Have offer for Uni and Apprenticeship - help me choose please!!!!!!!

Just looking for some other perspectives really.

I recently applied to an AAT Apprenticeship, didn’t get it but later applied to another similar apprenticeship with my local Council and have just received an offer conditional on my references.

However, in this time I applied to University through clearing and received an offer to study PPE at UEA as I expected not to get this job and felt that I couldn’t continue working crappy, dead-end jobs for the rest of my life.

I am 22, I left college before doing my A2 year because I hated it. I then completed the A2 year through self study while in work during 2016 because the specifications were changing and achieved three Bs.

Pros of choosing the Apprenticeship over Uni

•

Real life experience

•

Getting a wage (even though it is only £10000 a year)

•

Get a qualification that I can use and progress in

•

I might not enjoy University - I am older than most students, I might hate being in the studying environment again and find myself not trying as hard

•

I will not get into massive debt

•

I will probably end up getting a rubbish office job at the end of Uni anyway - why not get one now

•

Might not even be able to find a decent job when I leave Uni - ending up in the same place I am in now

•

I might drop out of Uni and end up in the same crappy situation I am in now

•

I might not be able to cope with the studying of Uni - I did hate college

•

I am comfortable in the area I currently live in even if it is boring

•

I would miss my Mum and my dog if I went away

•

I wouldn’t waste three years, earning very little and not going anywhere

•

I could try and find ways of making my life here more interesting

•

Wouldn’t have the stress of organising going to Uni with little time

•

I haven’t visited the Uni so may hate it

•

I could move in with my girlfriend

Pros of choosing Uni over the Apprenticeship

•

Chance to make new friends

•

Chance to try new things through societies, job shops, placements, learn languages etc.

•

Moving away from home (I hate the area I live in, there is nothing to do, I am not close to the friends I have here and many of my other friends have moved away)

•

I got the impression that everyone that works at the Council has been there for years, they all seem nice but I feel that I might want to kill myself from the boredom

•

I hate living at home with my parents - offer me some escapism

•

Chance to have fun

•

Could get a graduate position if I did manage to complete my studies

•

Could enter a wider range of jobs

•

The Apprenticeship is only either level 2 or 3 and I would have to be there for two years - Uni gives me a better qualification and is only one year longer

•

I would have to get a part-time job either way because I can’t live on the student loan I would get or the

•

I could live away from my girlfriend and decide whether we really should be together - we argue a lot, and we are very different people that want different things - even though I love her very much

•

Not really sure whether I want to go into accountancy - I am good with numbers and enjoy procedure but I feel that it may be boring

Reply 1

brainzistheword

Study Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

Original post by DoNotResuscitate

•

Real life experience

•

Getting a wage (even though it is only £10000 a year)

•

Get a qualification that I can use and progress in

•

I might not enjoy University - I am older than most students, I might hate being in the studying environment again and find myself not trying as hard

•

I will not get into massive debt

•

I will probably end up getting a rubbish office job at the end of Uni anyway - why not get one now

•

Might not even be able to find a decent job when I leave Uni - ending up in the same place I am in now

•

I might drop out of Uni and end up in the same crappy situation I am in now

•

I might not be able to cope with the studying of Uni - I did hate college

•

I am comfortable in the area I currently live in even if it is boring

•

I would miss my Mum and my dog if I went away

•

I wouldn’t waste three years, earning very little and not going anywhere

•

I could try and find ways of making my life here more interesting

•

Wouldn’t have the stress of organising going to Uni with little time

•

I haven’t visited the Uni so may hate it

•

I could move in with my girlfriend

Pros of choosing Uni over the Apprenticeship

•

Chance to make new friends

•

Chance to try new things through societies, job shops, placements, learn languages etc.

