If you asked a handful of under-10s what they want to be when they grow up, chances are at least one of them is going to say astronaut. You might get a few more who’d come out with YouTube slime reviewer or professional Fortnite dancer, but space explorer is a timeless classic.
We’d be lying if we said it doesn’t still sound like one of the coolest careers out there. But out of everyone who’s ever dreamed of piloting their own rocket, how many people actually ever wind up with the elusive job? Not many – but maybe not for the reasons you might expect.
0 Comments
When everyone is telling you to make a choice on your future in school or college, it can feel like the most stressful time in the world. If you live to the average age of 81.5 years (in the UK), you'll make about 850,000,000 choices in that time...
Wherever you are, whether that’s applying for post-18 options or just starting to think about them, we want you to remember that it’s all about what’s right for you.
Maybe you like the idea of getting in some more learning on a subject area that interests you, but the academic life really just doesn’t float your boat. No problem, after all, everyone learns in different ways. It’s never too early to start thinking about your future. That may seem like a scary idea, but think of it in baby steps. Once results are in on Thursday, you have four options — two if you got the grades you wanted, and two if you didn't:
If you got the grades you wanted: Thumbs up, round of applause, pat on the back, etc. Your two options are: Some of you who were in year 12 did exams last term, and this week may well be when you get your results.
Okay. Exhale. It will be okay. Push is here to help whether you hit above your weight, hit your target or got hit with a dead haddock on results day 2018. Think you’ve missed the boat if you don’t head straight from college to uni? These days, that can’t be any further from the case. The stereotypical student may be late teens, early 20s, but the world of higher education is opening up more and more to mature students from all ages.
If you’re anything like the rest of us, it’s not a stretch to say you’ve probably sat around at some point thinking – what makes me unique? How do I stand out from the crowd? These existential questions particularly rear their ugly heads when you’re faced with a personal statement for college or uni, or a cover letter for a job.
And it’s tough. Everyone’s their own biggest critic, but when it comes to singing your own praises, especially as to why you’re a better choice than anyone else, it can feel like an impossible task. Yeah, we know you’re all pretty amazing. But to really stand out from the crowd of other applicants for a job or course, you need to have something else on offer besides the same GCSEs, A-Levels or degree as everyone else you’re up against. Let’s face it, we’re a nation of social media addicts. It has its ups and downs – there are only so many angles you can shoot avocado toast from. At the end of the day though, most of us wouldn’t be without it, the beautiful time waster that it is.
But what if we were to tell you that there’s a social media platform that, actually, is really quite productive? A platform that cuts out all the unnecessary relationship status updates and dog ear filters, and that is really quite useful when it comes to developing your future career? We've all heard it, right? The dreaded millennial Catch-22: to get experience, you need a job. To get a job, you need experience.
Unsurprisingly, high numbers of young people in the UK go through long unpaid placements, internships and work experience programmes to gain the experience required for their first full-time job. This may seem like an inevitable link in the career chain, but for many, unpaid internships are a pretty crappy thing. Primarily, unpaid placements work only on the basis that you have significant savings to support you while you're working for (optimistically) experience, or (pessimistically) nothing. You may want to just get a job right out of school or college.
If your main motivation right now in life is money, then go for it. You'll need to hunt out employers in your area, and there are plenty of job-hunting websites you can do this on. If, however, you want those deeper rewards like respect, creativity, helping people, a love of learning, a feeling of self-worth by working alongside an inspiring person who can help you learn a specific skill or craft, then just rushing into any old job at 18 just for a quick pay packet won't be your best bet. If they made a Hollywood movie of my first experience of university, the cheesy-yet-catchy tagline would read “he fell out of love with his course... but fell in love with his city”.
The movie would have a split time-line, showing flashbacks of me aged 18 and the mishaps and adventures of the next four years, balanced with an older, wiser me pontificating on the pros and cons of the whole experience, and apparently seeming all the more life-chiselled for it. Really don't know what you want to do? Panic not, young Padawan. Life's not a journey on the underground, it's a road trip. It's never just about the destination.
Have a loose idea of where you're going, but enjoy the journey each day. That's much more important in the long run. Remember, your journey has already started. Here's Push speaker Moj Taylor's tips on continuing it in the best way. No idea what to do next? Here's a word from Push speaker Moj Taylor, on the beauty of the unplanned road trip.
"When I was in sixth form, apart from myself and my best friends, it felt like everyone else around me had a good idea of the type of job they wanted to do. It’s a marathon, not a sprint
Think of life as a marathon. You’re running along a path that leads to the things you’d like, at the times you’d like them. You can stop at any time, rest and reassess your route, and you can use those running ahead of you to inspire you. Just like any race, you’ll see people ahead of you and others behind you. There’ll even be people running right alongside you, perhaps on the exact path you’re on So, you might be thinking about taking a gap year. You might have blindly just stumbled into one.
Worried about funding it? If you're keen to travel the world whilst getting physically fit, while developing skills like teamwork, communication, leadership, tenacity and initiative, then The Army's Gap Year Commission is 100% worth a look. Mythbusters!
Before we even start, let’s nail a few common myths: Myth 1: All universities are the same. Myth 2: You’ll have a great time wherever you go. Myth 3: It is possible to say which is the best university in the country. None of these is true and the sooner people accept it, the sooner there’ll be no need for articles like this one. Status is a pretty big deal in the world of higher education.
It's not unrelated to the uni's age, (so head over to our post on the old vs. the new to catch up) because within a few months in 1992, there were suddenly nearly 40 new universities all over the country. They didn’t just materialise like an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Previously they were ‘polytechnics’. Been canoeing on a school trip and didn't hate it? Got a pretty strong stomach and some sea legs on you? Studied Arts, Languages, Humanities? You might not have thought it, but the Royal Navy could be for you.
Push are always up for introducing you to new ideas and opportunities, and a Navy grad job is as good as any. Apply to become a Royal Navy Officer and you'll get not only a whopping starter salary of £25,000, but private dental care and the chance to travel the world. And that's just the start. A career with the Navy can develop you into a highly skilled manager, and will support you through further MA study if that's something you're interested in. You don't have to worry about your undergraduate degree being unsuitable either, because the scope of backgrounds they hire grads from is as wide as the horizon you'll be chasing. There are 19 different grad roles to choose from, and these fall under:
...and these range from Aircrew Officer Pilot to Logistics Officer Submariner to Royal Marines Officer to Naval Nurse. Go have a look at their job descriptions – there are more options than you can shake a submarine at. If you're looking for a career that pays well, offers extensive training from the get-go, will support your academic and career development at every turn and offers you lifelong friendships, you could do a lot worse than this. Have a look at their website and don't hesitate to get in touch with them if you have any questions – if you're physically fit, pride yourself on your leadership skills, have 5 GCSEs at A-C, 180 UCAS points and a relevant degree (or equivalent) this might be right up your street. And hey, the best of us aren't the Olympians we'd like to be. If this sounds pretty great but you're not sure you could hack the physical side, they have some great training plans to get you fighting fit. International travel, free postgraduate tuition and a six-pack. Who could say no to that? |
This section will not be visible in live published website. Below are your current settings: Current Number Of Columns are = 1 Expand Posts Area = Gap/Space Between Posts = 15px Blog Post Style = card Use of custom card colors instead of default colors = Blog Post Card Background Color = current color Blog Post Card Shadow Color = current color Blog Post Card Border Color = current color Publish the website and visit your blog page to see the results Categories
All
We're always interested to hear from talented young writers, so if you'd like to feature as a guest author then hit us up for more details.
|