It’s nearly the end of Term 2, and I’ve had a lot of conversations with students lately where they’ve been trying to decide whether or not to drop a VCE subject that they’re studying. To make an informed decision, there’s a few things you need to consider - do you know what you want to do when you finish school? Is this subject a prerequisite for that course? Can you support yourself to feel more confident in the subject with some extra help? Could you look at similar courses that don’t need it as a prerequisite? Is not liking the subject a clue that maybe your dream course isn’t really the one you want after all?

Listen up so you can consider your options and decide what will be best for you and your future.

Work with me: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/services

VTAC CourseSearch: https://delta.vtac.edu.au/coursesearch/#/search

In this third part of my mini series “How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses” I’m diving into another question that I’d love for you to consider - What are you good at? I don’t mean what subject you’re good at (although I did talk about that in episode 102), but instead what is something that comes naturally to you that you use in your everyday life that could be applied to any career you choose?

Knowing this can help you see how you can bring key parts of yourself to any role you choose to take in the future.

Work with me: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/services

In this episode, I continue the mini-series on feeling confident about VCE and choosing tertiary courses. Instead of jumping straight to career titles, I encourage you to reflect on your favourite subjects and, more importantly, what you enjoy about them. This approach can provide valuable insights into courses and careers that will allow you to do more of what you actually like.

0:45 – Recap of Episode 100 and the importance of understanding VCE

In the last episode I shared some episodes where I explain key aspects of VCE so that you can really understand the system you’re working in. If you’re stressed at all about VCE, I encourage you to go back and listen to that episode first.

2:27 – The significance of identifying your favourite subject

I discuss why pinpointing your favourite subject—and what you like about it—can guide your decisions about future studies and careers.

6:00 – My personal experience with subject preferences and career choices

I share my journey of loving maths but not feeling great about the typical career paths everyone was suggesting, like engineering or accounting.

9:50 – The importance of understanding what you enjoy in a subject

I delve into how recognising the specific topics or skills within a subject you enjoy can open up a broader range of course and career options that will actually suit you better. I encourage you to take time to reflect on your favourite subjects and what you really like about them so that you can find courses and careers that will allow you to do more of what you like.

Work with me: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/services

Thanks for joining me for the 100th episode of Course and Career Chat!

This episode is Part 1 in a series I’m calling How to Feel Confident About VCE and Choosing Tertiary Courses, and in this episode I want you to think about what is stressing you out about VCE so that you can get your questions answered. I’ve created a list of past episodes of Course and Career Chat where you can find the answers to common questions I get when I’m working with my students and their parents, and if I haven’t answered your question yet, please send me a DM on Instagram to let me know - I’m happy to help!

VCE Subjects: 5 Things to Consider When Choosing Yours: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/56

How Are ATARs Calculated?: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/58

ATAR Myths and Misconceptions: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/70

Should You Accelerate in VCE?: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/78

What Happens If You Do An Unscored VCE or VCE-VM?: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/87

All About the GAT (Updated for 2024): https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/85

How Do SACs Work in VCE?: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/96

What is your VCE subject ranking?: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/79

Send me a DM with any other questions you have on Instagram @roadmap_ed: https://www.instagram.com/roadmap_ed/?hl=en

Work with me: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/services

AI is everywhere at the moment, and there’s a lot of discussion about how it will change jobs and career pathways. Many students (and parents) are wondering—will AI replace certain jobs? Will the careers that seem like a great option now still be relevant in 5 or 10 years? In this episode, I break down what AI actually is, the ways it’s already affecting different industries, and how students can make career choices that will set them up for success in an AI-driven world.

2:40 – What is AI, and why is it such a big deal?

AI is already part of our daily lives, even if we don’t always realize it. I explain some of the ways we’re all using AI right now (like how your phone suggests words when you text) and why it’s suddenly getting so much attention in conversations about work and careers.

5:15 – My first experience using AI in my work

The first time I properly used AI was to help with my podcast show notes, and I was surprised by how useful it was. It didn’t replace what I do—it just made the process easier. This is exactly how AI will work in many careers: not replacing workers, but supporting them.

9:00 – AI is changing jobs, but that’s nothing new

Every time there’s a big technological shift—whether it’s the internet, automation, or now AI—some jobs change or disappear, but new ones are created. I talk about why it’s important to keep an open mind and focus on developing skills that will always be valuable.

11:24 – Will AI take over jobs?

This is a big worry for a lot of students, but it’s important to remember that AI can handle tasks, not entire careers. The most valuable jobs in the future will be the ones that involve creativity, critical thinking, and human connection—things AI can’t replicate.

15:30 – Choosing a career in an AI-driven world

Instead of worrying about what jobs might disappear, students should focus on what they enjoy, what industries interest them, and where they can develop transferable skills. Universities and TAFEs are already adapting their courses to include AI, so there will be plenty of opportunities to learn how to work with it rather than against it.

19:30 – Why human skills will always matter

AI might be great at processing information, but it can’t replace human creativity, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence. I share why these skills will always be in demand and how students can future-proof their careers by focusing on what makes them unique.

Work with me: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/services

Should you take a gap year after Year 12? It’s a big decision, and in this episode, I break down the benefits and drawbacks of taking a year off before further study. I also share practical advice on how to keep your options open, even if you're unsure about your next steps.

1:09 Common concerns about taking a gap year
I’ve had a lot of conversations with parents recently about whether a gap year is the right choice for their child. Many students don’t know whether they should still apply for courses through VTAC, or if taking a gap year will impact their future plans. In this episode, I share my thoughts on how to approach this decision.

