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by BassistInTheCorner
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I am a British GCSE student predicted 8-9 across all of my subjects including Art, Design & Technology and Music and I am soon to select my A-levels. I want to maximise my positive output and equip myself for a future altruistic career, and in order to do this I feel I must carefully choose my A-levels so I can prepare myself for whatever path I may choose. However, I don't know what career to go down as nothing I have come across particularly interests me and I don't know what problems to tackle.


First I feel I must choose a career to pursue, but I'm not sure where my skills would be best put to use and nothing I have come across aligns with my creative interests. I am very good at problem solving and I am a very logical thinker, however my passions lie in more creative pursuits such as art and music which I doubt have much scope for large positive impact, leaving me at an impass. Considering my academic ability, I feel I have the potential to make a great contribution to society, but unless I play my cards right, I fear my output may be limited.

Do you have any suggestions on what I should do? 

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JordanStone

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I don't know about impactful paths related to art and music. Have you considered asking 80,000 hours for a free careers advising call? https://80000hours.org/speak-with-us/

There's also some useful content on the 80,000 hours website on impactful careers in arts: https://80000hours.org/topic/careers/other-careers/art-entertainment/ 

From my perspective, I wouldn't worry too much about what A-levels you choose at this stage. You're not going to pigeonhole yourself by just choosing what you find interesting and are likely to succeed in - maybe try and pick a range of humanities and sciences to cover your bases. 

I'd say if you're really unsure then try and pick something broad like international politics (or geography; where you could specialise into x-risks, AI safety, climate change or any other global problem), physics (which gives you broad science/maths skills you can apply to a range of cause areas), maths, statistics, or philosophy (which definitely has broad applications, but maybe more debatable transferrable skills). This applies to doing a degree too, and what A levels you did won't matter very much after you do the degree. 

BassistInTheCorner2
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Thanks, this is really helpful. 

After following the second link I found a useful interview with Maria Gutierrez, a Costa Rican artist who is doing projects for charities to help with marketing and image and is considering a career in art dealing in order to earn to give. This interview demonstrates how there are many avenues you can follow to do good no matter your skill set.

As far as A-levels go, I think I will choose Product Design as a fairly broad subject I enjoy which could be carried forward as well as Maths as a useful skill, German as I am good at it and it opens up opportunities and either Art or Music as something I enjoy to drop later.


Thanks for your input, much appreciated.

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JordanStone
No problem :) Best of luck with your A-levels!

Toby Tremlett🔹

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A couple of scattered thoughts: 

  • The career advisor/ university advisor I had at school was very unambitious, and it's really cool that you're thinking in this way! However, as others have said, don't worry too much about A Level choice. Your choice of A levels won't define your life.
  • I don't think it's a particularly strong sign of anything that you aren't passionate about a particular path now. I only found out that I deeply enjoyed and cared about philosophy after I left school - many great subjects aren't taught in exciting ways.
  • I'd probably suggest keeping numeracy (via maths, or failing that, a science or economics) as part of your roster if you can - from my and my friends' experiences, it does seem to be one of the doors that you can actually close at the A level stage. (I'm actually considering doing a Maths A Level or something equivalent at age 25 because I think numeracy is an area I'm particularly bottlenecked in because of my humanities-focused education).
  • Good luck on your GCSEs! 
BassistInTheCorner1
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Thanks for the wise advice. I'll try to keep an open mind for new interests and passions that could take me further. I agree that numeracy is a useful skill and I intend to carry it forward.

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AhmedWez

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I believe that you should create your passion rather than find it. As 80,000 Hours claimed and here also. Plus, I want to say that I'm just like you! Even I'm starting my A-Levels journey this year and am not sure what field I want to pursue.

I hope you find your dream and passion career where you can have the highest impact!

BassistInTheCorner2
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Hi, thanks a lot, and good luck with your A-levels! I'll try to expose myself to as many different experiences and interests as possible and hope something positive sticks.

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