A young person’s insights

We spoke to a Year 9 student about all things school, maths and careers.

Everyone's career pathway is different and is often influenced by your interests and the choices you make. 

Your school subject selections often impact your pathway. 

There is much to consider when you are thinking about possible career pathways. Here are the thoughts of one Year 9 student about careers and maths. 

Sydney student Lexi talks us through her approach to maths

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Lexi. I go to school in Sydney and I am in Year 9. 

Tell us about you and maths.

I don’t find maths that difficult and I’ve always liked trying to solve the challenging questions, so I’d say I was pretty good at maths. 

I like that maths always has a right or wrong answer. I like the challenge of maths at school, and trying to solve an equation like a puzzle. 

What are you studying in maths at school at the moment?

Recently we completed the topic of surface area and volume and now we have begun coordinate geometry and graphs.

What Year 10 electives have you chosen, and why?

I have chosen food tech and commerce next year as I love cooking and I like learning about business and money.

Any idea what you want to do after secondary school?

At the moment, after secondary school I want to continue to university and do all the requirements to one day, hopefully, become a paediatrician.

Why do you want to become a paediatrician?

I want to help people and I have always loved kids and babysitting.

Can you imagine how you might need or use maths in a health career?

As I continue more into the field of medicine and discover more things about it, I may discover how I can use maths in this career but I am not sure at the moment.

As a start, you could read this article about how statistics are used in health careers in all kinds of ways! 

How do you approach maths study at the moment?

To study I usually do ‘Test yourself’ or chapter reviews from our Box of Books textbook, and we also get given worksheets to help us as well. 

Any favourite online resources for studying maths at school?

I use resources such as Maths Online and Education Perfect sometimes to help me learn maths.

Can you tell us a bit more about you?

I also enjoy the subject of science. Outside of school I love sport and exercise. I dance at a local dance studio and I play oztag during summer and league tag during winter.