HUNTER students Abbey O'Reilly and Mia Robertson reflected on their own work ethics after answering the last question in their Community and Family Studies Higher School Certificate exam.
The St Paul's Catholic College Booragul leaders, both 18, sat the paper on Monday, which required them to answer a three-part question about individuals and work.
Abbey has been juggling her studies with working at Woolworths and is hoping to pick up work as a Domino's driver and in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle's pastoral placement program.
She also plans to get her white or general construction induction card and her Responsible Service of Alcohol [RSA] qualification.
"Any experiences that happen next year my motto is just to say yes to all of them," Abbey said.
"I'm hoping to have a gap year and my goal is to make $40,000. Then after that in uni in 2024 I'd like to do special needs high school teaching and maths high school teaching.
"I really want to build a tiny house and I'd really like to get into the property market early because obviously it's crazy, so I'm trying to have a plan before heading in. We're not stereotypical teenagers."
Mia works as a netball umpire three nights a week and with her family's civil construction business roughly once a month, having obtained her white card and licences to drive a skid-steer, excavator and roller.
She completed a school-based traineeship at John Hunter Hospital, where she has been offered an administration role starting next month.
She also plans to get qualifications to work as a traffic controller, her RSA and join the pastoral placement program.
"I'm probably going to have a gap year as well but I've applied for university for communications and marketing and also primary school teaching," she said.
"I'll do that in 2024 if I am to do that, I'm definitely not going into university next year. I actually find my life is so well balanced."
The last question asked students if positive workplace culture increased efficiency, the differences between employee rights and responsibilities and about limited opportunities for youth in finding work.
Abbey said she wrote about the difficulties that youth who lived in rural locations or had disabilities faced.
"It was okay, it just wasn't something I'd focused on too much when studying. It popped out of the blue a little bit but balanced out the easiness of the other questions.
"I definitely did not run out of things to write about, which is always a plus."
Mia said she referred to how youth were sometimes seen as unreliable and unqualified workers who did not face as many time and financial pressures as adults and were more interested in the social side of employment, but that they brought energy and determination and were invaluable to industries including fast food and retail.
"It was not bad, I finished with enough time to read over everything."
They said overall the test was not as difficult as their trial exams and past papers.
Abbey said the multiple choice questions were "easy peasy" and she finished them in around 15 instead of 35 minutes.
"It allowed us to take some of the time we would have used for multiple choice into the other long responses, which I found extremely helpful." Mia agreed.
"The way they were worded was really really good, it was so evident that 'Okay, D is definitely not it and A could be it, but doesn't match the question'.
"There were maybe three questions where it could be either or, but you could really break it down."
They said the short answer questions were fair.
"They didn't give us nearly enough lines," Abbey said.
"They weren't too hard or too easy, but you really had to think about your answers and try and make them succinct but detailed at the same time, which I found difficult."
Mia said they had studied CAFS terminology, "but the questions were basic knowledge".
"The scenarios were more real life... the biggest thing was where do I put the buzzwords."
Abbey said she was treating the HSC as a "marathon not a sprint" and had followed a study plan that included revision and past papers.
"I get very stressed coming up to exams so it's all about limiting stress... I thought if I slowly build up it will be easier. To be successful you've got to be organised."
Mia said she cared about the HSC, "but how I went is how I went".
"On the day if I'm having a bad day then I obviously wasn't meant to do well that day," she said.
"Everything happens for a reason.
"School has always been a priority but it hasn't been my number one priority... it's not the one pathway to get where you want to go in life."
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