As your child approaches the end of their high school education, they will face some big decisions. And as a parent, you will play an important role in assisting them to make sound career and study choices.
Although it is an important time for them to start thinking about what they might like to do, any decisions that are made now are not permanent. Your child will probably change their mind about where they are headed several times over the next few years. That is why it is important to make wise decisions now that will keep their future study and career options open.
Subject selection
One way of doing this is to select the right HSC subjects. A good starting point is to encourage them to think about jobs or careers that interest them.
As this may change before leaving school, it helps to choose Year 11 and 12 subjects that will keep their options open. In selecting their subjects, they should consider:
- what interests them
- their ability, and
- the subjects available at their school.
If your son or daughter knows what they want to study, they will need to select the subjects required for that course. For example, if they want to become an aeronautical engineer, they will need to study maths and science in their senior years.
In some courses, it is ‘assumed’ a student has studied certain subjects at high school. For example, if HSC Mathematics Extension 1 is ‘assumed knowledge’ for a particular degree and they have studied HSC Mathematics, they may find some subjects in their degree difficult.
You should also consider their academic ability. What subjects are they good at? If they love English, they may be suited to a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature or a Bachelor of Communication, majoring in Journalism.
Future Finder helps choose the right subjects for their desired study program- and can also recommend which study programs might best suit them. It is also worthwhile to understand ATAR and Scaling.
Do
Encourage them to investigate what's required for the courses they're interested in...
- Talk to their career adviser or teachers
- Ask family and friends for opinions and ideas
- Speak to someone who specialises in an area of study that interests them. Visit them in their workplace or arrange work experience.
- If you or they know someone who has studied or is studying an interesting program at uni, chat to them about their experience
- Take a look at career resources at their school, in libraries and on the internet
- Attend a university campus tour. The best way to get a feel for an institution and what it might be like to study there is to actually look around the place and speak to teaching staff and students.
Don’t
A few things not to base subject choices on include:
- Their Friends – they have different abilities, interests and motivations to your child
- Teachers – do not select a subject because a favourite teacher is taking it
- Rumours – ignore rumours about jobs, marks or ATAR weightings - encourage them to do their own research
- Easy subjects – there aren't 'easy' subjects - success in a subject is down to their commitment and enthusiasm
- Boys’ or girls’ subjects – if they're good at or interested in a subject, then it's right for them
