Co-designed entirely by young people, this newsletter explores the realities of figuring out what comes next when you have little idea what you want to do.

Taiwo (Tai)

Taiwo (Tai)

Curiosity is key to Careers

My name’s Taiwo (Tai) Kila, and I’m a soon to be accounting student and apprentice at a London Russell Group. On paper, it sounds grand, like I had to break my back to get here, but honestly, I think it had more to do with curiosity – who you know, what you ask, and what resources you have access to.

At GCSE, I didn’t work that hard. I got by with okay grades, but relative to my background in care, they were better than anyone might have expected. Because of that, I applied for a scholarship at a private school on a whim. That decision changed everything.

Before that, I was at a massive girls’ school – thirty people in a class, ten classes a year. It was easy to get lost in the crowd. Then I moved to a school with less than fifty people in the year. That school taught me three things: there are always people working harder, go to everything, and always ask for help.

But the biggest lesson was curiosity.

I think a lot of us from adverse backgrounds are conditioned to believe we have to do everything ourselves. But there are so many people willing to help if you just ask. I went to a careers fair once and met a woman who worked at the bank I wanted to apply to. I made it clear I came specifically to speak to her. Not only did she invite me into the office, but she got me a meeting with the head of the apprenticeship course I wanted.

That might sound extreme, but the point is simple: ask. Ask your teachers, your friends’ parents, your dentist – anyone close to the professional world. People are often willing to help someone who shows genuine interest.

That same curiosity pushed me to go to events, panels and talks. Through LinkedIn, Young Professionals and even TikTok, I learned about jobs I didn’t even know existed. At fourteen, I went to a finance insight event and learned about degree apprenticeships – university fused with industry, often with your degree paid for. Straight away, I knew I had to find a way into one.

Curiosity opens doors, but it also shapes people.

That’s what stood out most when I spoke to Egerton (Junior) Bayode, who now works in product management at an international bank. He describes his role as the bridge between business and technology – thinking about the “what” and “why” of a product, while engineers handle the “how.”

But Junior’s journey started far from corporate offices.

Growing up in South London, surrounded by gang culture, he describes himself as “bad… proper bad” when he was younger. There was apathy towards the future, little care for education, and more focus on having fun. But everything shifted when he started reading.

Books about finance, business and the stock market sparked something in him. One that stood out was The Stock Market Explained by Alvin Hall. Seeing a Black man smiling on the cover mattered – it allowed Junior to connect success in finance with someone who looked like him. That curiosity gave him a new image of what success could be.

Faith also became a grounding force for him. He describes it as a change in his heart, one that made him see value in himself and his future.

By his mid-twenties, Junior had no degree, no college qualifications and little experience. But what he did have was knowledge – built through curiosity. Through networking and his passion for learning, he secured an internship in the city.

On his first week, he accidentally completed the internship task before officially starting, purely because of his genuine interest in the work. That curiosity led him to present to the CEO, and despite his nerves and lack of experience, he was offered a full-time role the next month.

His journey wasn’t easy. Entering corporate spaces as a young Black man from a working-class background came with culture shock. He had to adapt to spaces where his background, education and even vernacular made him stand out. But where others saw silence, Junior was observing – learning patterns, behaviours and systems he hadn’t been exposed to before.

Again, curiosity.

That’s what kept coming up in our conversation: finding what you’re good at, but more importantly, finding what you enjoy.

For me, curiosity looked like going to fairs and events, asking questions and meeting new people. For Junior, it looked like books, eager coffee meetings, and wanting to understand the market deeply.

Curiosity is what makes you try. And trying is what changes everything.

I think one of the biggest barriers for young people, especially in the spaces I’ve been in, is fear of embarrassment. There’s a taboo around trying because failing feels humiliating. But how will we know if we don’t try? How will we learn? How will we succeed?

As soon as you’re willing to fail, the world opens up.

Egerton (Junior) Bayode, a young Black man who once faced incarceration, and Taiwo (Tai) Kila, a young Black care-experienced girl, both got where they are because they were curious enough to try.

The job market is scary right now. Not everyone gets that one pivotal person or moment that shifts everything. For Junior it was books and faith; for me, it was a new school and a random woman at a careers fair who took a chance on me.

But one thing we all have is curiosity.

