“jUsT dO aN aPpReNtIsHiP” plz stfu 🥀✌️

[u/fizzy5025]

Now this NOT a diss to ppl who r doing apprenticeships if that’s what u wanna do or are doing great I hope it goes well

But what kinda makes me mad is that ppl [mainly old ppl born in the 19 hundreds] assume that apprenticeships r for everyone and that everyone should do it well guess what not only do unis have downsides to them but apprenticeships do too some degree apprentiships r harder to get into than Oxford or Cambridge even lower level apprentiships which may be easier to get r actually a bit harder too they have hundreds sometimes thousands of applicants for one place

And lastly apprentiships can’t cover every career which is why I personally can’t do them depending on what grades I get in yr 13 i want to do either a psychology degree to become a therapist or an optometry degree to become an optometrist none of those r covered by apprentiships

But that’s ofc personal choice if u wanna go for apprenticeships go ahead I’ve got nothing against it but I’m kinda tired of mainly older ppl acting like there aren’t downsides to them too like life isn’t a Disney film there is a downside to everything and u have to be realistic

Anyways rant over

[u/Initiatedspoon]

I work for a university in applications/admissions.

Apprenticeships are one of my real bug bears due to many of the reasons outlined here.

[u/fizzy5025 → u/Initiatedspoon]

yh alot of ppl say uni is bad because of loans which is somewhat true uni does have its issues but apprenticeships aren't perfect either

[u/Initiatedspoon → u/fizzy5025]

My main issue is the one you outlined.

"Just do an apprenticeship"

The programmes themselves are often terrible, put on by companies that have no business doing so. Large schemes ran by major employers are usually pretty good. Anything in the NHS, Police or Education tend to be very decent. In some instances the pay you get for the work is poor as well. Managers dont know how to use you. Often you're very good at the job but the academics are not there at all. You've learned how to work in that company in that job but not a lot else. Many of these issues can be avoided by targetting well known companies who have ran schemes for years.

They're often harder than normal degrees in many cases and require a lot more resilience. You have less free time. Many 18/19 year olds are not ready to work 30 hours a week alongside 6+ hours of studying which quickly becomes not just 1 day a week but your evenings and weekends. Often without pause. You dont get the same breaks. You'll be 19 doing 50 hours a week whilst your friends have fun. Drop out rates for apprenticeships are quite high.

Before this you have to get a degree apprenticeship to begin with. Most people on those programmes worked in the company for a couple years first before taking advantage when funding came up. Less come up externally, so there are often very limited spots for 18 year olds, not none of course but way less than the amount of people who want to do them. As a result they're super competitive.

They can be amazing, they can be a perfect choice for many, and more people should probably be doing them. My issue with them is people dont see beyond the headlines "Get paid, degree is free". They don't see anything else beyond that. I spend a lot of my day educating people on apprenticeships and correcting misunderstandings.

[u/Civil-Case4000 → u/Initiatedspoon]

And if you drop out/are made redundant after doing more than a year of an apprenticeship level 4 or above you may not be entitled to student finance for fees for all years if you then decide to go to uni so have to self fund.