CAREERS NEWSLETTER March 2019
According to a report by SyndicateRoom, nearly three quarters of Britain’s Top 100 Fastest Growing Business are tech/IP-based, including recycling technologies, Femtech, Medtech, AR and Mobile Apps. Read more at: https://www.syndicateroom.com/guides-and-reports/100fastest-growing-companies-uk
WEBSITE WATCH http://i-want-to-study-engineering.org/ MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS PROBLEMS AT THE LEVEL OF UNIVERSITY ENGINEERING ADMISSIONS INTERVIEWS A LEVEL MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS PROBLEMS ADAPTED FROM OCR EXAM PAPERS GAMES DESIGNED TO TEACH IDEAS THAT ARE IMPORTANT IN MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS Professor Richard Prager, Queens' Fellow and Head of Cambridge University School of Technology, has created an online tool to help students prepare for university engineering entrance interviews. i-want-to-study-engineering is designed to help students practise solving multistage problems broadly based on A Level Physics and Mathematics. The site offers a comprehensive set of hint videos to support students as they work out their solutions; the site is practical-based and not just a tool for interview preparation. Professor Prager explains the need for the site: 'an ability to solve difficult multi-stage problems is generally a useful skill in an engineering admissions interview. Students should not expect the particular problems on the website to come up in their interviews. The website is a tool for helping to develop a general skill rather than direct training on any specific syllabus.'
SKILL SETS What’s a top skill you need to develop for university study? …reading around your subject!
Why? 1. Extra reading helps to put the new ideas that you are learning about in lessons into context 2. It helps you to broaden your knowledge. Your A Level specification cannot possibly cover everything 3. You can spend more time looking at topics that particularly interests you 4. Higher marks in essays! Some subjects, such as Biology, are fast moving; there are always new discoveries and techniques to find out about. If you are applying for veterinary science, medicine, biomedicine, Oxbridge etc you may need to discuss wider reading at your interview. Here are some starting points using Biology as an example: 1. Books. You will find suggested reading lists online, but do not read a book just because you think you should. If you pick one that really interests you, you are more likely to finish it, understand it, and remember it. Bad Science, Extremes and What If are entertaining as well as informative. 2. Publications. Start by asking at school: your science department or library may have access to publications such as New Scientist or Biological Sciences Review. Biological Sciences Review is particularly useful as the articles have been written specifically for A Level biologists. These are subscription publications; however the excellent Big Picture is free. They have great advice here. 3. Websites, especially relevant societies such as the Royal Society of Biology. Top tip – university websites publish links to relevant resources, like this one from QMUL. 4. News. Read the papers; watch the news; follow up on stories. BBC News has lots of articles which link to further research, such as this one on analysing ancient dog DNA. 5. YouTube. Start watching videos. It is not exactly reading, but it is another way to access information and you may well be inspired to do some further research. Crash Course is a popular channel with A Level students. 6. Watch TV. Like Planet Earth (it’s on Netflix). 7. Social media. See above! There will be relevant biology-related things to follow 8. Free online courses. Though there are lots of these, some require a high level of time commitment or are pitched at more of a university level. However there are shorter, less in depth courses out there such as these from the University of Leeds which are 2 hours a week for 2 weeks. The Open University also has short, free courses and activities at introductory level, some of which can be completed in less than 10 minutes. There are wider reading lists and a host of resources (print and digital) in the school library. Click here to find out more!
What digital skills do you really need? Research carried out by NESTA into employer demand for digital skills and occupation growth prospects concluded that 10% of workers are in occupations that are likely to grow as a share of the workforce and 20% are in occupations that will shrink by 2020. Occupations that are likely to grow
Occupations that are likely to shrink
Animation
Accounting Administration
Engineering
Office Adminstration
Clinical Research
Sales
Teaching
Logistics & Supply Chain Management
Automotive Production
Human Resources Management
Multimedia Production
Securities Trading
Physics and Mathematics
Medical Administration
Click here to view the PDF.
