Apprenticeship or McDonalds?

kilasuit

I currently work at McDonalds doing as little as 8 hours a week (though i am meant to be on a 28hour+ contract) and tbh am fed up of it there, so i have been looking at Apprenticeships which looks to be about £90-£100 a week for 37.5 hours which would mean working alot more for about the same money (as things stand).

I'm a youngish parent at the age of 19 (20 in april) and my partner is in college so things are even more difficult working around that.

I know that the long term prospects are alot better but i cant help but think that i'm going to be pushing it tight in the short term.

I am going to CAB on monday morning as i need advice on this and a few other things too.

What do you all think?

jackieb

My son did a modern apprenticeship. He's now a trainee. Obviously it depends on what it is you want to do. He didn't have a child to look after but he's so glad he did it. It's been quite a long haul. He was on less than £400 a month for the first couple of years but he got his lodgings and food paid for. He got a place when he was 21 and he's almost 26 now. He's earning £42k already, and as I said he's still a trainee.

However my husband was one of the last people to be a yopper (youth opportunities). We were married and had 2 small children so probably in a similar position as yourself. It was very hard as all he got was his income support (or whatever it was back then, plus £10 extra a week). It's been almost 20 years since he did it and it's been so worth it. Our families were very good and managed to help us out by buying groceries until he started work again. Do you have family support?

Oldernotwiser

It's worth making sacrifices in the short term for the long term good of yourself and your family, otherwise you could spend the next 50 years of your life working in McDonalds or similar.

solodanceparty

Go to your local college to ask about it. I know my local college is advertising apprenticeships.

1ubthrifty

If you can manage it I would go for the apprenticeship. Wish I had.:)

xmaslolly76

I ecco everyone else a good apprenticeship will set you up for life if you can manage on the money then go for it you will be making a better life for you and your family :-)

aliasojo

This may differ from area to area but Apprenticeships where we are in Scotland are often like gold dust. Each Apprenticeship offered usually has many many people trying to get on the course.

If you have an opportunity to get an Apprenticeship, I strongly suggest you grab it with both hands. It's worth some hardship in the early stages and you'll find ways of coping. Nothing good comes easily but it's often those who accept the hard times, who get on in life later.

My son is an Apprentice in his final year. He was 17 when he started and at the time he debated whether to get a job anywhere else just so he could get some money. (He was never very good at seeing the bigger picture.) Thankfully he decided being skint for a couple of years was worth it and he's now beginning to reap the rewards. His work gave him the opportunity to go to Houston to help on a short term contract and he was coming out with a thousand pounds a week in his hand. Granted this isn't the norm but the point I'm trying to make is that you will have many more opportunities in life if you have a skill under your belt. MacDonalds might supply you with cash in the short term but it will also limit your options greatly.

Good luck.

starrystarry

Could you not stay on at McDonalds on a part time basis, perhaps doing one or two evening shifts per week? This would help moneywise and you'd still have that to fall back on if the apprenticeship didn't work out.

wontfallforit

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

It's worth making sacrifices in the short term for the long term good of yourself and your family, otherwise you could spend the next 50 years of your life working in McDonalds or similar.

The advantage to McD's is that owing to its high staff turnover and apparently undesirable working conditions, one can be promoted quite quickly, especially if you already have or are willing to gain qualifications like A-Levels and higher.

(According to McDonalds themselves, they heavily promote from within, and the majority of their managerial staff started out as mere crew members).

The downside, though, is that working conditions obviously vary from store to store (judging by OP's comments re hours/contract, s/he may be working in an undesirable store, possibly with poor management), and all levels of store staffing can involve some unsocial hours, a fair deal of stress, and dealing with "delightful" customers.

As others say, the apprenticeship may be the way to go, and could well prove to be a good 'investment'. As starrystarry says, though, I'd try to keep a foot within the McDonald's door, too (though from what I understand from friends who have worked there, it can be really easy to return to work at McD's, even some time after leaving).

RobertoMoir

You say it yourself: The long term prospects are a lot better. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? In 5 years? in 30? Probably not still working at McDonalds?
If you can afford to do the apprenticeship then you'd be mad not to do it.

lr1277

15 - 20 years ago, Mcdonalds was meant to have the best management training program. If that is still the case and management is something you are interested in, it would be worth considering.