Feeling lost at 17 — unsure about teaching and considering Access to HE for radiography

Hi, I’m a 17-year-old college student and I’m feeling really unsure about my next steps, so I’d appreciate any advice.

I wasn’t fully sure what I wanted to do career-wise, but I found out about diagnostic radiography and applied to uni (BCU and a few others). I got rejected because they said I couldn’t do a foundation year without science qualifications. I was confused by this because I thought science wasn’t required since it’s an A-level course.Also I wouldn’t say I’m good at science however I’ve been told it’s not like overly complicated and there’s not much maths involved either.

Now I’m thinking about applying for an Access to Higher Education Diploma at a college near me, as my current college doesn’t offer it. My plan would be to use that to apply for diagnostic radiography at uni.

However, I’m really unsure if this is the right move. I don’t know if I’d say radiography is my passion because I don’t know loads about it yet — just the basics — but I do like the flexibility and the pay compared to teaching.

Speaking of teaching, my family has been encouraging me to go into it, and I do think I’d enjoy it. But the pay worries me long-term, and I’m scared of burning out. I also posted on Reddit about teaching before, and a lot of teachers commented saying they regret it and wouldn’t recommend it, which honestly scared me.

I’m also nervous about doing an Access course because I’d be 18/19 in a completely different college where I don’t know anyone, and that feels intimidating.

So I guess my questions are:

Is doing an Access to Higher Education Diploma for radiography a good idea?

Is it okay to choose a career based on things like job security, flexibility, and pay rather than pure passion?

Has anyone been in a similar position or done an Access course and gone into radiography?

Any advice would really help. Thank you.

Submitted January 25, 2026 at 10:29AM by N3ha33 https://ift.tt/uC2R59S