Need Wise Advice - Uni or BT Apprenticeship

EmmaD13

Try and finish the year at uni as suggested by Lindsay. Find out whether your course accumulates CAT points - credit accumulation transfer points so if you decide to go back later you don't have to start from scratch again.

Alternatively ask your uni about putting your studies on hold for a year whilst you earn some money. This may give you the time to see whether the apprenticeship is right for you without cutting all ties to your course. You might have to change a couple of modules if you decide to go back and they no longer run them, but that's normally not too much of a problem.

Depending upon the hours and training of the apprenticeship you may be able to switch your uni course from part-time to full time. You'll be able to go back to uni at a later date should you decide you took the wrong path, but will you be able to get an apprenticeship later?

Good luck!

bristol_pilot

Unless you're an academic high-flyer at a Russell Group university heading for a first class degree in a shortage subject (which Business Management isn't), do the BT apprenticeship. With 50% of people going to Uni these days, of those 40% are wasting their time.

I would also say, at 19, take no notice of what your GF says about your career.

JoJoB

If you are not that motivated/excited aboout your uni course I would go for the BT apprenticeship. Much better to save studying for a time in your life when you discover something you've got a real passion about IMO. There's always the Open University if you want to keep up degree credits part-time.

Pssst

God apprenticeships are as rare as rocking horse droppings and many people would trample over you to get that chance!

Grab it now.
You can still work on the Uni course either alongside it possibly or at some time in the near future.

CheshireCat

Definitely take the apprenticeship. I did a science degree at a Top 10 UK university and although I now have a fairly decent job, the level of debt it got me into was not worth it. Some friends of mine who went straight into work after school (with very good GCSE's) earn more than I do now....and they have no debt!!

And I went to uni before top-up fees were introduced(!)....in my opinion only medicine, vet medicine, and dentistry still offer a reasonable return for your money.

max2009

Do the apprenticeship and study part-time.I think they will fast track you into management.

starsinmycrown

Yeah, i agree. I have two friends with business degrees, and one is doing non-business related work, and the other only gets jobs because of management experience and training at a big company, not because of his degree particularly. I agree that out of the 50% that go, 40% are wasting their time. I have a good 2:1 from a uni just outside the top 10, good A-levels and gcses, but i'm STILL not qualified for anything. If i wanted to qualify, it'd be yet more expensive postgrad courses, when as mentioned, i already have £15,000 of student loan debt, and £2000 of c/c and o/d debt. My friends who left school at the same time as me and went to work are now in fairly senior positions. I'd say to anybody considering going to uni- if you don't NEED that degree for your career, don't go.

Errata

Grab the apprenticeship before someone else does ! You can do a degree and a masters and a Phd part time anytime.
If you stay at Uni, when you graduate there may easily be 3 million unemployed - many of them will be graduates. You could be one of them.

barginboyrob

postpone your degree for one year, take the apprentice for a bit and see if you like it