A Level Options (Advice Please)
David Walter
mistake that goes against this group's FAQ, if there is one.
I am hoping some people here who have had experience with A Levels can
give me some advice on what I intend to do when I begin college in August. I
do not want people to pick what subjects I choose but rather advise me and
provide me with a bit of help in areas I am currently finding difficulties
with.
What I know so far for sure is that I am going to take four A Level
subjects in total, one being Chemistry, and another being either Computing
or IT. I would prefer to do Computing because it is more technical, but I am
not sure how technical it gets and whether or not I could handle it. I am
very confident when handling computers and have created a few websites for
fun, but I am not sure whether I could program.
To go with these two subjects I decided to consider (Mechanical)
Mathematics but I was advised on the College's 'sample day' to reconsider
because I was only taking Intermediate Mathematics at GCSE, and I predict I
will be getting a 'C' in August. Apparently no one who did Intermediate
Mathematics at GCSE passed last year for the A Level. So I expect that I
will not be doing it now, even though it would have been useful alongside
the other subjects I plan to take.
I have thought about the other two subjects I have remaining and have
thought about doing Biology and Physics. What do you think? Is Physics
useful for anything and can it provide me with a good job after I
(hopefully) leave university?
Jobs that I see and would like myself doing in the future include:
*Dentist
*Database Administrator
*Computer Programmer, etc.
*Some occupation that involves both Chemistry and Physics (possibly relating
to astronomy, which I have always been interested in, but without Maths? - I
just don't know).
I imagine that if I took Mathematics I would most certainly fail it. I
am quite bad at algebra and trigenometry (I think I have spelt that wrong)
to start with.
Any advice and/or directions for me and opinions on what I have said
that I could find useful would be much appreciated. Thank you for reading.
Neil Monk
binary, denary, hexadcimal, COBOL, BASIC, nodes, etc etc etc.
I can't remember most of it, but i've only just finished my 2 year course,
and found it very hard, after getting an A in GCSE IT, i'm going to be lucky
to get a C or D in Computing A-Level.
If you posses some technical knowledge about programming languages, and how
computers actually work, and are prepared to put in a lot of work, you
should be ok.
The sylabus only really skims on HTML, but it did come up on my exam,
basically a question showing the outputted HTML document, and you were asked
to define the coding used to write it. I did AQA exam, FYI.
I.T would be the better option, IMHO for those wanting to go into general
I.T jobs, communications, etc. For database administrator, I'd say you'd be
better off with Computing.
Hope this helps.
--
Neil
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(2002)
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kurowski@yourtooth.blueyonder.co.uk sheri kurowski
"David Walter" <david...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:b6h09.12646$z22....@news-binary.blueyonder.co.uk...
Is Physics
> useful for anything and can it provide me with a good job after I
> (hopefully) leave university?
> Jobs that I see and would like myself doing in the future include:
> *Dentist
> *Database Administrator
> *Computer Programmer, etc.
> *Some occupation that involves both Chemistry and Physics
Hello David,
As an FE ex-physics teacher and who has spoken to university and admissions
staff, Physics is a very useful A level to have. Handy for admin work, IT
work, technology....you name it. If you can compliment that with IT and/or
Computing, and another Science then you have a basis for a lot of career
choices in the future. That includes the engineering and IT industry and
Commerce.Technology blurs the distinction between the sciences, but Physics
seems to overlap them all (perhaps I'm being biased here, though)
However, you need to be confident with *and* enjoy Maths, in order to be
succesful with Physics. I have had students who entered with GCSE grade D in
Maths but got C's and B's in Physics. I even had one student (a mature
student-28yr old) who didn't take GCSE Maths and Science at all. She took
Maths and Physics A level and got a B. She worked like a trojan to get them
though and really enjoyed the subject.
Get all the support you can with your chosen course and good luck
Regards
Sheri
Martin Nicholson
>subjects in total, one being Chemistry, and another being either Computing
>or IT. I would prefer to do Computing because it is more technical, but I am
>not sure how technical it gets and whether or not I could handle it. I am
>very confident when handling computers and have created a few websites for
>fun, but I am not sure whether I could program.
Unless you have high grade maths skills I would normally suggest IT
rather than Computing. Grade C would not qualify as "high grade"! <grin>
Martin Nicholson, Daventry, UK
Brian Sloan
> Unless you have high grade maths skills I would normally suggest IT
rather than Computing.
Having said that, I did OCR AS Computing and the only real mathematical bit
were the number systems (binary, octal, hexadecimal etc). These made up
quite a small part of the course.
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David
"Brian Sloan" <br...@sloan29.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:niu09.4158$SA3.169594@wards...
>
> > Unless you have high grade maths skills I would normally suggest IT
> rather than Computing.
We have people doing computing with GCSE maths without any real problems.
Although when pupils think maths in computing they immediately think of
octal etc forgeting that much of programming is mathematical ?
The Technical Manager
> Hello, I have never posted here before so please forgive me if I make a
> mistake that goes against this group's FAQ, if there is one.
> I am hoping some people here who have had experience with A Levels can
> give me some advice on what I intend to do when I begin college in August. I
> do not want people to pick what subjects I choose but rather advise me and
> provide me with a bit of help in areas I am currently finding difficulties
> with.
> What I know so far for sure is that I am going to take four A Level
> subjects in total, one being Chemistry, and another being either Computing
> or IT. I would prefer to do Computing because it is more technical, but I am
> not sure how technical it gets and whether or not I could handle it.