GRADUATE EMPLOYABILITY RANKINGS 2019
Universities in English speaking countries dominate the latest QS World University graduate employability rankings 2019: 1st Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2nd Stanford University 3rd University of California, Los Angeles 4th Harvard University 5th The University of Sydney
6th The University of Melbourne 7th University of Cambridge 8th University of California, Berkeley 9th Tsinghua University 10th University of Oxford
To download the report, go to: http://info.qs.com/rs/335-VIN-535/images/GER2019supplement.pdf
GUIDE TO BECOMING AN ANAESTHETIST The Royal College of Anaesthetists has produced a careers guide which explains the role of anaesthetists and includes information and advice on training as a doctor and the skills, qualities and training required to specialize as an anaesthetist. To download the guide, go to: https://www.rcoa.ac.uk/system/files/CareersFairBrochure-6thForm-final.pdf
FUTURE PROOF YOURSELF: TOMORROW’S JOBS Key conclusions of research conducted by The Future Laboratory and Microsoft include:
65% of today’s students will be doing jobs that do not currently exist A new wave of automation, with the advent of true artificial intelligence, robots and driverless cars, threatens the future of traditional jobs, from truck drivers to lawyers and bankers This same technological revolution will open up inspiring and exciting new career opportunities in sectors that are only in their infancy today, including digital cultural commentator, ethical technology advocate, human body designer, rewilding strategist, space tour guide, sustainable power innovator, virtual habitat designer and internet of things data creative Students should start to develop the necessary skills today in order to ensure they future proof their careers
To read the full report and for more information about the potential jobs of tomorrow, go to: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/athome/digitalskills/apply/
THE LONDON INTERDISCIPLINARY SCHOOL Opening in autumn 2020, The London Interdisciplinary School will offer a broad arts and sciences undergraduate degree which will include paid work experience placements. Designed in conjunction with graduate employers, the course will follow a problem based approach to teaching and learning, so that students become experienced in tackling and solving complex problems. Applications to The London Interdisciplinary School will be via UCAS from September 2019. For more information, go to: https://www.londoninterdisciplinaryschool.org/about/
BOCCONI SUMMER SCHOOL 2019 Running from 1st-12th July at Bocconi’s Milan campus, summer school 2019 is designed to give students in their penultimate or third from last year of secondary schooling the opportunity to experience university style lectures and exercises, team working activities, company and field visits and collaborative project work in subject areas including entrepreneurship, digital marketing, international politics, finance, strategy, economics, computer coding, luxury and fashion branding, game theory and economics of the European Union. For more information, go to: https://www.unibocconi.eu/wps/wcm/connect/Bocconi/SitoPubblico_EN/Navigation+Tree /Home/Programs/Summer+School/For+High+School+Students/
METFILM SCHOOL FOUNDATION COURSES Based at Ealing Studios in London, the MetFilm School offers a range of part-time, 12 week foundation courses for students wishing to find out about routes into acting for film, filmmaking, documentary film making, producing and screenwriting before committing to full-time or longer study. For more information, go to: https://www.metfilmschool.ac.uk/find-a-course/part-time-short-courses/foundation/
CAREERS IN VFX, GAMES AND ANIMATION Escape Studios, which is based at MidTown Campus Holborn in London, has produced a guide to careers in VFX, games and animation including information about pipelines, job roles, expected salaries, skill requirements and qualifications needed to enter this rapidly evolving career sector. To download the guide, go to: https://www.pearsoncollegelondon.ac.uk/escape-studios/careers/careers-guide.html
SNIPPETS Click here for: Bridging the skills gap in the biopharmaceutical industry. This report has been produced by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and explores the skills needs of the industry and how the UK can maintain a leading position within this sector, particularly now as the UK negotiates its departure from the EU. Click here for: The future of skills – Employment in 2030. A comprehensive study into how employment is likely to change, and the implication for skills, focusing on the effects of automation, globalisation, population ageing, urbanisation and the rise of the green economy. The Financial Times offers free online subscriptions to students aged 16-19, their teachers and schools around the world. Click here and scroll down to request an individual account, allowing access online and to download the app for use from home and on mobile devices. They also have an excellent YouTube channel. USEFUL CAREERS WEBSITES: For Years 7, 8 and 9: https://icould.com/ From GCSE to graduate careers: https://studentladder.co.uk/
Josie Campbell Sixth Form Administrator & Careers Guidance Counsellor