A levels

DJ_Martin

DJ_Martin

DJ_Martin

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As I am probably one of the younger ones on this forum (16) :D I have just finished my GCSEs/going onto A levels and to me it seems like this is the first really important choice for me regarding how the rest of my life will turn out.

With GCSEs you are still taking a lot of subjects and there is a lot of room for you to change around what you want to do, A levels on the other hand, you have 4 subjects (and in my school you are 'strongly advised' to drop one of them at the end of the first year and they make it pretty difficult for you if you want to keep them all).

I really still have no idea what I want to do, my strengths lie in physics and maths so naturally I have chosen those as two of my subjects, the third being computing and then because these three seem like a lot of work I went for Art as I enjoy it and it's a bit more laid back.

I was asked in my interview for 6th form what I wanted to do after A levels and I replied that it would be to do a computer science degree, I have since found that this is incredibly difficult to find a job from (apparently). My Dad's mate had a degree in computer science and he felt the need to do another in accountancy as he wasn't finding any jobs at all which obviously worries me.

The fact that I have to try and predict what will give me the best chance of getting a good job now quite scares me and I am not sure of the best way in which to approach it.

Maybe any of you could share your experiences with this. How much of an effect has A level choices had on your current job (assuming you did them) and has anyone had anything go wrong? Are the A levels I have chosen a good idea? Does anyone have experience with these A levels? I'm assuming a few will, this being a PC-forum.

Be nice GD, I'm attempting to join in :)

I did some forum searching to check that I wasn't making an identical thread and while there were one or two similar ones I think it's unique enough to warrant a new thread.
 
yes, It is hard to find a job. However if you make sure you find some practical skill in trend, then you should be fine.

I.T, or anything to do with computers you have to be continually updating your skills. I hear people wondering why they can't get jobs with visual basic 6 skill when vb.net has been out for a long long time, thats the main reason.

And companies asking for x amount of years experience in a technology, when the technology has only been out for x - 2 years.
 
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I don't know anything about going into computer science, but Maths and Physics are definitely fantastic degrees to have. Te basic knowledge of both will help you all the time. I don't really think there are any more commendable...or subjects that universities view as more positive than Maths and Physics.
 
You have a long time to worry about your potential university course choice.

In the meantime, you can't go wrong with a mix of traditional subjects like the sciences, maths, english, history, geography etc.

I'd probably steer away from the more 'modern' A levels, but pick things you have an interest in.
 
dirtychinchilla said:
They are when you're trying to get onto a uni course. Maths and Physics are awlays incredibly commendable.
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Maths and Physics are good A levels to have but they do not determine how the rest of your life will turn out nor are they essential, and choosing other A levels will likely not have any negative affect on whether a uni accepts him.
 
Energize said:
Maths and Physics are good A levels to have but they do not determine how the rest of your life will turn out nor are they essential, and choosing other A levels will likely not have any negative affect on whether a uni accepts him.
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Highly competitive universities do care, for computer science at say bristol they ask for maths + further maths at a-level for sure.

However that does not mean it will put a cap on your career. I know senior managers from big companies that went to terrible universities.
 
Energize said:
I'm sure there is the odd university that cares, but the majority don't so it's not of huge significance.
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The majority of russell groups, and universities like aston do(Not russell group, but good reputation). So its around 0 - 40 best universities that do care.
 
UK-AL05 said:
Highly competitive universities do care, for computer science at say bristol they ask for maths + further maths at a-level for sure.
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Knowing people that have done computer science at Bristol without further maths... definitely not 'for sure' :p

Guess they might have changed it recently though....
 
Nitefly said:
Knowing people that have done computer science at Bristol without further maths... definitely not 'for sure' :p

Guess they might have changed it recently though....
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Well it was just maths then =P

Edit:

The requirement:

" A or A* grades in three relevant A level subjects (incl. Mathematics) and preferably one of the following: Further Mathematics, STEP or AEA Mathematics. "
 
dirtychinchilla said:
They are when you're trying to get onto a uni course. Maths and Physics are awlays incredibly commendable.
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I'm not sure this is entirely true. Maths is certainly highly though of (further maths even more so) but from personal experience when I applied to do a physics degree at York (10 years ago though) they only really cared about my Maths A' level result as the conditional offer just required a b in maths.
 
