From A-Levels to Careers: Strategic Subject Selection for Long-Term Goals

Choosing A- level subjects can be tricky one, whether you’re indecisive or not; you want to make sure you’re happy with your choices as two years is quite a long time to study three or four subjects!

Here are some tips to guide you on A- level choices:

1. Don’t just pick all completely new subjects for the sake of novelty.

It’s tempting to choose subjects that are entirely different to the ones you did at GCSE, but think about this. You should capitalise on your strengths and interests you had at GCSE- for instance, if you loved GCSE in maths and achieved an 8, consider talking maths at a level. It’s a good idea to ensure you are familiar with your a- level choices already, so you have a ‘taster’ of what you’re getting into. That being said, if you want to go into the law field and choose to take law, sociology and psychology, it does not necessarily mean you will struggle because your choices are completely unfamiliar- especially as these subjects intersect. After all, there’s no guarantee that you won’t find any of your subjects difficult, even if you picked all subjects you did exceptionally well at GCSE. Just keep in mind that you shouldn’t just be picking new subjects solely to ‘break away’ from the subjects you did previously.

2. Do not pick subjects just because your friends are doing them or your family want you to do so.

This may seem like an absurd advisory but there are still some that have the mindset of ‘I’ll just pick what my friends are taking.’ You will be doing these subjects for 2 years, in immense depth so take what you are interested in! A-levels are enriching but extremely demanding; they ultimately and typically determine future pathways, such as university, apprenticeships and jobs in general: take subjects that are attainable, subjects you know you will be able to work hard for. The worst thing would be to have picked subjects others wanted you to take, thus lacking motivation to do well and flunking your a levels which could impede you from getting into your dream job or the university course you aspire to pursue. Obviously, everyone’s circumstances are different, some have strong external pressure but as a guidance, pick the subjects YOU enjoy!

3. Be mindful and prudent of what you want to do as a career with your choices.

Although it is normal to be undecided of what you want to do as a career at this stage, (I still am whilst writing this!) keep in mind that you should take subjects that at least correlate with your interests, which may turn into a career. For example, if you’re someone that enjoys reading and analysing texts, English literature would seem appropriate to take, especially as there are innumerable transferable skills, such as being able to infer meaning from texts and articulating responses- this is what an employer may look for in a wide range of jobs, such as journalism and even marketing in regards to writing adverts. The opportunities are endless; your A-level choices should align with your interests.

4. Do your research.

Find out what the content of your potential A-levels is. Some include coursework; it may be a good idea to look into what the coursework and what the exam content is- what this entails will most likely influence your choices and give you an insight into what you’re ’getting into.’ You will probably also discover that there are less enjoyable aspects of any A-level. This is to be expected. For example, usually people might dislike the research methods of psychology and sociology but love most of the content.

5. Listen to others.

This almost seems contradictory to point number 2 but value others’ advice too. This may involve speaking to friends who have completed or are in the midst of A-level chemistry, for instance or relatives who did A-level physics- the subject syllabus could have been different to when they took it, but the fundamentals of the subject will always be the same.

Hence, listening to others with a combination of knowing your own interests, as well as doing your research will provide the ultimate insight.

Take these five tips with a pinch of salt, good luck with your A-level choices!