So, You Want to be an Accountant?

Are you considering a career as an accountant?  Accountants communicate financial information about a business to users.  To do this they need to analyse what has happened and present it in an appropriate manner.

If you love numbers, problem analysis and solution and you are comfortable around people and around computers, you might consider accounting.  Accountants assist firms to manage their finances so that they meet legal requirements and enable good financial planning and management.  They must be good communicators with sound judgement and high levels of integrity.

To be considered for more advanced tertiary courses in accounting you must have maths.  There are also some options if you have Maths Lit at University of Johannesburg (BCom extended year program) or National Diplomas at TVET Colleges or a University of Technology.   You do not need to have studied accounting at high school to study at a tertiary institute however some institutes allow you to use your accounting mark in place of your maths mark which can help if you haven’t done so well in maths. Read more

Understanding school performance: High School selection

School selection can be a nightmare for even the most informed parents. In this post we try to help share some of the ways in which SAILI chooses scholarship high schools.

The driving force behind SAILI’s success is getting the best “bang for buck” we can from the schools on offer. To make sure we give our funders the best “return on their investment” we scout for strong candidates and place them in the strong schools.

How we scout for candidates is a topic for another day but, how we identify strong schools is the topic of this post. Read more

So, You Want to be an Engineer?

Engineers are problem solvers. To solve problems, they use scientific and mathematical principles as tools.

To be an engineer, you must have a strong aptitude for problem solving, mathematics, chemistry and physics, physics is probably the most important tool. You must be interested in applying these scientific principles to the real world.  If you are interested in building, understanding, and making things better and more efficient, engineering may be right for you. Read more

Medicine careers illustrated by doctor

So, You Want to Study Medicine and Be a Doctor?

You might be drawn to medicine careers if you are people-oriented and you love science.  You might want to be a doctor because the pay is great and it is a prestigious career.  The sad reality is that there many people loving, science loving teens out there and most of them don’t get to be doctors.  What does it take? What can you do if you don’t have what it takes but you wish you did? Read more

Study Skills Part 2: Stress Management

Stress, even the word can conjure up vivid images and feelings of butterflies in your stomach, sweaty palms and fuzzy thinking.  Whilst too much stress will slow down your ability to study and retain information, not enough stress will see you lying in hammock in the sun instead of studying for that maths exam.  How do you get a balance?  Stress management is the answer. Read more