If you like maths and physics then you could consider engineering. There are quite a few jobs out there for engineering as I have been told.
Anyhow, I am sad to say that the computing course is utter crap. It has far too much basic theory such as "What are input devices?", "what is the waterfall model". It is fairly useful because you will learn programming, but programming only makes up 2 hours out of 5 hours. Does your college do Electronics? As it's quite an enjoyable subject as it a lot of practical elements. Usually Universities will make offer from 3 subjects, two of them being maths and physics and another third subject. This is why I would recommend doing an easy third subject such as Electronics as these days you want an A* or an A for the third subject.
 
UK-AL05 said:
Well it was just maths then =P

Edit:

The requirement:

" A or A* grades in three relevant A level subjects (incl. Mathematics) and preferably one of the following: Further Mathematics, STEP or AEA Mathematics. "
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A lot of contrasting opinions, I would have thought A levels would be the single most important thing when attempting to get into a university but then this is why I made the thread. The reason I quoted this post is that I don't know what STEP or AEA is?
Also in my school they do offer Further maths but only give the option to about 4 people in my year and then they get one-on-one tutoring.
I am good at maths and would be disappointed with anything less than an A* at GCSE when my results come back but they still don't see me as a worthwhile candidate for it.
 
chaosdestro0 said:
If you like maths and physics then you could consider engineering. There are quite a few jobs out there for engineering as I have been told.
Anyhow, I am sad to say that the computing course is utter crap. It has far too much basic theory such as "What are input devices?", "what is the waterfall model". It is fairly useful because you will learn programming, but programming only makes up 2 hours out of 5 hours. Does your college do Electronics? As it's quite an enjoyable subject as it a lot of practical elements. Usually Universities will make offer from 3 subjects, two of them being maths and physics and another third subject. This is why I would recommend doing an easy third subject such as Electronics as these days you want an A* or an A for the third subject.
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Engineering is the same rate/just a bit higher than computer science atm. Still bad though.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...ates-unemployed-amid-fragile-jobs-market.html
 
Be aware that most universities (absurdly) won't accept Art A-level as counting towards their entry requirements for many courses. Also, computer science at A-level is not a requirement for almost all computer science degrees, so if you want to keep your options open there are other subjects that will serve you better.

As for jobs. Honestly, I think you're better off following your interests than worrying about what job you're going to do, or how you're going to get it, at your age.
 
chaosdestro0 said:
If you like maths and physics then you could consider engineering. There are quite a few jobs out there for engineering as I have been told.
Anyhow, I am sad to say that the computing course is utter crap. It has far too much basic theory such as "What are input devices?", "what is the waterfall model". It is fairly useful because you will learn programming, but programming only makes up 2 hours out of 5 hours. Does your college do Electronics? As it's quite an enjoyable subject as it a lot of practical elements. Usually Universities will make offer from 3 subjects, two of them being maths and physics and another third subject. This is why I would recommend doing an easy third subject such as Electronics as these days you want an A* or an A for the third subject.
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I am afraid not, it's not actually a college it's like an extension of the secondary school I went to. (Same classrooms and teachers used but you eat in a different building and have 6th form only areas. This means there aren't many of these 'easy' A levels available, computing is the only A level I can think of that isn't also offered at GCSE.

Oh also Film studies. Not sure that is at all helpful mind
 
Mr Jack said:
Be aware that most universities (absurdly) won't accept Art A-level as counting towards their entry requirements for many courses. Also, computer science at A-level is not a requirement for almost all computer science degrees, so if you want to keep your options open there are other subjects that will serve you better.

As for jobs. Honestly, I think you're better off following your interests than worrying about what job you're going to do, or how you're going to get it, at your age.
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I don't think computer science a-level exists, unless you count ICT(Nothing like cs at all) or computing(Only slightly similar).

Cs is basically applied maths.
 
Weirdly its better to study media/art degrees at the moment compared to engineering or cs for jobs...according to official statistics.
 
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