Really worried I'm wasting my time

[cadetjlc]

Hi, my names Jay! I'm 21 years old and I currently have GCSE's at C grade, except English which I hold 2 B Grades in. I recently packed in work, to go back to school so I could get good A level grades to improve my chances. I am also resitting my Maths GCSE, with hope to get an A - A*! I am studying English language, geography, philosophy and ethics and science; I am predicted to achieve B's in all four subjects.

I am so concerned that after all this, my application will still not be strong enough?!

I would appreciate any advice,

Thank you

[GuinnessMan]

Ethics? Do our schools really need to teach a GCSE course on Ethics? Wait, Alfie Patton? Oh ok then...

What sort of extra curricular stuff do you do? The grades sound alright, but it's not just about sitting at home cracking books, they like to see that you do have an interest within the industry.

[HolyNougat]

Hi jay,
there is nothing about your grades which would preclude you from a career at sea as an officer. You are making a great commitment by going back to study for your a levels, and getting a solid academic base which includes maths will be most useful.
as with most jobs these days, the merchant navy is 'in demand' as a career, and probably with good reason. On this forum is a scary statistic about the number of cadet places for every applicant, so think Long and hard about what you can do to make your application stand out above all of the others. Good ideas would be sail training during your leaves, joining the RNLI and doing some volunteer work and generally doing anything which will mark you out as a good team player who has some understanding about what being in the merchant navy is all about.

[Clanky]

I would agree with most of what Holy Nougat has said, with one stipulation - do not join the RNLI or any other voluntary organisation just to beef up your cv. All of these organisations rely heavily on volunteers and are generally invest quite heavily in them too. By all means get involved, but only if you are prepared to offer the commitment that they need, it is not fair on the organisations to go along for a year just to beef up your cv and then bin the idea once you have been accepted for a cadetship.

That said, if you feel that you can give the commitment then you will gain much more from joining something like the RNLI or the Sea Cadets than an extra box to tick on your cv.

[cadetjlc]

Philosphy & Ethics is a compulsory subject at the sixth form I'm at! At the moment, I am not engaged any other curricular activites! I don't really know what would be useful, and feasible?! Thank you for posting btw

[cadetjlc]

Hi HolyNougat,

Thank you for your advice! I had a look at the RNLI, but I'm not too sure what would be required of me, and whether it is feasible for me! I live in Hertfordshire, therefore no where near sea! I saw that they offer 6 week internships, which is mainly office based; however I don't think that would be as beneficial as experience at sea, would it?

[cadetjlc]

Hi Clanky,
Thank you for your feedback!

[Squareleg28]

The "extras" are a help on the old CV - however the academic work is important, it seems to be almost a given that firms expect you have got three good A-levels (A/B) in relevant subjects (Maths/science) these days.

Volunteering doesn't have to mean something nautical - almost anything which gets you out, working with a range of different ages, helping with something can be used to good effect in interview.

The main things firms want is a sound academic background, common sense, some life experince and someone who is going to stick with the cadetship.

[Bulman]

The "extras" are a help on the old CV - however the academic work is important, it seems to be almost a given that firms expect you have got three good A-levels (A/B) in relevant subjects (Maths/science) these days.

Volunteering doesn't have to mean something nautical - almost anything which gets you out, working with a range of different ages, helping with something can be used to good effect in interview.

The main things firms want is a sound academic background, common sense, some life experince and someone who is going to stick with the cadetship.

Hope its cold over there in C block, onto other things, it seems that DOE is a big hit with companies especially if you get all the way to gold (which may be hard if you're looking to apply soon) Another thing is Air/Army/Sea cadets, these are just big things but any thing small from a little first aid course to life guard certificate is good, something which shows you've gone out, done it you're self and even maybe paid for it all your self is what they like to see

[Randomist]

It depends what cadetship you would like to do. You can follow the FD route which requires A-Levels or you can apply for an HND cadetship (or whatever the equivalent is now).

While the colleges will say their pre-requisites for an HND course is A-C grades in maths/English/science and 2 others, some companies may prefer you to have A's or B's.

Bear in mind that a lot hangs on interview, since you show commitment to work to improve your grades. This will say a lot about your attitude to work to the interviewers.

In general what you have posted looks like you meet the requirements to apply for a cadetship. By all means get A-Levels and apply for an FD cadetship so long as you have the 120UCAS and one of your A levels is in maths or physics then you should be fine.

Don't worry too much. It sounds like you would meet requirements to gain cadetship. Remember the cadetship and career incorporates a fair amount of maths so if this is a subject you struggle with you should think about getting a tutor or spending extra time studying certain aspects. However, if you believe that and A grade or an A* is within your reach you shouldn't have a problem with the subject matter. I only had a B at GCSE, I like to think I turned out ok

[Clanky]

I like to think I turned out ok

You keep telling yourself that!

[GuinnessMan]

You keep telling yourself that!

Randomist says whilst sitting in the corner, knees up to his chest, gently rocking himself.....

[Randomist]

I'm good at my job....I'm good at my job......I'm good at my job