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Hi there Guys!

I am a British Citizen and living in Scotland, UK

I’m 16 (17 in April) and I’ve got a year and on July 1st 2005 I will have one full year of education left should I choose to stay on at High school for a final year and gain some higher level subjects.

I am yet to sit my exams for this year but I will explain this later.

I currently Have the following grades:

Subject........................Level................Grade
Administration................Intermediate 2...B
Business Studies............Credit...............2
Computing.....................Credit..............2
English.........................General/Credit....3
French..........................Intermediate 1...B
Mathematics.................General/Credit....3
Media Studies................Intermediate 1...A
Physics........................General/Credit....3

As I am in Scotland and they use a different system than English schools I will explain the above levels & grades.

Firstly I will explain the Foundation, General & Credit level qualifications

A grade 7 is a fail.
Foundation being the lowest requires you to get a grade 5 or 6.
General being the second best requires a grade 3 or 4 (3 being the best)
Credit requires a grade 2 or above.

Intermediate 1 & 2 is a bit complicated. Generally Intermediate 1/2 courses are usually only available to 5th & 6th year pupils. Intermediate 2 is best described as some of Credit with a lot of Higher (higher is only available in s5/6). Intermediate 2 courses are a better level than Credit. Although only certain classes allow you to take Intermediate 2 and some only allow Credit as the highest qualification possible for the subject. Grade A being the best available. I am unsure what level they go down to although I think its level D and then F representing a fail.

Personally I feel that my Administration, Business & Computing grades should have been 1’s or A’s as throughout the year I was very good at the subjects and one of the best pupils in the class for each of the subjects. I was also very good in Media but I was unable to sit Intermediate 2 as there was no Intermediate 2 class.


In 5th & 6th year you get to take some newer subjects not available in 4th year.

I took the following subjects this year and I expect the following grades:

Subject........................Level................Grade
Computing....................Intermediate 2.....A
English.........................Intermediate 1.....B
Information Systems.......Intermediate 2.....A
Maths..........................Intermediate 2.....A
Physics........................Intermediate 2......A

Should I stay on in 6th year I have the option to continue subjects that I had done in 4th year. Or I could also continue subjects I took in 5th year and get a higher level.

I can choose 5 of the following classes.

Subject.................Level
Administration.........Higher
Business Studies.....Higher
Computing............. Higher
English..................Intermediate 2
French..................Intermediate 2/Higher
Information Systems......Higher
Maths....................Higher
Media Studies..........Int1/Higher
Physics...................Higher

I am most likely to choose Administration, Business Studies, Computing, Maths & Physics all at higher level.

So should I pass the above subjects that means when I leave school at the end of 6th year I will have the following qualifications:

Subject.................Level
Administration.........Higher
Business Studies......Higher
English...................Intermediate 1
French...................Intermediate 1
Computing..............Higher
Information Systems......Inermediate 2
Maths....................Higher
Media....................Intermediate 1
Physics..................Higher

Now basically here is where the above information becomes useful ;-)

I want to live and work in the USA. I would love to become a pilot should I manage to save $130,000.00 :D but as that’s highly unlikely I still don’t really have another career in mind.

The whole point in this thread is to get some ideas for jobs that I could get with these qualifications and if I could get sponsored on these types of jobs. Although its going to change when and if I get the chance to come over a rough idea would be great.

Sorry for all the full stops - best way to get close to a table. ;-)

Thanks for your time and have a great day!

Barry
 
Hi Barry

Basically most employers in America will sponser you if you have a Bachelors Science Degree (minimum) combined with a couple of years experience in your field.

As you maybe aware the most in demand jobs in America are Doctors, Nurses, physiotherapists, Dentist.

As far as your subjects go I would say go for an IT related Degree and get a few years work experience before looking for sponsership.

What about Aeronautical Engineering ??

But again go for what interests you, because most jobs will get you in if you are well qualified and experienced.

Its going to be a long road but your still young don't give up.


Dash
 
Hi dash.

Thanks for your response.

I am very good with computers.. although I wasn't really wanting to work with them but it wouldnt be that much of a problem especially if it would get me in the us :D

I'm going to look further into attending college/university and which courses etc that I could study.

