The Student Room Group

How do you feel about apprenticeships after reading this?

News story in Times Higher Education today:

Higher apprenticeships lead to 'greater earnings than most degrees'

The Sutton Trust research shows that, although Oxbridge and RG grads can expect to receive greater lifetime earnings than apprentices, grads from non-RG unis will earn less.

Would this make you think again about taking an apprenticeship instead of a degree?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Seems like basic supply and demand. The market is over saturated with university graduates and under supplied with skilled manual labourers.

If I were 16 - 18 now I'd not bother with uni and go into an apprenticeship instead.
Very few apprenticeships are level 4 + 5. I'm not surprised though. The few I've seen are run by very big media and tech companies. With the difference in numbers, I don't think it's a fair comparison.
However, you won't be able to get into certain professions without a degree e.g. if you want to become a barrister or a doctor, degree is an obvious choice.
Not a shock. Workplace skills and specific training will be worth more than run of the mill, fluffy liberal arts degrees that they hand out like toilet paper. You can tell me that some people make it with those degrees but for the vast majority(something like 60% go into jobs that never needed a degree), they're wasting their time and money. A STEM can give you a higher chance of employment with higher salaries but again, not everyone succeeds. I nearly ended up going to uni this year to do Biochem. I weighed up my options and realised it was a total waste. My max salary would be barely around £40K if I was in research(probably much less in reality) and jobs in that field are few. So I kicked the degree idea to the curve and started a sponsored cadetship in the merchant navy instead. I'm telling ya, people who get these types of things are hitting a gold mine. Other apprenticeship style schemes(airliners for example) can be very lucrative alongside numerous other schemes in areas like computer science, banking and accounting. And consider this, I was 100% Pro-University not so long ago but then I had my eyes opened. A university degree does not guarantee a job(unless you're going for nursing, medicine, vet science or engineering). Unless you fall into one of those degrees, dont waste your time with it. You should only be going to university to do a degree that is beneficial to your employment prospects in a specific field, not for friend making/independence/experience etc.
Original post by 0123456543210
However, you won't be able to get into certain professions without a degree e.g. if you want to become a barrister or a doctor, degree is an obvious choice.


For doctors I understand that. For barristers however, who the hell wants to even try. Too many people study Law now and go for the BPTC, law firms are cutting back more and more. Its a death trap
i'm not going to uni and am planning to do an apprenticeship so i'm pleased to read that.
Reply 7
It boils down to matching your area of study to a sturdy career plan. I think the figures are more reflective of the number of degree level students winging it until they decide what they want to be 'when they grow up'.

Without a clear plan you may get lucky and land a decent job/salary after uni, but the likelihood is that that won't happen. If you pick a trade and study for it via apprenticeship or degree your outcome statistics are more positive.
I thought this was common knowledge.
So go to a Russell Group Uni or forget it...?
there is more to life than money.
Reply 11
Original post by the bear
there is more to life than money.


Im currently in ear 12 and have been applying for apprenticeships in a NHS hospital, now i have got an interview next week... hope it goes will! :afraid:
Original post by Sayfi
Im currently in ear 12 and have been applying for apprenticeships in a NHS hospital, now i have got an interview next week... hope it goes will! :afraid:


Do keep us posted as to how it goes!
Original post by RuhmaKhan
So go to a Russell Group Uni or forget it...?


Basically if you don't do a career focused (STEM) degree at a top 50 then there is absolutely no point in going to uni.
Hi just a reminder that some people actually go to uni to eventually get a job they want as opposed to just seeking high wealth :smile: :smile:
--
Also I'm not excessively surprised, manual labour is incredibly in-demand in the UK especially construction rn.
Reply 15
Original post by chelseafan
Basically if you don't do a career focused (STEM) degree at a top 50 then there is absolutely no point in going to uni.


Sorry, but that's b*ll*cks.
Given that apprenticeships are a natural function of employer demand, whilst the level of market research undertaken by prospective undergraduates prior to embarking on their (often arbitrarily) chosen degrees will typically register somewhere between 'negligible' and 'non-existent', the comparative inefficiency of the university system is hardly surprising.
Original post by shooks
News story in Times Higher Education today:

Higher apprenticeships lead to 'greater earnings than most degrees'

The Sutton Trust research shows that, although Oxbridge and RG grads can expect to receive greater lifetime earnings than apprentices, grads from non-RG unis will earn less.

Would this make you think again about taking an apprenticeship instead of a degree?


Depends on degree surely? Comp Science grads from top unis will mostly likely do better than arts humanities graduates...
Although apprentices’ career total advantage of £52,000 over most graduates is partly the result of their earlier entry to the workplace,

..

The difference per year is actually tiny.
Original post by shooks
News story in Times Higher Education today:

Higher apprenticeships lead to 'greater earnings than most degrees'

The Sutton Trust research shows that, although Oxbridge and RG grads can expect to receive greater lifetime earnings than apprentices, grads from non-RG unis will earn less.

Would this make you think again about taking an apprenticeship instead of a degree?


Back when i went back into education the coalition (well done them) had only just come to power and so the best/only attractive apprenticeship was administration and even then funding was limited to 19 for lots of things. Hence i never had much choice.

That said, i would have still gone to university. I'm a thinker even if a bit academically lazy and so economics is still a worthy subject to study.

I do admit though that there is some part of me now with the range of apprenticeships which makes me wonder 'what if'..

..

I will say though that actually i'm not convinced people need this formal teaching at all. If one can get a job at 16 full time in retail and then self study stuff like C++ and Java qualifications then i imagine you could walk into a job or just use university/apprenticeship as a fall back.
(edited 8 years ago)

Quick Reply