•

Moving away from home (I hate the area I live in, there is nothing to do, I am not close to the friends I have here and many of my other friends have moved away)

•

I got the impression that everyone that works at the Council has been there for years, they all seem nice but I feel that I might want to kill myself from the boredom

•

I hate living at home with my parents - offer me some escapism

•

Chance to have fun

•

Could get a graduate position if I did manage to complete my studies

•

Could enter a wider range of jobs

•

The Apprenticeship is only either level 2 or 3 and I would have to be there for two years - Uni gives me a better qualification and is only one year longer

•

I would have to get a part-time job either way because I can’t live on the student loan I would get or the

•

I could live away from my girlfriend and decide whether we really should be together - we argue a lot, and we are very different people that want different things - even though I love her very much

•

Not really sure whether I want to go into accountancy - I am good with numbers and enjoy procedure but I feel that it may be boring

Hi!

Well done on everything you've achieved, your grades and your offers :smile:

At the end of the day, it's entirely your choice and you need to make sure it's right for you. One thing I would pick up on is the fact that you aren't really sure if you'd like to pursue accounting and therefore I'd say if you're really unsure what you'd like to do it might be worth going to Uni to give you time to discover other things.

However, don't feel like you have to go to uni now - you can always go later, and there may be a way of studying for a degree through an apprenticeship, so it's worth perhaps looking into them.

I know that doesn't really help but if you want someone to bounce ideas off or be a sounding board I'm more than happy to be :smile:

Reply 2

ajj2000

Original post by DoNotResuscitate

•

Real life experience

•

Getting a wage (even though it is only £10000 a year)

•

Get a qualification that I can use and progress in

•

I might not enjoy University - I am older than most students, I might hate being in the studying environment again and find myself not trying as hard

•

I will not get into massive debt

•

I will probably end up getting a rubbish office job at the end of Uni anyway - why not get one now

•

Might not even be able to find a decent job when I leave Uni - ending up in the same place I am in now

•

I might drop out of Uni and end up in the same crappy situation I am in now

•

I might not be able to cope with the studying of Uni - I did hate college

•

I am comfortable in the area I currently live in even if it is boring

•

I would miss my Mum and my dog if I went away

•

I wouldn’t waste three years, earning very little and not going anywhere

•

I could try and find ways of making my life here more interesting

•

Wouldn’t have the stress of organising going to Uni with little time

•

I haven’t visited the Uni so may hate it

•

I could move in with my girlfriend

Pros of choosing Uni over the Apprenticeship

•

Chance to make new friends

•

Chance to try new things through societies, job shops, placements, learn languages etc.

•

Moving away from home (I hate the area I live in, there is nothing to do, I am not close to the friends I have here and many of my other friends have moved away)

•

I got the impression that everyone that works at the Council has been there for years, they all seem nice but I feel that I might want to kill myself from the boredom

•

I hate living at home with my parents - offer me some escapism

•

Chance to have fun

•

Could get a graduate position if I did manage to complete my studies

•

Could enter a wider range of jobs

•

The Apprenticeship is only either level 2 or 3 and I would have to be there for two years - Uni gives me a better qualification and is only one year longer

•

I would have to get a part-time job either way because I can’t live on the student loan I would get or the

•

I could live away from my girlfriend and decide whether we really should be together - we argue a lot, and we are very different people that want different things - even though I love her very much

•

Not really sure whether I want to go into accountancy - I am good with numbers and enjoy procedure but I feel that it may be boring

Hey, congratulations on passing a levels while working - that sounds pretty amazing to me.

Just to confirm a couple of things before commenting further:

- Is you girlfriend living in Norwich or going to university there?
- does the apprenticeship put you through AAT training and if so what level do you start and how long to complete level 3 and or level 4?
- do you have a particularly high income at the moment or are you on a career track in your current job?

Reply 3

DoNotResuscitate

Original post by ajj2000

Hi, thank you for your reply sorry I took so long to reply.

My girlfriend is from my home town which is about an 8 hour train journey, 5 hour drive from Norwich.

The apprenticeship with the Council usually starts at Level 2, but they would consider putting me in for level 3 as I have A levels.

At the moment I am working a dead end job that won't take me anywhere and offers rubbish hours.

