I'm quite afraid and unsure about my future.

I have finished my A levels and I have the choice of applying to good Universities, or choose Apprenticeships.

I have A*A*A which most people will assume i'm happy about. I have massive imposter's syndrome, and i still think I am not worthy of acedemia nor a degree apprenticeship.

I can't even pass online psychometric tests, never mind doing interviews. I suck at public speaking, and don't have much work experience.

I also know full well I sucked at exam pressures during year 12 and came out with an ACC. year 13 was a difficult grind and I came out mentally broken.
I feel genuinely worried and hopeless, its a long road ahead, and I want to turn things around. I really want to hear some success stories from you all, and how you managed to secure a degree apprenticeship. Out of all 7 of my friends only 1 of them secured a lvl 4 apprenticeship (not even a degree one).
I will also try to apply for university for 2023 entry for computer science as a back up option.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

skylark2

18

You have far more choices than that. If you don't want to do a degree then don't do a degree - there's no reason you can't just apply for jobs.

Just because you can do something that lots of people see as desirable doesn't mean it's for you. I could earn a lot more money if I went to work in London. I don't want to live in London and I don't want to commute to London, so I don't work in London. It's a choice, not a failure.

Reply 2

fern1978

5

Original post by H3nry_T

I have finished my A levels and I have the choice of applying to good Universities, or choose Apprenticeships.

I have A*A*A which most people will assume i'm happy about. I have massive imposter's syndrome, and i still think I am not worthy of acedemia nor a degree apprenticeship.

I can't even pass online psychometric tests, never mind doing interviews. I suck at public speaking, and don't have much work experience.

I also know full well I sucked at exam pressures during year 12 and came out with an ACC. year 13 was a difficult grind and I came out mentally broken.
I feel genuinely worried and hopeless, its a long road ahead, and I want to turn things around. I really want to hear some success stories from you all, and how you managed to secure a degree apprenticeship. Out of all 7 of my friends only 1 of them secured a lvl 4 apprenticeship (not even a degree one).
I will also try to apply for university for 2023 entry for computer science as a back up option.

Well done for getting such good high grades at A-Level! I can understand how this would of put a big mental pressure on you. I found it quite difficult to get a job after A-Levels so I decided to go to University. However, if this isn't the route you want to take, I would definitely recommend practising psychometric tests and looking through resources to try and figure out what kind of job role/apprenticeship would be right for you. I signed up to graduates first and I am more familiar now with psychometric tests and what some companies test for. Good luck with your decision making, I'm sure it will be very soon when you find a job perfect for you :smile:

Reply 3

Mara1680

18

Original post by H3nry_T

I have finished my A levels and I have the choice of applying to good Universities, or choose Apprenticeships.

I have A*A*A which most people will assume i'm happy about. I have massive imposter's syndrome, and i still think I am not worthy of acedemia nor a degree apprenticeship.

I can't even pass online psychometric tests, never mind doing interviews. I suck at public speaking, and don't have much work experience.

I also know full well I sucked at exam pressures during year 12 and came out with an ACC. year 13 was a difficult grind and I came out mentally broken.
I feel genuinely worried and hopeless, its a long road ahead, and I want to turn things around. I really want to hear some success stories from you all, and how you managed to secure a degree apprenticeship. Out of all 7 of my friends only 1 of them secured a lvl 4 apprenticeship (not even a degree one).
I will also try to apply for university for 2023 entry for computer science as a back up option.

I don't know if I'd go as far as to call it as "success story" but here's my apprenticeship route.

2020 - finished GCSEs in the middle of the pandemic. Received my predicted grades as my final grades which were inflated for my options but screwed me over on core subjects. However, they were still decent.

I got predicted an 8 in Maths and English Language. I'm confident had I been able to sit the exam I would have gotten a 9 in both.
I got predicted a 6 in Physics (the rest isn't relevant but I think they were also 6s) when I easily could have achieved a 7.

So there's that.

I applied for engineering apprenticeships straight out of school. Didn't land any of them for a variety of reasons:
1. Poor application
2. Poor interview skills + lack of prep
3. No previous experience whether practical or theoretical (aka my GCSEs were completely unrelated) /Lack of knowledge and skills
4. Lack of confidence and social skills

Although I did get very close to getting two apprenticeships. This was because I scored very highly on the aptitude tests.

However, I did learn a whole lot about the application process.

With my grades I could have easily got in any college or sixth form I wanted. I though about applying for A-levels but at the last minute did a 180 degrees turn and chose to go for a vocational qualification in engineering - a level 3 BTEC.

I found the BTEC extremely unchallenging and disappointing. I was hoping to gain some real skills and knowledge but it was all way too easy and not hands-on at all. When I was close to finishing my BTEC I thought "this is a waste, I want to keep looking for an apprenticeship". This was especially because one of my friends managed to secure one mid-way through the year. The difference was, he didn't mind doing a level 3. I wanted a degree apprenticeship. Or at the very least a level 4. I wanted to move forward.

I started applying and interviewing once again. With predicted grades (which I predicted for myself because my college was useless). I applied saying I was predicted to finish at grade DD (distinction, distinction). I ended up achieving a D*D* (I got a distinction in all of the units).

