Should You Drop a VCE Subject?
Course and Career Chat
What we’re talking about: It’s nearly the end of Term 2, and I’ve had a lot of conversations with students lately where they’ve been trying to decide whether or not to drop a VCE subject that they’re studying. To make an informed decision, there’s a few things you need to consider - do you know what you want to do when you finish school? Is this subject a prerequisite for that course? Can you support yourself to feel more confident in the subject with some extra help? Could you look at similar courses that don’t need it as a prerequisite? Is not liking the subject a clue that...
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How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses Part 3 [What Are You Really Good At?]
Course and Career Chat
What we’re talking about: In this third part of my mini series “How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses” I’m diving into another question that I’d love for you to consider - What are you good at? I don’t mean what subject you’re good at (although I did talk about that in episode 102), but instead what is something that comes naturally to you that you use in your everyday life that could be applied to any career you choose? Knowing this can help you see how you can bring key parts of yourself to any role you choose to take in the future. Links mentioned: Work...
info_outline![How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses Part 2 [What's Your Favourite Subject and What Do You Like About It?] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/item/36531590?height=50&width=50)
How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses Part 2 [What's Your Favourite Subject and What Do You Like About It?]
Course and Career Chat
What we’re talking about: In this episode, I continue the mini-series on feeling confident about VCE and choosing tertiary courses. Instead of jumping straight to career titles, I encourage you to reflect on your favourite subjects and, more importantly, what you enjoy about them. This approach can provide valuable insights into courses and careers that will allow you to do more of what you actually like. 0:45 – Recap of Episode 100 and the importance of understanding VCE In the last episode I shared some episodes where I explain key aspects of VCE so that you can really understand the...
info_outline![How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses Part 1 [Understanding How VCE Works] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/item/36453390?height=50&width=50)
How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses Part 1 [Understanding How VCE Works]
Course and Career Chat
What we’re talking about: Thanks for joining me for the 100th episode of Course and Career Chat! This episode is Part 1 in a series I’m calling How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses, and in this episode I want you to think about what is stressing you out about VCE so that you can get your questions answered. I’ve created a list of past episodes of Course and Career Chat where you can find the answers to common questions I get when I’m working with my students and their parents, and if I haven’t answered your question yet, please send me a DM on Instagram to...
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How Will AI Affect Your Career Choices?
Course and Career Chat
What we’re talking about: AI is everywhere at the moment, and there’s a lot of discussion about how it will change jobs and career pathways. Many students (and parents) are wondering—will AI replace certain jobs? Will the careers that seem like a great option now still be relevant in 5 or 10 years? In this episode, I break down what AI actually is, the ways it’s already affecting different industries, and how students can make career choices that will set them up for success in an AI-driven world. 2:40 – What is AI, and why is it such a big deal? AI is already part of our daily...
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Should You Take a Gap Year After Year 12?
Course and Career Chat
What we’re talking about: Should you take a gap year after Year 12? It’s a big decision, and in this episode, I break down the benefits and drawbacks of taking a year off before further study. I also share practical advice on how to keep your options open, even if you're unsure about your next steps. 1:09 Common concerns about taking a gap year I’ve had a lot of conversations with parents recently about whether a gap year is the right choice for their child. Many students don’t know whether they should still apply for courses through VTAC, or if taking a gap year will impact their...
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How To Motivate Yourself To Study in VCE
Course and Career Chat
What we’re talking about: 1:43 My observations around motivation as a Maths teacher I share my experience of teaching a particular class who were really focused, willing to learn, with high aspirations for their VCE results. Most people would assume that there’s not much a teacher of a class like that needs to do to in terms of motivation, but what I actually found was that in the second half of the year, these students were feeling really stressed and losing motivation despite the fact that they were doing everything “right” and still doing well on their SACs. I found that by helping...
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How Do SACs Work in VCE?
Course and Career Chat
What we’re talking about: Let’s talk about how SACs work in VCE so that you know what they are, how they’re used, and to bust some of the misconceptions around them that often come up throughout the year so that you can feel really confident as you move through VCE. 1:32 What is a SAC? Throughout your time at school from prep through to Year 12, you do different types of assessment. SAC stands for School Assessed Coursework and it’s called that because it is one of the assessment types that is used to calculate your study score for your VCE subjects, but it is written by your teachers...
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The Parents' Guide to VCE
Course and Career Chat
What we’re talking about: This episode is all about explaining how VCE works and translating the jargon around VCE so that you can understand it more clearly and feel more confident supporting your child. Grab the free download The Parents’ Guide to VCE to have on hand (), and listen up as I clarify what the key organisations like VCAA and VTAC do, what all the acronyms mean, and tell you what you need to focus on and what you can ignore as white noise. 5:22 What does VCAA stand for and what do they do? The VCAA is the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. They set the curriculum...
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For Parents: How To Help Your Child Succeed in VCE
Course and Career Chat
What we’re talking about: After working with parents first as a teacher and now as a career counsellor, and now being a parent myself, I know how hard it can be to navigate that line between allowing your child to have their independence and also wanting to support them as best you can. In this episode I share how you can best support your child through the decision making process around VCE subject selection, tertiary course exploration and applying through VTAC. 2:01 Where is the responsibility? Knowing where your responsibility for your child’s studies ends and theirs begins is a bit of...
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1:11 What is Engineering?
Most students who are into Maths and Science have heard the suggestion that they should look at Engineering, but what even is it? Check out the episodes I’ve linked below to hear students and recent graduates talk about their course and what their day looks like if they’re already working as an Engineer. Engineers create and build solutions to problems in a whole range of areas, and they use different calculations, methods and materials to solve the problems in the most efficient way.
3:17 What type of Engineering should you do?
Different universities will offer different specialisations, including Aerospace, Mechanical, Civil, Chemical, Software and Robotics and Mechatronics. Think about what type of science you like at school and see what specialisation would use that science the most, and if you’re not sure, Google the different types to find out more. If you’re still not sure, you don’t need to stress - most courses have a common first year so that you can get a foundation in Engineering to start with and get a taste of the different types before you decide which pathway you want to follow.
6:16 What should you look at in a Bachelor of Engineering?
Are you more academic? Or would you prefer to take things apart and see how it works? Engineering courses will all have a bit of both, but make sure you choose a course that allows you to lean into whichever type of learning you prefer. As always, you should also look at the placements or internships that are available within the course so that you can see what it’s actually like to work as an Engineer while you’re still studying, as well as building a network, learning heaps and potentially landing a graduate position with them when you finish your course.
9:27 If you’re considering Engineering, what else could you look at?
There are lots of courses that are similar to Engineering in some way. If you like the idea of building and designing things, you could consider Architecture or Design. If you’re interested in the Health field you could look at Biomedical Science or Biotechnology. If you like the idea of Software Engineering, then Information Technology or Computer Science might interest you. Aviation or Space Science are worth looking at if you’re interested in Aerospace Engineering. Make sure you check out these other courses too so that you can choose the one that suits you best. Another option that is particularly in demand at the moment is Cybersecurity. If you want to find out more, I have two episodes about Cybersecurity that you could listen to (see the links below).
Links mentioned:
My website: https://www.roadmapeducation.com
Other episodes about Engineering:
Electronic Engineering and Cybersecurity - http://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/71
Cybersecurity - http://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/51
Biomedical Engineering and Medicine - http://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/4
Robotics and Mechatronics - http://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/11
Software Engineering - http://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/15
Architecture - http://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/35
Civil Engineering - http://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/53
Heavy Vehicle Diesel Mechanic - http://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/63