No matter where you come from, if you’re willing to ask, learn, try and fail, people will see that. Sometimes all it takes is curiosity to change the direction of your life.

Bessie

Bessie and Stan

Dips and Turns – a Blessing in Disguise

That almost expectation vs reality point many people can compare. The most happiest people you know will have taken all different paths.

I’ll tell you mine – when I was 13 I picked my GCSEs in a mainstream school, wanted to work in fashion and was on an academic path for 9s. My life took an unexpected turn a few years after this at 15. I became very unwell and lost all hope and had to relearn how to live. I had to leave education. Fast forward now at 17 I’m finishing my GCSEs and planning my post GCSEs education next year. With the aim to study in university and live again and make up for all missed time. There isn’t a time limit on your future, despite the rhetoric pushed on you from a young age – there is so much more to life than worrying about what you want to do. Recovery isn’t linear, neither is employment and careers. 

At 15 years old when most people get their first jobs, I was needing assistance with all daily living tasks. All I dreamed of was hoping to wake up in the morning, hoping one day that I could recover and be free from my complex illness. 2 years on, I dream of studying at university. I dream of helping others who faced issues like me. I dream on educating and helping improve systems that failed me. There is hope, life is truly incredible. 

Even fully grown adults have taken paths that was unexpected. Meet Henry, a 32 year old man who wanted to share his journey. He was at university studying business and working in start-ups… Unsure of what he wanted. He took that step of self-discovery and became a honey harvester. He loved this but still craved that extra bit… fast forward after many mini jobs while travelling he had always had a passion for off track snowboarding. One of his absolute favourite hobbies, he combined his love of this niche sport with this original business path and started a snowboarding instructing company in Japan. That path meandered and curved but did loop back. 

Whether your 17 or 32 or 80 – life has truly potential so keep that hope. 

The moral of the story, you can ask anyone for their expectation vs reality. Everyone has one of some sorts, you are not alone. The path you take you shouldn’t feel scared of the discovery it could unveil. It’s a blessing in disguise!

Theela

Theela

Not knowing what you want to do… but still needing to find a Job to make money.

She disagreed.

She thought I had it better because I don’t know what I want yet. In her eyes, there’s less pressure when you’re still figuring things out than when you’ve spent years chasing something that isn’t working out the way you hoped.

The conversation got me thinking: what’s actually harder? Not knowing what you want, or knowing exactly what you want but not being able to get there?

I don’t think there’s a right answer.

For me, not knowing can feel frustrating. There’s pressure to have a plan, to know your next step, and to feel confident about your future. Sometimes it feels like everyone else knows what they’re doing except you.

To understand Chrystal’s perspective better, I interviewed her about her experiences. One of the first questions I asked was whether she had ever been waiting for a “big moment” where her passion would suddenly become clear. Her answer surprised me. She told me she had always known what she wanted to do and had never really been searching for a passion in the way many people do.

At first, that made me think she had it easier than me. But the more we spoke, the more I realised that certainty doesn’t automatically make things easier.

When I asked whether there had ever been a point where her plan stopped making sense, she explained that halfway through university she realised the job she had originally wanted no longer really existed in the modern music industry. Something she had been working towards for years suddenly felt much less achievable than she had imagined.

That really changed the way I looked at things.

I had assumed that knowing what you want would remove a lot of the stress and uncertainty that comes with planning your future. But listening to Chrystal made me realise that even when you know exactly what you want, there can still be setbacks, disappointment, and uncertainty about how you’ll get there.

One answer that particularly stuck with me was when I asked how much of what she’s doing right now is about money versus what she actually wants to do. She told me that most of it is about money. I think that’s something many young people can relate to. Whether we know what we want or not, we still have bills to pay, responsibilities to manage, and a need for financial stability.

Maybe that’s what we have in common. Whether we’re searching for a direction or trying to reach a destination we’ve already chosen, we’re both still figuring things out.

And maybe that’s true for more people than we realise.

You don’t need to have everything worked out right now. Some people are still finding their path, while others are learning that the path they chose isn’t as straightforward as they expected. Either way, we’re all learning as we go.

Trailblazer supports young people to explore their next steps through personalised careers guidance, mentoring and practical opportunities. Whether you’re considering further education, employment or still figuring things out, the programme is designed to help you build confidence, develop skills and realise your potential.

This project was offered young people access to the professional creative industry mentors at West Creative Ltd.