Planning for life after school helped Year 12 student Andrew Purvis pick his subjects

After hearing stories from people in the Army, Andrew Purvis was able to decide on a career path - and on the subjects he'd need to take to get him there.

“Talking to people in the job makes it sound interesting. If you go into the Army in a trade, you get paid to learn. I’m probably going to apply for information systems operator, which is telecommunications, because in today’s society there’s so much work there.

“I’m doing the Gateway course plus Year 11 science and Year 12 computing. When you’re in the Gateway programme you do set courses and you can do one or two other subjects. And you do theory work that’s directly related to the industry you’re training for.

“Last year when I did science I failed miserably. Now I want to learn it properly and get some more science credits. I was distracted by people sitting next to me! Some of it I just didn’t understand anyway, but I guess doing it a second time helps you understand better.

Besides talking to Army personnel, Andrew also got advice from others around him. “When you talk to the dean and the careers adviser they suggest subjects that would help.

“I chose these subjects because computers are turning up everywhere, in so many jobs, so you want to be able to do at least some of the basics when you start working. I was thinking about the future. That’s why you pick subjects, to help enhance your future, not just pick it because your friends are taking it.”

Read more about Andrew’s Gateway experiences with the Police