Whether you’re in the middle of your standard grades, highers or maybe haven’t started exams yet, it’s never too early to start thinking about your career. The majority of students will go on to further education after they leave school but heading off to college or university isn’t for everyone, and better still, it’s perfectly fine not to! Many teenagers find themselves at a crossroads unable to decide the next stage of their lives and we understand your pain. Keep reading to discover the amazing things you could accomplish straight from school…
Careers in the Media
Trainee Schemes or work experience with local papers and radio stations are the best way to get into the media industry. The BBC Trainee Schemes or ITV Apprenticeships are just two of the ways to get your foot in the door. Dubious if it really works? Well property TV guru Kirstie Allsopp left school and got her first job working with an interior designer. She then worked up the ranks in television to get to where she is today. American Idol presenter, and all round hottie, Ryan Seacrest also didn’t attend university. He got a job presenting radio after gaining some work experience during high school and he’s been doing it ever since.
Police Scotland
Want a more physically demanding job? What about life in the police force? Each area of Scotland are responsible for their own police recruitment which you can find here. However come April, the eight areas of Scotland will merge to become Police Scotland therefore the recruitment policy may change. You’ll need to successfully complete a fitness assessment and an eye test however it is a very rewarding career. The Scottish Police Service operate a professional development pathway for their staff so essentially, starting off as a cadet, you will continuously be working to make your way up the career ladder, which subsequently means more responsibility and a bigger salary – not bad, eh? What’s also great is that there is opportunity to even gain some qualification by working in the police service. So even if you decide further education is not for you after you leave school, there’s always a chance to gain qualifications further into your career.
Entrepreneur
Fancy running your own business? Good news is you don’t need a degree in business studies to do so. If there’s one thing Lord Sugar himself has taught us, it’s that becoming an entrepreneur just takes a really good idea and the know-how to make it work. Sometime it’s the simplest ideas that are the best. Comedy genius Will Ferrell founded Funny or Die a online video hosting site, pretty much YouTube, but only supports comedy content. Viewers then vote on whether the video is funny or not. It couldn’t be simpler! I’m sure his celebrity status helped his website thrive, however the likes of Alan Sugar, who started his business selling video equipment out the boot of a car, fought his way to the top and is now one of the top business men of the world. To help get you started below are some websites worth checking out for funding and business advice to get your idea from paper to the shelves…
www.scottish-enterprise.com
www.scotland.gov.uk
www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk
www.psybt.org.uk
Air Cabin Crew
Studying travel and tourism, hospitality or languages could prove to be valuable but isn’t necessary to become air cabin crew. You will need to have a good standard of health, be of a minimum height and age and be able to travel worldwide unrestricted. Once those boxes are ticked it’s time to delve further into the life of the cabin crew. You’ll lead a jet-setting life – Glasgow today, Vegas tomorrow then onwards to Tokyo the day after that. You’ll earn discounted travel with your company and the more hours in the sky you work, the faster you can develop on your way up to the top. Check out British Airways, Virgin, easyJet and Ryanair for more information on their recruitment requirements and procedures.
Gap Year
These are only a few careers you can jump into without further eduction but what happens when you still unsure? Well, believe it or not, there are still lots of options available to you. Quite a number of students take a gap year either after, before or during university. This can be anything from 3 months to a year traveling, working abroad or volunteering for a charity. There are a number of websites that can help you get started: Real Gap, STA Travel, Think Pacific, Bunac, Camp America
Finding a Job
Staying closer to home? Lots of students decide they’d prefer to earn some money so finding a job and making some cash can be a great way of discovering your skills. The great thing about working is that many careers in retail are developed from the ground up and if you find you have a flair for fashion or hospitality, you can work your way up to manager level raking in the cash as you go! Many of these companies will also run graduate schemes so even if you feel you want to go to university, working part-time while you study is a great way of developing your career.
Work Experience
If you’re unsure about which path to follow, why not try your hand at lots of different careers to see what you like and what you don’t. You can find work experience by using persistence and good manners. Start researching what companies you have access to in the area where you live and make a list of your skills and compare them to the careers on your list. If you find similarities why not give them a call and see if they would let you gain some work experience for a week or two. If you get on well you never know where it might lead.
