What Is The HSC? How Does It Work?

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boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au

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  ChrisLevo on 23/12/2015 - 17:07

  Your Career Counsellor (or whatever he/she is called) at school will know more than most of us combined, I reckon.

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    p1 ama on 23/12/2015 - 17:42

    +1

    Not really, careers counsellors are usually pretty useless in my opinion. They offer very generic advice without an understanding of current industry trends. If you go to a careers counsellor, they might be able to sit down and chat about your strengths and look at what career options suit your strengths, but only people currently working in an industry will be able to tell you what the job market is like, what future prospects are like and what day-to-day work will be like.

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      ms_caz on 24/12/2015 - 09:30

      In order to qualify as a career practitioner it is compulsory to have further post graduate study in the area. This does include the careers counselling skills as you have noted, but also requires a sound knowledge of industry trends and forecasts. Of course, given that we cover the entire spectrum of work and employment in Australia, we are not going to know the detailed ins and outs of every industry, so that is why we work on developing our networks and contacts so that we can refer our clients to those who DO have the specific on the ground industry knowledge that you speak of.

      To the OP - have you really not covered anything at all to do with this in your schooling so far?
      I'm in Victoria and obviously our systems are different so I cannot advise you on that. However, I really recommend that you access www.joboutlook.gov.au and take a browse through some of the data there to get your head around a really wide range of future career possibilities including industry forecasts. Also, it is worth seeking out the industry bodies for areas that spark your interest. For example, I have had dealings with Rail Skills Australasia (http://rsa.org.au/) and I know that they are taking a keen interest in seeking and supporting young people for this industry. Similarly, you might also look into the Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council (http://tlisc.org.au/) .

      I really do encourage you to contact your careers teacher/counsellor/practitioner or whatever they are called in your school. They probably do and know a heck of a lot more about it than you think!

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  Ventak on 23/12/2015 - 18:56

  +1

  HSC is the Higher School Certificate, the award you receive to certify that you have completed your secondary/high school education in NSW (there are equivalents in the other states, as well as the IB equivalent internationally). Basically, just consider it as a participation certificate that regardless of how well or how poorly you perform in year 11 & 12, you'll receive regardless.

  The ATAR is the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, and this is the score you receive at the end of year 12, which tertiary institutions can use as a hurdle for admission into tertiary education courses (hence the name).

  Depending on the course you wish to aspire for, alongside an ATAR requirement, there may also be a subject requirement. With engineering for example, physics and maths would generally be subjects expected alongside the compulsory English, with at least a pass in each of the subjects.

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  scrimshaw on 23/12/2015 - 19:25

  +1

  the ATAR is not a mark, but rather a rank. It is what universities use to determine whether or not you are eligible to enrol in a certain course.
  According to Wikipedia, the ATAR is calculated as such:

  ATAR score is derived from a single aggregate score that is the sum of the four best subjects that the student has completed at a Year 12 standard added to 10% of the sum of the weakest two subjects (for a total of 6 subjects). The maximum number of subjects used in the calculation of the aggregate score cannot surpass six (four subjects contributing their full amount, and the last two contributing 10% of their respective score)

  You get an ATAR after completing Year 12. Going into Year 11 and Year 12, you will be asked to choose subjects that amount to a total of 10 'units'.

  Read here which explains what the HSC subjects are and what subjects are included in the curriculum.

  Of note, there is actually more than one way to complete your HSC! Some people can undertake TAFE courses which can count towards your completion of the HSC. This method is called credit transfer.
  You can also do the HSC over a period of 5 years (accumulation) but very few people I know take this option.

  Future goals/ jobs i want:

  Civil engineering
  Maybe something to do with transport (Rail way/ Airport)
  Something to do with IT/ telecommunications ( Hardware not software)
  

  If you want to go into these professions, then make sure you do well in mathematics. Engineering in particular is math heavy. So is Logistics.

  IT and Telecomms are something those with good problem solving skills excel in and as such it's a good idea to continue to do well in mathematics and not fall behind. Many subjects in IT actually do recommend having Maths Extension 1 as a pre-requisite — so choose your electives wisely next year.

  If you are interested in IT, I recommend going to Khan Academy's Hour of Code which is short session that teaches you how to code. You can then work out whether or not you have the aptitute to study computer science.

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  justaguy21 on 24/12/2015 - 23:22

  Thank you everyone this really helps and have a Merry Christmas.

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  andwae on 28/12/2015 - 23:41

  Here is a great FAQ my friend made. http://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/50893/36115/things_you_…