I was just visiting the nearby college website to see about their courses and I realised there were several evening courses which I could attend. Sure they wont be as advanced as attending a university and gaining a Bachelors Degree but it would help me get into university and would also look good that I was attending an evening course whilst I was at high school.

Again thanks for your reply and have a great day ;-)

Barry
 
Hey Barry I don't understand surely when you get your Highers this will be enough to get you into Uni. I mean to get into a computing course aint as tough as something like a Medical course.

Again Barry its up to you but don't just pick a subject because you will think it will get you into america.


I am from Scotland too and my dream is one day to get to the states. This has been over the last 4 years since my first visit.

I now have a programming job here and a Bsc in Computing and now am only even considering starting to look for work sponsers.

Even with a decent job, some work experience, minimum qualifications its still going to be hard.

What you will find is apart from the list of jobs i said before that are in demand (i forgot to say dentists aint in demand in the US) next priority would be someone who has managerial experience.

I don't want to put you off go for it because as far as this country goes Americas heaven.

Iam going to aim for Canada first seeing as its alot easier to get into and is similar.


Good Luck
 
Good points dash.

I was also hearing today about some sort of "point" system where if you get 300 ucas points then you can be accepted to a university. Basically how it works you get so many points depending on what grade you get. Turns out I have 260 at present and thats only for sitting fourth year subjects. Points I may get in 5th year isnt added on top its the difference thats added.

so take my 260 points so far. lets say I got 300 this year this means that I get the difference of the two (40 points taking me up to 300).

I may not have explained this correctly but I think you'll get what I mean.

Unfortunately its not going to be a walk in the park :-D

Computers interest me but I just wouldnt like to sit at a computer all day unless I was making a lot of money ;-) so it wouldnt bother me that much because really at the end of the day a job is a job its never going to be much fun.

Thanks again dash and have a great day!

Barry
 
I have a few friends in the pilot bussiness. Actually one of them works for Delta airline. They both went to the air force academy and earned pilot certification through the air force. On top of that, i believe they received top notch education with the academy also. So, that's an option you may want to consider.
 
kjy112 said:
They both went to the air force academy and earned pilot certification through the air force. On top of that, i believe they received top notch education with the academy also. So, that's an option you may want to consider.
Click to expand...

Members of Congress do not typically waste their Service Academy nominations on UK citizens residing in Scotland.
 
Thanks JoeF.

If I do manage to get enough cash to sponsor myself then I would be looking at a company called SunState Aviation. They do a program which also comes with a degree from a college website. They also work with you on the degree so that would be great.

The whole getting to the usa with sponsorship is more of the backup or more realistic option and more likely to happen unfortunately.

Thanks also to kjy112 & TheRealCanadian ;-)

I did also considering going through the RAF (in the UK) but you must spend 12 years minimum these days as people were just doing that. joining for the "free" training whilst being paid then leaving and becoming an airline pilot.

Due to 9/11 and other events sponsorship from the airlines is non existant these days. I cant see it returning anytime soon so I am going to try get some cash saved up. I have a business which doesnt take too much time off me so I could also get a decent job.

I am hoping to spend some money which I will get from a part time job at the weekend and maybe after school on week nights on advertising my web hosting business. Hopefully this will generate a decent amount of money which I can add to my savings account that I setup.

Barry
 
Originally posted by TheRealCanadian Members of Congress do not typically waste their Service Academy nominations on UK citizens residing in Scotland.
Click to expand...


All I can say is I hope that wasn't a slur on the Scottish. Sounded a bit cheeky.

And Just to point out it should have read Scottish Citizens residing in the UK.

Maybe it would not be such a waste to the service academy investing in the technical genious of a Scot. You must remember if it were not for us there would be no Telecommunications and also ALL Canadians would be French tongue.
 
dashboy said:
Maybe it would not be such a waste to the service academy investing in the technical genious of a Scot.
Click to expand...

Actually, it would be a huge waste - since one must be a US citizen in order to receive a commission in the US Air Force, and Colorado Springs isn't in the business of graduating enlisted personnel. ;)
 
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