Not sure what to do next year

So i'm currently in year 13 doing my a levels. I applied to university and apprenticeships for engineering, uni being my backup if I didnt get any apprenticeship. I had my heart set on an apprenticeship i didn't get and have fallen out of love with engineering recently. I have offers for Uni Huddersfield and NMITE, not sure which to put as my firm as I dont really know if I want to go to uni but should probably have a backup still. I've also accepted an offer for an apprenticeship at Rolls Royce but i got moved over to a course I didn't apply for so i'm not sure if it's something that I would be interested in as I don't have a lot of information on it.

As I said I feel like i've fallen out of love with engineering and think I want to peruse a career in a kitchen like a chef as i enjoy my current job in a kitchen.

I don't really know what to do and feel like if I don't go to RR i'm passing up such a good opportunity. Also really worried about moving out and not having assistance with that as I'm not sure whether i'd be able to continue living with my parents (due to issues). So yea any advice would be appreciated

Reply 1

EssexStudentRep

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

So i'm currently in year 13 doing my a levels. I applied to university and apprenticeships for engineering, uni being my backup if I didnt get any apprenticeship. I had my heart set on an apprenticeship i didn't get and have fallen out of love with engineering recently. I have offers for Uni Huddersfield and NMITE, not sure which to put as my firm as I dont really know if I want to go to uni but should probably have a backup still. I've also accepted an offer for an apprenticeship at Rolls Royce but i got moved over to a course I didn't apply for so i'm not sure if it's something that I would be interested in as I don't have a lot of information on it.
As I said I feel like i've fallen out of love with engineering and think I want to peruse a career in a kitchen like a chef as i enjoy my current job in a kitchen.
I don't really know what to do and feel like if I don't go to RR i'm passing up such a good opportunity. Also really worried about moving out and not having assistance with that as I'm not sure whether i'd be able to continue living with my parents (due to issues). So yea any advice would be appreciated

Hiya,

Sounds like you're having a tough time and it can sometimes feel like we're running out of time, but please don't feel like you have to do anything straight away!

Have you thought about taking a gap year? Uni, if you choose to go, doesn't have to happen immediately after college. Not everyone knows for sure what they want to do, and if you go to uni just because you feel like you 'should' then you might not get the most out of it.

Deferred entry is a good option if you want to firm one of your offers now, so you know you've got the guarantee of your place after a year out. You can use the year to make up your mind on what you see yourself doing in the future, and still look into things like apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships but know you still have your firm choice there waiting for you.

If you want to move out and support yourself by working full time for a year to gain your independence, when/if you do decide to go to uni and apply for a maintenance loan, your household income will be your own, not based on your parents' incomes and so that can make it easier to apply for student finance. I live alone, and I receive the full amount of maintenance loan because I only have a part time job while studying, which they class as 'no income' essentially.

cheffing is fun, and you might decide you want to do it for a few years. I worked in hospitality for years after college, had some great experiences, I travelled and worked in different countries and it was great fun for a while. I didn't go to uni at 18 because I didn't know what I wanted to do and it felt like it would be a waste of time. It was only a bit later in life when I was looking into a career change and researching careers that need a degree that I actually started to get excited about it and felt like I was going into it for the right reasons. I'm now on my way to becoming a biomedical scientist for the NHS, and it's been such a great experience but it did take me a while to come around to the idea of a degree for sure.

You have so many options, and the rest of your life to decide what you want to do. I wish you the best of luck for whatever you choose 😊

Best wishes
Essex Student Rep - Hayley

Reply 2

TigersWoods

Original post by Anonymous

So i'm currently in year 13 doing my a levels. I applied to university and apprenticeships for engineering, uni being my backup if I didnt get any apprenticeship. I had my heart set on an apprenticeship i didn't get and have fallen out of love with engineering recently. I have offers for Uni Huddersfield and NMITE, not sure which to put as my firm as I dont really know if I want to go to uni but should probably have a backup still. I've also accepted an offer for an apprenticeship at Rolls Royce but i got moved over to a course I didn't apply for so i'm not sure if it's something that I would be interested in as I don't have a lot of information on it.
As I said I feel like i've fallen out of love with engineering and think I want to peruse a career in a kitchen like a chef as i enjoy my current job in a kitchen.
I don't really know what to do and feel like if I don't go to RR i'm passing up such a good opportunity. Also really worried about moving out and not having assistance with that as I'm not sure whether i'd be able to continue living with my parents (due to issues). So yea any advice would be appreciated

If it makes you feel better, I have no offers for apprenticeships and didn’t apply for Uni. So you’re definitely not alone. At least you have options and can decide