Five A Levels That Don’t Necessarily Lead To A Vocation

By Author: Paul Collins
Total Articles: 13
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Of all the things Orlando Bloom thought his A level in Religious Studies would lead to, almost certainly one of the last was that it would help him become… an elf! Because there’s a natural assumption: you become what you study. But when you get down to it, no matter how much you plan it (and sometimes even, want it) life has a way of throwing up surprises. Here, then, are five of the best-laid academic plans that can, all too often, lead to something different to what you might have planned…

A Level Biology

Would-be James Herriotts and Gregory Houses needn’t worry, unduly – a career in veterinary studies or medicine may well beckon. But A Level Biology certainly doesn’t begin and end with becoming a doctor or a vet, and there are broad avenues of fulfilling professional activity that don’t fall into either of those camps. On the one hand, from environmental health and food hygiene to genetics, there are any number of fascinating roles in research that can open up, while on the other, you could always end up as a marine biologist swimming with whale sharks ...
... in Fiji.

A Level in Accounting

Of all the A levels you can do, not many lend themselves quite as immediately to a career as Accounting. But it doesn’t automatically mean that it’s a fast-track to a vocation. Because knowing how to balance the books isn’t just the trick to being an accountant, it’s fundamental to good business – and there aren’t too many higher level marketing or management positions for which it isn’t practically a requirement.

A Level in Languages

Languages? Teacher or translator, right? Not necessarily. We live in a global job market place.
English may be the lingua franca of the international business world, but another language or two never went amiss in you were looking to work in the EU, the UN, voluntary service or for a big multinational company.

A Level in Law

The automatic assumption for law students is that will lead to a career in (you guessed it) the law.
Rumpole of the Bailey (if you’re one side of the Atlantic) or Atticus Finch (if you’re on the other). But the fact of the matter is, law is one of the cornerstones of our society. And whether it’s a good understanding of employment law (which is required to enter the human resources or upper managerial echelons) or constitutional law, civil rights and the justice system, a solid qualification in it is never going to go amiss.

A Level in Psychology

For Rumpole and the Law think Cracker and Psychology. Except, of course, the reality is slightly different – not everyone can possibly become Criminal Psychologists. What does an A Level in Psychology set you up for, then? All sorts of things, really.

And that’s kind of the point: study hard for you’re A levels, of course. choose your A levels wisely, by all means; But don’t worry about them more than is absolutely necessary. They don’t necessarily have to define you. Just ask Orlando Bloom.