3:28 The benefits of taking a gap year
There are plenty of good reasons to take a gap year, including:

• Taking a break – After 13 years of school, it makes sense to want some time off before starting further study.

• Travel opportunities – Exploring new places and cultures, or working overseas through programs like Camp America.

• Earning money – Getting a full-time job to save for university, travel, or other goals.

• Career exploration – Using the year to try jobs in industries you’re interested in, so you get a feel for what you might want to study.

5:39 The drawbacks of taking a gap year
Some students worry that if they take a gap year, they’ll never go back to study. While that’s not always true, there are some things to consider:

• Losing the study habits you’ve built over the years.

• Feeling like you’re behind your friends who go straight to university.

• Starting uni with students who are younger and still in a “VCE mindset.”

9:54 How to keep your options open
Even if you’re planning to take a gap year, I strongly recommend applying for VTAC courses now and securing a spot. Most courses allow deferral, so you can take your gap year with peace of mind, knowing you have a place waiting for you. It’s also much easier to do this while you still have access to school resources like career counselors and scholarship applications.

13:23 Final advice: Plan now, decide later
There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to taking a gap year—it’s a personal choice. But having a plan in place (even if you’re unsure) will make your gap year experience smoother and more enjoyable.

Work with me: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/services

1:43 My observations around motivation as a Maths teacher

I share my experience of teaching a particular class who were really focused, willing to learn, with high aspirations for their VCE results. Most people would assume that there’s not much a teacher of a class like that needs to do to in terms of motivation, but what I actually found was that in the second half of the year, these students were feeling really stressed and losing motivation despite the fact that they were doing everything “right” and still doing well on their SACs. I found that by helping them have some perspective around VCE and looking ahead to something fun that they were planning for the future, I could see that it really helped them get their heads out of VCE and visibly reduced their stress.

9:58 The podcast that helped me understand the science behind my theory

I happened to listen to The Imperfects podcast episode with their regular guest, Dr Emily, teaching listeners about hope. She talked about hope being made up of 3 parts - the goal, pathways (including overcoming obstacles) and agency (or the motivation to follow through to reach your goal). The way she explained it helped me understand why for many students, having a goal linked to results (eg I want to get an ATAR over 90) can be really hard to maintain. So many students with goals like that find it hard to keep going when they hit a topic they find really difficult or have a bad day on a SAC. They could no longer see how they could reach their goal, they’d lose motivation because they no longer thought just working hard would help them achieve the results they wanted, and they’d lose hope.

16:43 A Better Way to Motivate Yourself in VCE

I know that working with students to help them discover what they want to do beyond school in terms of courses and careers is truly motivating. I see it with the students I work with all the time. What Dr Emily was saying about hope helped me understand why. It makes sense to me that by finding a course or career that a student is excited about, you’ve found a goal. The next step is to find out how they can get there, and the reality is that there are so many pathways you can take to get into any course or career. Because there are so many pathways, it makes sense that if one falls over (ie you don’t get the ATAR you need), you can immediately see the next pathway. So now not getting the ATAR you need is an obstacle that can be overcome. Students can still have hope of reaching their goal because they can change the pathway and still achieve it.

Work with me: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/services

The Imperfects Podcast with Dr Emily on Hope: https://theresilienceproject.com.au/at-home/podcasts/dr-emily-hope/

Let’s talk about how SACs work in VCE so that you know what they are, how they’re used, and to bust some of the misconceptions around them that often come up throughout the year so that you can feel really confident as you move through VCE.

1:32 What is a SAC?

Throughout your time at school from prep through to Year 12, you do different types of assessment. SAC stands for School Assessed Coursework and it’s called that because it is one of the assessment types that is used to calculate your study score for your VCE subjects, but it is written by your teachers and completed through your school (as opposed to the external exams at the end of Unit 3&4 subjects written by VCAA). You can find out how many SACs you’ll do for each subject and how each SAC will look by looking at the study design for the subject on the VCAA website.

4:35 How do you find out your SAC results?

Different schools will report back differently. Some schools will give you an actual percentage mark for each SAC. Others might use a grade or a descriptor to give you an idea of how well you’ve done. These marks are not what is submitted to VCAA - your teachers will rank all the students for a subject based on their results in their SACs, and then these will be scaled up or down depending on how your cohort of students do on the external exam at the end of the year. The most important part of your SAC if you’re aiming to do really well in VCE is to make sure you understand where you didn’t get some of the marks and what you needed to do differently to get full marks on those questions. That will help you prepare for the next SAC and also for your end of year exams.

7:47 How are SAC results used?

When you get your study scores at the end of the year, you’ll be able to see the grades you got for your overall SAC results (which might be split into Unit 3 and Unit 4, or might be put together as one SAC result) and then a grade or grades for your end of year exam(s) for that subject. Your SAC result may be higher or lower than you expected based on the feedback you got from your school throughout the year. This is because of the scaling that happens, and it has to happen to make sure that the SACs at one school are treated as being equivalent in difficulty to the SACs at another school. This is why you shouldn’t get too focused on your SAC results throughout the year other than learning from them - see the podcast episode “What is Your VCE Subject Ranking?” linked below for more information.

Work with me: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/services

Free Download - The Parents’ Guide to VCE: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/parents-guide

How are ATARs Calculated? https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/58

What is Your VCE Subject Ranking? https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/79