Key Stage 3 Careers Research

Why Do Careers Research?

Careers research helps you understand yourself as well as different jobs and pathways. This page will help you think about what you enjoy, what you are good at and what kind of work might suit you in the future. There are no right or wrong answers — the aim is to help you make informed choices. 

What do you like about the career?

• Is it the activities you would be doing?

• The working hours or environment?

• Whether it is active or practical?

• Can you imagine a typical day at work?

For example, many people are attracted to working as a holiday representative because it is seen as a continuous party. However holiday representatives need to deal with complaints on a daily basis. Ask yourself, could you deal with this?’ 

What do you dislike about the career?

There is no such thing as a perfect career. There are always going to be elements that are not what you expected. 

Ask yourself: 

• If you like 95% of the career could you put up with the difficult parts? 

• Earning a great deal of money might be great but what if you don’t like the actual work? 

• How long do you think you could put up with it? 

Remember also to try to look at each job with ‘new eyes’. That is, try not to be influenced by others as it is their opinion and not necessarily yours. 

It is good to take advice but might it be different for you?

What skills do you think you need?

If the career insists that you study Chemistry do you think your skills are good enough? 

You will need to think about examples of what skills you have and how you might prove them to someone who asks. 

For example you might say that your written skills are very good. What examples could you use to explain this? E.g. I write stories in my spare time and my teachers say I am good at it.

What about qualities needed for the career?

Many jobs require you to work with the public so you would need to be friendly, respectful and cooperative. 

You need to be able to listen and if necessary calm someone down. 

Do you think you could carry out conversations with others on a regular basis? If so you may have these qualities.

Do you like the way the career looks?

Remember most careers are five days a week so the work needs to match the way you see yourself in the world of work. 

If you like working with others it is important that you are not working too much on your own.

For example:

• Is it outdoors or indoors most of the time? 

• What do you prefer? 

• Do the hours of work suit you? 

• Would you mind working in the heat or cold? 

These are few a of the questions you need to ask yourself.

Do you find the career interesting?

Ask yourself if you would get bored doing the work all the time? 

What makes it interesting for you?

Remember: whatever you do, it needs to suit you. 

Using Careers Websites

The websites below can help you research different jobs and pathways. Many include quizzes and activities to help match careers to your interests, skills and qualities. Try more than one website and keep notes about what you discover.