pension.

I wanted to join the army as a nurse in the QARNC but my mother forbade it she said ladies didn't join the army!

I went to a grammar school and there was no career advice there. Lots of girls left after GCEs and went into libraries or banks. The sixth form was mostly the better off girls. I was lucky although we were working class my parents really believed education was important.

I don't ever recall seeing a careers advisor at our secondary school. Girls were usually recommended to become typists/secretaries, hairdressers or work in a shop. I very much wanted to be a vet, but even I realised that my exam results were unlikely to get me into university. My second choice was a career in art, maybe book illustration. I excelled in art throughout school and my teacher literally begged my mother to let me stay on another year to take the exams to get into art college. She knew I would pass. But my Mum absolutely flatly refused, saying "I'm not having my daughter wasting her time with a bunch of long haired arty types. There's no money in art!" My mother found me a job in a bank as a shorthand typist. I did actually like the job mainly because of the people I worked with. Most of my working life was in banking. If I could turn the clock back, and with the wider knowledge I have now, there are lots of jobs that would appeal to me: animal rescue; veterinary nurse (they didn't seem to exist back then); art restoration; leatherwork/saddlery; carpentry; upholstery; antique restoration; auctioneer. So much more choice for young people today. Our sons chose their own careers, which they are happy and successful in, but with no influence from us, but always support and encouragement. I hope our GC will do the same.

I loved languages and would have loved to have been a translator or interpreter, but realised early on in 6th form that my A level results were not going to be good enough for university, so I decided on teacher training, which really was the right choice.

DM wanted me to leave school at 16 to work in a bank, and I can remember a couple of my teachers visiting her and DF at home to persuade them that I should stay on for 6th form. So glad they did. We had no career advice at all, and I just wasn't aware of any options other than teaching. Nursing never entered my mind. Glad I opted for teaching though, as I would never had met DH!

I always wanted to be a hairdresser too, but my mum also said no money in it. My hairdresser is always on cruises, going to Dubai, etc. Think I shouldn't of listened to my mother!

There just aren't 'careers for life' any more for most of us. That can be good thing, as I worked in several fields.

I originally wanted to work with animals - but that became a hobby.

My work life began in libraries, then progressed to mainframe computers before having children (and childminding too at times).

I studied again, and began teaching in my forties. I loved it all so don't feel I missed anything.

For the most part I enjoyed my career in nursing and social care and wouldn't have wanted to do anything else.
Secretly I wanted to be the Madam of a brothel.

Actually, working in a shop is good.
All jobs are essential.
What I meant was that aspirations should never have been treated with ridicule.
It happened at grammar schools too, songstress

songstress60

I had NO career advice as I went to a secondary school and you were either considered only fit to be a cleaner or factory fodder, so I worked in a shop for years.

That was not good.

Some of my friends "failed" the 11+ (no such thing imo) but we had an excellent girls' secondary modern, where they were encouraged to achieve and I met up with some of my friends at Technical College where many of us from both the grammar and the secondary modern went for 'A' levels and other vocational courses.

Though I was fortunate enough to go to grammar school, I had to leave after taking my GCEs as my mother was single and couldn't afford to let me stay on. At 16 I got a job in local government and trained as a shorthand typist. A few years later I transferred to the legal section and ended up doing legal work - I loved it; I was encouraged to train as a Legal Executive or Solicitor (all paid for via the Council) but never had the confidence to do it. I so wish I had.

I was asked by the careers officer “do you want to work in an office, shop or factory “ that was the only choice given to us. I wanted to be a police officer but was too short, I now work in IT but know I would have made a great detective

Interestingly, although my Mum was a single parent of humble origins, she instilled in me that the world was my oyster. She did her level best to get me educated. I had no idea how much insight she had. I daily revere her love for me and her memory.

Shorthand and typing for you......