Computing tends to cover the more innate details of computers like hardware
architectures, operating systems, file formats, programming, software
engineering, networks etc. IT is more for those who want to use computers for
general tasks without really knowing how they or the software works. It is more
of a subject for those who would be employed in offices - I suppose it is a
replacement for the old typewriting courses of the 50s, 60s and 70s common in
schools and colleges then.
Computing is NOT all that mathematical a subject. No more than chemistry is.
> I am
> very confident when handling computers and have created a few websites for
> fun, but I am not sure whether I could program.
> To go with these two subjects I decided to consider (Mechanical)
> Mathematics but I was advised on the College's 'sample day' to reconsider
> because I was only taking Intermediate Mathematics at GCSE, and I predict I
> will be getting a 'C' in August. Apparently no one who did Intermediate
> Mathematics at GCSE passed last year for the A Level. So I expect that I
> will not be doing it now, even though it would have been useful alongside
> the other subjects I plan to take.
Why exactly did you only take maths to intermediate level ? Was it the school
not offering it to higher level ? A grade C at higher level would be acceptable
for A level courses but intermediate level cuts out some of those really useful
topics.
You could try to learn some of the higher level material in your own time from
a textbook if you are serious about taking it to AS level.
>
> I have thought about the other two subjects I have remaining and have
> thought about doing Biology and Physics. What do you think? Is Physics
> useful for anything and can it provide me with a good job after I
> (hopefully) leave university?
It is a very useful subject and goes well with chemistry or more technical
computer type subjects. A lot of employers like it as it shows one can stand up
to harder stuff rather than taking the soft option. Resilience is looked up to.
Biology is normally only useful with at least an AS in chemistry. If you like
biological matters then it is a good choice but a lot more technical and jargon
oriented than at GCSE.
>
> Jobs that I see and would like myself doing in the future include:
> *Dentist
> *Database Administrator
> *Computer Programmer, etc.
> *Some occupation that involves both Chemistry and Physics (possibly relating
> to astronomy, which I have always been interested in, but without Maths? - I
> just don't know).
> I imagine that if I took Mathematics I would most certainly fail it. I
> am quite bad at algebra and trigenometry (I think I have spelt that wrong)
> to start with.
> Any advice and/or directions for me and opinions on what I have said
> that I could find useful would be much appreciated. Thank you for reading.
Astronomy is reasonably mathematical and does require one to be quite adept at
trig and algebra.
Ben Green
> Hello, I have never posted here before so please forgive me if I make a
>mistake that goes against this group's FAQ, if there is one.
> I am hoping some people here who have had experience with A Levels can
>give me some advice on what I intend to do when I begin college in August. I
>do not want people to pick what subjects I choose but rather advise me and
>provide me with a bit of help in areas I am currently finding difficulties
>with.
> What I know so far for sure is that I am going to take four A Level
>subjects in total, one being Chemistry, and another being either Computing
>or IT. I would prefer to do Computing because it is more technical, but I am
>not sure how technical it gets and whether or not I could handle it. I am
>very confident when handling computers and have created a few websites for
>fun, but I am not sure whether I could program.
<snip>
Don't know how relevant it is now, but I did computing at A-level,
and it wasn't too bad. There is binary, etc, but with practice it becomes
relatively easy, and easy to forget when you finish ;). I got a D, by the
way (but I did attend less than half my classes in the 2nd year, and got
the girl who sat next to me to do my project ;)).
If you are worried about being able to program, why not give it a
go now and see how you get on. I recently started a Tripod free webspace
account, and they support PHP, and I've become (vaguely) proficient, just
using free online resources. PHP would also be useful with websites, too
:), I've written a bulletin board with it.
ps How come no one's complained about cross posting?
Ben Green.
littlechez
>> Hello, I have never posted here before so please forgive me if I make a
>>mistake that goes against this group's FAQ, if there is one.
>> I am hoping some people here who have had experience with A Levels can
>>give me some advice on what I intend to do when I begin college in August. I
>>do not want people to pick what subjects I choose but rather advise me and
>>provide me with a bit of help in areas I am currently finding difficulties
>>with.
>> What I know so far for sure is that I am going to take four A Level
>>subjects in total, one being Chemistry, and another being either Computing
>>or IT.
I have heard that the Science A levels are quite hard but have not done
them myself. I did English Langauge, Maths and IT.
IT is fun:)
I would prefer to do Computing because it is more technical, but I am
>>not sure how technical it gets and whether or not I could handle it. I am
>>very confident when handling computers and have created a few websites for
>>fun, but I am not sure whether I could program.
Do not worry to much about programming if you do not like it after A
level you do not have do do it.
I would keep away from Microsoft languages personally. I am doing a BA
honers Degree in Business Information Technolagy. It is mainly Database
design using Visual Basic. It also has Web site design, which I find
itfun. Microsoft software is very limmiting abd unstable. It is fine if
that is all you want to do. You will relise the more you use computer
the mor you hate them. My most know keys on my PC are
control-alt-delete:)<he, he, he>
IT is the way to go. It has lots of job opportunaties. There are lots of
things you can do. I personally need to do more maths so I suggest that
you keep up on all of you basic Maths and English skills. Maybe speak to
a carreers adviser. You should be able to have a free interview assuming
you have just left school. Also assuiming you are in the UK.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do. I also hope that you get the
results you want. Post here and tell us what you got:)
--
LittleChez
LIVE LONG AND PROSPER
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