The interviewing for apprenticeships was going pretty well. In the end I was deciding between 2 companies that essentially offered me a position. One was a Manufacturing level 6, and the other Civil Engineering level 4 with progression to 5, but considerably better paid.

I accepted the level 6 offer. And bam, just like that I started my foundation degree at 17.

That's my story. If any of you have questions about how applying or interviewing or even apprenticeships work, don't be scared to hit me up. I'll be happy to help.

Reply 4

Muzeyasus

10

Original post by Mara1680

I don't know if I'd go as far as to call it as "success story" but here's my apprenticeship route.

2020 - finished GCSEs in the middle of the pandemic. Received my predicted grades as my final grades which were inflated for my options but screwed me over on core subjects. However, they were still decent.

I got predicted an 8 in Maths and English Language. I'm confident had I been able to sit the exam I would have gotten a 9 in both.
I got predicted a 6 in Physics (the rest isn't relevant but I think they were also 6s) when I easily could have achieved a 7.

So there's that.

I applied for engineering apprenticeships straight out of school. Didn't land any of them for a variety of reasons:
1. Poor application
2. Poor interview skills + lack of prep
3. No previous experience whether practical or theoretical (aka my GCSEs were completely unrelated) /Lack of knowledge and skills
4. Lack of confidence and social skills

Although I did get very close to getting two apprenticeships. This was because I scored very highly on the aptitude tests.

However, I did learn a whole lot about the application process.

With my grades I could have easily got in any college or sixth form I wanted. I though about applying for A-levels but at the last minute did a 180 degrees turn and chose to go for a vocational qualification in engineering - a level 3 BTEC.

I found the BTEC extremely unchallenging and disappointing. I was hoping to gain some real skills and knowledge but it was all way too easy and not hands-on at all. When I was close to finishing my BTEC I thought "this is a waste, I want to keep looking for an apprenticeship". This was especially because one of my friends managed to secure one mid-way through the year. The difference was, he didn't mind doing a level 3. I wanted a degree apprenticeship. Or at the very least a level 4. I wanted to move forward.

I started applying and interviewing once again. With predicted grades (which I predicted for myself because my college was useless). I applied saying I was predicted to finish at grade DD (distinction, distinction). I ended up achieving a D*D* (I got a distinction in all of the units).

The interviewing for apprenticeships was going pretty well. In the end I was deciding between 2 companies that essentially offered me a position. One was a Manufacturing level 6, and the other Civil Engineering level 4 with progression to 5, but considerably better paid.

I accepted the level 6 offer. And bam, just like that I started my foundation degree at 17.

That's my story. If any of you have questions about how applying or interviewing or even apprenticeships work, don't be scared to hit me up. I'll be happy to help.

So what stage r u with ur apprenticeship right now. And do u go to uni for ur studying part if yes how do u go about in balancing and managing time. And what do u plan on doing next. I'd like to follow a similar route to urs.

Reply 5

Mara1680

18

Original post by Muzeyasus

So what stage r u with ur apprenticeship right now. And do u go to uni for ur studying part if yes how do u go about in balancing and managing time. And what do u plan on doing next. I'd like to follow a similar route to urs.

Currently, I'm in the second year of my apprenticeship.
My company chose 2 different training providers for the degree. I am doing my foundation degree at a college and then next year will move onto a full degree at a local university.

Balancing and managing time is something I really struggled with but it comes with practice and experience. I try to get as much done at college so there is less to do at home. Sometimes if I have a quiet period at work I also will get some degree work done. The company understands since I'm an apprentice (as long as I'm not abandoning my normal duties in favour of doing the coursework). A big part of time management is also realising that weekends aren't the only time off you get. You can get a lot done during the weekday after you come back from work. And every little bit adds up. It's also figuring out what works for you (e.g. Monday is my longest day so I know I can't drink too much or go to sleep super late on Sunday, but I can get away with it on Thursdays because most Fridays are fairly quiet).

What comes next? I'm not sure. I still have 3 years left until I finish the apprenticeship. My company usually offers apprentices a permanent position so I might stay on as a junior engineer (likely in the manufacturing department). However, we'll have to wait and see how the company and my goals will change in the next couple years. I might try to convince them to fund my masters or I might leave after my apprenticeship and join a different company.

Reply 6

MaleMan

13

Original post by H3nry_T

I have finished my A levels and I have the choice of applying to good Universities, or choose Apprenticeships.

I have A*A*A which most people will assume i'm happy about. I have massive imposter's syndrome, and i still think I am not worthy of acedemia nor a degree apprenticeship.

I can't even pass online psychometric tests, never mind doing interviews. I suck at public speaking, and don't have much work experience.

I also know full well I sucked at exam pressures during year 12 and came out with an ACC. year 13 was a difficult grind and I came out mentally broken.
I feel genuinely worried and hopeless, its a long road ahead, and I want to turn things around. I really want to hear some success stories from you all, and how you managed to secure a degree apprenticeship. Out of all 7 of my friends only 1 of them secured a lvl 4 apprenticeship (not even a degree one).
I will also try to apply for university for 2023 entry for computer science as a back up option.