apprenticeship of go to uni?

[jabran]

:salams

Basically I've got a decision to make soon but i need to know some things before i do that. I have a choice between an apprenticeship paying somewhere in the region of £14k a year whilst studying from the age of 18 + 20%rise a year or i can go uni pay about 14k+ for the full course and get a degree and then get a proper job at the age of 21/22.

I am studying mechanical engineering at the moment which i enjoy. I want to is that what have people done and why and also what route would you go and why.

I have found that a company can make you redundant very easily and leave you jobless and back to square 1 in some cases.

I really need advice from people who are doing either things right now.

[Eemaan]

walikum as salaam

First and foremost bro i would do istikhara. what i will say to you with many a degree on offer out there, most arent worth the paper they are written on. If your more inclined towards the apprenticeship as it offers more financial security that going to uni look into different companies and what they can offer you

depends on how much you need the money too

i think shazan does somesort of enjineering, wait for him to wake up

but yeah do istikhrah first.

[angel*]

yep agree with Eeman on this do istikhara, if ur not really tight 4 cash i sugest u go get a degree, reason being, at least ud have sumthing to fall bk on, whereas, if u go and take the job now and say r made redundant after mmm 5-6 yrz, ur gonna b left with very limited options.

[Joha]

Adding to what Eemaan and Angel have said, I'd recommend university, it gives you a far more flexible foundation and you'll find that thousands of jobs, across a very wide range of fields are available to you if you do a decent course at a decent university.

With an apprenticeship, you're stuck in one field with conversions becoming much harder.

In short, a good course at university gives you a much broader set of skills to build on in the future.

[Babbage]

:salams

Basically I've got a decision to make soon but i need to know some things before i do that. I have a choice between an apprenticeship paying somewhere in the region of £14k a year whilst studying from the age of 18 + 20%rise a year or i can go uni pay about 14k+ for the full course and get a degree and then get a proper job at the age of 21/22.

I am studying mechanical engineering at the moment which i enjoy. I want to is that what have people done and why and also what route would you go and why.

I have found that a company can make you redundant very easily and leave you jobless and back to square 1 in some cases.

I really need advice from people who are doing either things right now.
I'd argue against the others; presumably your apprenticeship is going to lead to recognised qualifications- you say they'll pay you for studying, so you'll be studying anyway. Check the company; if they've got a good reputation then accept their offer. They can make you redundant, perhaps, 'hough you have got employment rights, but if they're paying you to study as well as work- subsidising your education- they won't unless they've got very good reason to. If something does go wrong then partial qualifications you acquired there would probably be accepted towards a university degree anyway. Even if your apprenticeship doesn't lead to a degree or a degree-equivalent qualification you could carry those qualifications forward too and either take a quicker- and cheaper- degree after you've passed your apprenticeship or study for a degree part-time while you work.

[Te'oma]

on a jobsite there are two types of people...those in coloured hard hats working damn hard for wages and then there are the guys in suits and white hard hats that get payed at least twice as much as the foreman on the job. The difference between the two hardhats is the difference between university and an apprenticeship.
Now if I said that I would give you £500,000 if you went to university, would you go? That is probably the difference in income over your lifetime. You make the call

[Ezra]

:salams

Basically I've got a decision to make soon but i need to know some things before i do that. I have a choice between an apprenticeship paying somewhere in the region of £14k a year whilst studying from the age of 18 + 20%rise a year or i can go uni pay about 14k+ for the full course and get a degree and then get a proper job at the age of 21/22.

I am studying mechanical engineering at the moment which i enjoy. I want to is that what have people done and why and also what route would you go and why.

I have found that a company can make you redundant very easily and leave you jobless and back to square 1 in some cases.

I really need advice from people who are doing either things right now.

In this your industrial placement year, i.e have already completed two years of your degree, or probably your planning to study part time and work part time.

Usually what students do is complete two years of their degree do their industrial placement in their thrid year and complete their degree the following year.

If your not elegible for a degree study foundation degree or HNC/HND degree. The latter is recognized widely.

I work in the feild of engineering but i completed my degree and then started working.

[Babbage]

Now if I said that I would give you £500,000 if you went to university, would you go? That is probably the difference in income over your lifetime. You make the call
With engineers the difference isn't necessarily that big- even if Jabran's appreticeship doesn't lead to a degree-equivalent qualification, he would probably qualify for a shorter- and less costly- degree course afterwards and knowing exactly what the workforce are supposed to be doing and what they are actually doing would be very useful for an engineer. There's also the short term difference between being paid £14,000 per anuum with increments and paying £14,000 per annum while he gets his qualifications.

"what is work? Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the earth's surface relatively to other such matter; second, telling other people to do so. The first kind is unpleasant and ill paid; the second is pleasant and highly paid."- Bertrand Russell's definition.

[*Al-Qadr*]

'preticeship. Everyone looks for skills n experience.

[angel*]

'preticeship. Everyone looks for skills n experience.

they aslo wanna know if they guy has any knowledge behind what he does.

[Joha]

they aslo wanna know if they guy has any knowledge behind what he does.

and whether he can mould himself into whatever he likes.

Bit hard if you've just completed a five year apprenticeship in fixing car engines, or wheel clamping. What else are ya good for?

[Na'eemah]

they aslo wanna know if they guy has any knowledge behind what he does.

He said he will be working while studying though, so he will attain knowledge whilst working :insha:

an apprenticeship paying somewhere in the region of £14k a year whilst studying from the age of 18 + 20%rise a year

[MWarrior]

after having spoken to him viaa PM his main concern is being made redundant later on.

well thats very difficult for a company to do after having spent tens of thousands of pounds on your salary whilst learning and all the other expenses.

what company is this ? if its a big company and its reputations good i think that shouldnt be a concern.

like i said to you in PM i know plent of people with degrees but have no jobs. My bros findin it difficult and he tells me when he goes for interviews he meets other people....and them guys have years of experience unlike my bro and better qualifications and yet they still cant find a job.

job market is rubbish....unless you got a degree in a prestigious field or something that is highly sought after.

i recommend you go for the apprenticeship....guaranteed placement after you finish learning and instead of paying tution fees they pay you. and a company wont get rid of you after having spent a lot of money on you. if they were then they wouldnt be recruiting apprentices in the first place !

[jabran]

well after thinking a bit i think i am leaning more towards university because of a few things really.

The industries that are gonna hire me are all involved in process plant, petrochemical etc and i just don't think i want to do something i am not too interested in but know well. (how long will these sectors of the companies last especially during this oil shortage? or can the skill be extended?)

Oh and don't be fooled these companies can make you redundant in a heartbeat. I was going over my mates contract and their are so many restricted things it's like you have signed the next 8 years to them no matter what but if they decided that theres a problem they will get rid of you! (i know of lads this has happened to in college previously and others guys I've talked to)

Considering that where i will be going uni is an area of wide industrial background and there are no shortage of companies locally i don't see a problem getting a work placement in uni.

Also considering that the pay difference is only short term means that i will catch up once finished uni and i can always get a part time job during the degree. (I'd be finishing the degree around 22 inshallah)

I may change to an architectural course/CAD in uni once i have a better idea as the earning potential is immense (£80 an hour+ my teacher said he used to earn, he only works 3 days in college and by the looks of it has an easy life)
Still have loads of options to think about and have not made my mind up yet.

Who said engineering isn't sought after in the U.K? Look at how many people take and enginnering course in college and uni comapred to business, art, law degrees etc.

Thanks for the input guys its really helping.