Degree apprenticeship vs university

UCL. It's not worth doing a degree apprenticeship when you have an offer from a university that's as good as UCL.

Reply 2

H3nry_T

8

do not block op into one way of thinking be open minded and do not lead anyone astray please.

Reply 3

ajj2000

20

What is an environmental practitioner and what is the degree you would study on the apprenticeship and at which university?

Could you list your pros and cons? Is the cost of living in London an issue?

Reply 4

ivankngz

OP

2

Original post by ajj2000

What is an environmental practitioner and what is the degree you would study on the apprenticeship and at which university?

Could you list your pros and cons? Is the cost of living in London an issue?

Environmental practitioners provide employers with professional environmental expertise, whilst providing a overview of key issues and the relevant policies, regulations and legislation an organisation must consider have when delivering a specific project. So they gain an understanding of people's relationship with the environment and its management, also the human factors impacting the environment and sustainability.

The environmental Science degree would be at Kingston University.

Pros of degree apprenticeship:
- degree is fully paid for (27k)
- paid work 4 days a week and 1 day uni so lots of work experience

Cons:
- 5 year course for bachelor's degree which usually takes 3 years
- offer from UCL which is my favourite uni
- I find the geology course more interesting and it allows me study a wider range of topics

Also I live in London so travelling is fine to either.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 5

ajj2000

20

Original post by ivankngz

Environmental practitioners provide employers with professional environmental expertise, whilst providing a overview of key issues and the relevant policies, regulations and legislation an organisation must consider have when delivering a specific project. So they gain an understanding of people's relationship with the environment and its management, also the human factors impacting the environment and sustainability.

The environmental practitioner degree would be at Kingston University.

Pros of degree apprenticeship:
- degree is fully paid for (27k)
- paid work 4 days a week and 1 day uni so lots of work experience

Cons:
- 5 year course for bachelor's degree which usually takes 3 years
- offer from UCL which is my favourite uni
- I find the geology course more interesting and it allows me study a wider range of topics

Also I live in London so travelling is fine to either.

Wow - what a great position to be in! Is that a salary of £27k a year?

Reply 6

Dnsnnssn

17

Hmm 28k of debt (plus interest) or no debt plus experience and money. Tough choice.

Always go for the apprenticeship as long as it's a degree u like

Reply 7

Original post by H3nry_T

do not block op into one way of thinking be open minded and do not lead anyone astray please.

I'm doing no such thing. I hold two degree apprenticeship offers myself, but I also understand that a university of the calibre of UCL would be better in the long run since it would allow OP to go directly to a better firm. Apprenticeships are restrictive in that you might get trapped in a given firm.

Reply 8

ivankngz

OP

2

Original post by ajj2000

Wow - what a great position to be in! Is that a salary of £27k a year?

Salary for working starts at 19k in the first year. 27k is for the degree.

Reply 9

Original post by ivankngz

Salary for working starts at 19k in the first year. 27k is for the degree.

If it's a 19k starting salary for London, then they're being unfair.

Reply 10

H3nry_T

8

Original post by toxicgamage56

I'm doing no such thing. I hold two degree apprenticeship offers myself, but I also understand that a university of the calibre of UCL would be better in the long run since it would allow OP to go directly to a better firm. Apprenticeships are restrictive in that you might get trapped in a given firm.

I'm gonna give some alternative viewpoints:
- I personally don't think UCL brand name holds water. why? because in geology, work experience matters much more. If this was Law, or Finance then you would be correct, but you have to think about the industry as well.
- Apprenticeships are only restrictive if you done 0 research into the company you've applied for. I assume OP is not dumb/stupid enough to apply for a restrictive company with no lateral movement.
- by the end of the degree apprenticeship, you can always leave. There is no cost to pay once you finish your contract so I'm not sure what you mean by "trapped"
- I would also add the variable: big name company > big name university. seriously, definitely something to consider.

Reply 11

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Original post by H3nry_T

I'm gonna give some alternative viewpoints:
- I personally don't think UCL brand name holds water. why? because in geology, work experience matters much more. If this was Law, or Finance then you would be correct, but you have to think about the industry as well.
- Apprenticeships are only restrictive if you done 0 research into the company you've applied for. I assume OP is not dumb/stupid enough to apply for a restrictive company with no lateral movement.
- by the end of the degree apprenticeship, you can always leave. There is no cost to pay once you finish your contract so I'm not sure what you mean by "trapped"
- I would also add the variable: big name company > big name university. seriously, definitely something to consider.

I have considered all of these things. Like I said, I hold two offers, I didn't just fluke them. UCL's brand name is important despite what you've said as an employer will recognise the name, but despite this, UCL just has a very high quality of teaching and access to resources/connections that other universities don't have.
When I said apprenticeships are restrictive, I don't mean that they are restrictive in the sense of career progression. I mean you might be restricted to the company, since firms are still slow to the uptake of apprentices, even though optimistic sources try to argue otherwise.
Again, you are missing the point, since I myself am going to do an apprenticeship, so it's not about trying to convince me that apprenticeships are a viable alternative to university. Had I got an offer from UCL, I would've taken it. This is genuine advice from someone who has seriously considered both sides of the argument, so there's no need to be rude and assert that I am trying to "lead anyone astray".

Reply 12

H3nry_T

8

I have not once made any attempt to insult, nor be rude to you in anyway. As a matter of fact, I have made my alternative suggestions for OP in hopes that OP will not just "Go for UCL" without thinking real hard.

your original comment:
"UCL. It's not worth doing a degree apprenticeship when you have an offer from a university that's as good as UCL."

- You made a comment that will unfortunately lead people astray because people in this thread only see 1 side here. "go for UCL, its good"

- The fact you hold 2 apprenticeship offers isn't really enough to justify consulting on someone's important career decision. You may beg to differ.

- your comment didn't attempt to look at UCL for GEOLOGY. your comment was indeed correct for career choices such as investment banking and law or medicine. but consider the context of geology and environmental sciences here. Does UCL truly have the connections/teachings to help you land an illustrious career in environmental sciences/ geology? have you been to UCL? have you done the geology course? have you even spent 6 months on your apprenticeship? how can you justify your original comment?

I'm sure you're a great person trying to help but let's be honest here, did your original comment properly help OP with their decision? or did you just project your own answer inside your head and propagate your own biases into it?

again, no insults here. so to claim I have ever been rude is just distasteful and a pitiful attempt to gaslight me into thinking I was out here trying to make enemies. Please don't try to elevate things any further in terms of insults/ rudeness accusations. I'm not the type of person to argue especially on student room.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 13

Emma:-)