Subject Selection
What do you want to do when you leave school? Do you know what university course you want to get into? Do you know what subjects you need to get into your university course? What scores will you need? Is it better to take subjects you are interested in, or subjects that will deliver high scores?
Planning for your future is a daunting process for many senior school students. While subject selection can come with a lot of pressure, this anxiety can be overcome with the use of a simple action plan.
Step 1: Personal Investigation
Do not underestimate this step. Most people do not have a solid understanding of their strengths, weaknesses, interests and personal goals – especially when you’re young. You need to take the time to reassess yourself in detail. This means sitting down and physically mapping it out, not just thinking about it.
- If you aren’t sure where your strengths and weaknesses lie, try taking a personality test. There are many free tests available online.
- Make a list of your top ten attributes that best describe your personality.
- Discuss your results with friends, family and teachers. Their input is invaluable.
- Isolate five key goals that you want to achieve in your lifetime.
Step 2: Career Investigation
Once you have a better understanding of yourself and where you want to go in life, you need to identify careers that align with your personality, interests and goals.
- Write down any careers that seem appealing to you, as well as several careers that match your personality and goals.
- Research these careers – talk to people, use the internet - the Victorian Job Guide is particularly helpful. It’s important to know what is available, and careers aren’t always what they seem.
- See if the careers in your list match with your list of attributes and goals – there’s no point in planning a career in engineering if you struggle with maths.
- Refine your list of careers to find the ones best suited to you.
Step 3: Selecting Subjects
Use your career goals to select your subjects. Map out your VCE program by working backwards from your career goals, to your ideal courses, to university prerequisites (subjects and tests you need to take, folios you need to prepare, and results you need to achieve to get into particular courses), right down to subjects you need or want to take now.
- Use the Victorian Job Guide and VTAC guide to see what courses are available to you within your chosen field.
- Use these resources to check if there are any prerequisites for your ideal courses.
- Start off with English, and then build up the other 4-5 subjects based on your goals.
By the end of this process, you should have a physical, mapped out plan for your future. This is the most valuable resource you will have over the next few years in planning for your future.
Final Advice
- Physically map out your plan – everything is easier when written down.
- Ensure you have a Plan B, C, and even D – expect the unexpected.
- Often careers are not what they seem – make sure you research them thoroughly so that you have all sides of the story before making any decisions.
- Be realistic – if your goals are not achievable, you are setting yourself up for failure.
- Make sure your subjects are compatible with university requirements – as well as your own personal requirements.
- Do not make decisions to please anyone else – this is your career.
…and most importantly…
- The decisions you make now are not final - be prepared to change your career many times throughout your life.
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