Bascially I need to find a career, and feel like I am progressing in life. I feel like my head says ghe' for the apprenticeship, but my heart says go to Uni.

Reply 4

ImASnek

Short answer: Go to university. It will open more doors for you in the long term and 22 is not 'old' by any means to go to uni.

Long answer: Apprenticeships have their worth, and I have friends who didnt get on with academia do very well and progress far with apprenticeships - but, an apprenticeship is not a degree, and most jobs require a degree. You say you'll wind up in a *****y office job or whatever, but you have a better chance of avoiding that or swapping between firms or even industries and disciplines with a respected qualification. Most graduate level jobs do not even specify the degree you need, its literally, get a degree and the prospects open up massively.

I have a bsc and an msc, so perhaps im biased but I've sat through enough careers meetings from londons top employers, and the sorry fact for many apprentices is that a degree is still more respected, and the institution counts too. My friends are finding that an apprecticeship is not 'equivalent of a degree' now the hard way, because whilst they are successful in their own firms, now theyve reached the cap of what that firm can offer they cannot get emplyoed elsewhere due to their lacking qualifications.. Indeed, all the bluster about debt (which really it isnt debt), and earning whilst you learn is a load of shite.

University is also well respected because of the shadow curriculum in what it teaches you off the formal syllabus. Time keeping, independence, essay writing skills, social skills, the opportunity to live on your own. You leave university a different person, and frankly run in a different league to people who havent had that experience.

My vote would always be university, the UK's vocational apprenticeship based education system in its recent form isnt proven yet, and you can easily get experience whilst at university if you balance your time properly.

Reply 5

marple

Original post by DoNotResuscitate

Is there any way you can go and visit Norwich this weekend - getting a feel for the town and the university may help as you would spend 3 years there.

I understand your concerns having disliked college, but for a course like PPE the study style will be much more like self study - you will have no more than 6 or 7 contact hours a week, the rest is reading/researching/essay writing etc.

It sounds as if you are stuck in a bit of a rut and all credit to you for wanting to break out. If you were my 22 year old son I would encourage you to spread your wings and try something new. You can take advantage of a whole range of life/employment enhancing opportunities that university offers - my children threw themselves into volunteering, societies and part time work (one of them is in China on a 3 week placement for UK students at the moment) as well as there studies.

I suspect that if the apprenticeship was what you wanted you would not have made this post.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Reply 6

She-Ra

Universities Forum Helper

Please can you share your pearls of wisdom :smile:

Reply 7

National Careers Service

Hi there

Congratulations on all your achievements! Holding a University and an Apprenticeship offer as well as having been self-taught for your A-Levels puts you in a really strong position.

Unfortunately only you can make this decision and only you know yourself well enough to know what the best fit is. The good news is that being well-informed is going to help you make this decision and I can see you have already taken a really good pro-active approach to this and we can also help. You can get more information about which option is best for you by looking at where you would like to end up when you have finally finished study and you are entering into a career.

Would you like to be able to work part-time? Is salary or industry growth more important to you? Have you looked at the employment rates for the careers you could have when you finish studying either the degree or the apprenticeship?

This kind of information is called Labour Market Information and is a really useful tool to help you plan your career. You can find it on this website and you can actually set this up to compare 2 or more careers or compare a career to the national average statistics:
http://www.lmiforall.org.uk/widget/

Hopefully this all makes sense and this will help to make your decision but if not you can get more advice through the Exam Results Helpline every day from 8am to 10pm. One of the advisers can talk things through with you and help you to come up with a plan to help you make this decision so you can feel confident about your choice. The number for the helpline is 0800 100 900.

Good luck with whichever option you choose!
Rosy

Reply 8

ajj2000

Original post by DoNotResuscitate

Hi, Will answer more fully in the next day or so. Looks to me like you have two great opportunities. Any chance (as someone above has said) that you can get to Norwich this weekend for a walk around? I think Norwich would be a great place to live and study - people I've known who went as post-grads or post docs loved it there and they would have been your age or a few years older.