Career atlas

01How do you feel about university?

This is the question that changes the answer most, so it comes first.

I'll study as long as it takes, including postgraduateA normal three or four year degree, then workNot sure it's for me — depends what it buysI don't want to go to university at all

02Which would you rather spend a day working on?

A person, and what they needA physical object or machineA system, a model, or a piece of softwareAn argument, a document, or a decision

03Maths — honestly.

I'm good at it and I enjoy itI can do it when there's a point to itI'd rather it wasn't the main thing

04When something goes badly wrong at work, would you want to be the one holding it?

Yes — that's the interesting partAs part of a team, not aloneNo — I'd rather the stakes were lower

05Where would you rather be, most days?

At a desk, with quiet and a screenMoving around — site, ward, workshop, vehicleIn a lab or a controlled technical spaceOutdoors, or somewhere that changes

06Does the work need to visibly help someone?

Yes — I want to see who I helpedIndirectly is fine, if the effect is realNot really — I care whether it's interesting

07Do you want to be able to point at something and say you made it?

Yes, and I want to be able to touch itYes, even if it only exists on a screenNot important — I'd rather solve than build

08What would you accept in exchange for higher pay?

Long, unpredictable hoursMany more years of training firstPhysically hard or remote conditionsNothing — I want a life outside work

09Which is worse?

Nobody can tell me what the right answer isEverything is already decided by a rulebook

10How much talking to people can you take?

Constant — that's the good partA small team I know wellAs little as possible

11Ten years from now, which sounds worse?

Still doing exactly what I started doingNever knowing if I'll have work next year

12Would you notice if one number in a spreadsheet was wrong?

Yes, and it would bother me until I fixed itProbably not — I think in bigger shapes

13Which of these would you read about for fun?

How a body or an ecosystem worksHow something is built, or why it failedWhy people or economies behave the way they doHow a piece of technology actually works underneath

14Be honest about money.

It's a major factor in this decisionI want to be comfortable, not richI'd take less to do something I cared about

15Do you want the option to work in another country?

Yes — portability matters to meNo — I expect to stay where I am