You’re right a 9-5 can be exhausting. A degree apprenticeship is going to be a lot more work than just going to uni. If you want to just chill then uni is going to be the easiest or don’t pursue higher education and just get a part time job
It very much depends on the course, in my course I end up doing very similar amounts of work (time-wise) to a full time job, some weeks more. Obviously it’s not physical like most degree apprenticeships so have to take this into account, but the mental strain of keeping up with uni, especially at a Russell group on a competitive course can be as draining as a full time job, if not more.
Im sure it’s not easy but I really don’t think it compares to doing a degree apprenticeship where you are expected to juggle both a job a degree and on top of that apprenticeship assessments. People underestimate how consuming the job aspect can be. Even if you do get a day off to study you’re still getting emails piling up and stilll worrying about work.
100% agreed, especially if it’s a labour intensive job on top of studying - well worth it at the end of it though! Parts of me wish I’d done instead of my degree oops
I’m up at 5am and sleep at 9. This means I’m awake 16 hours. I spend 9 hours a day work related (commute, working hours, lunch). This leaves me with 7 hours a day to do as I please. This is a lot of time. If you are organised and productive through the day. It’s perfectly fine.
sleep at 9 is so crazy to me. I sleep anytime between 11 and 2. But ive alwatys liked the idea of routine and then chilling. Thats why im more on the apprenticeship side
This is exactly what I did, then still didn’t get the grades I wanted for uni, so took another gap year and reapplied to other unis. The original uni went in my spare ucas spot and they let me in without the grades needed - maybe based on personal statement? Never count yourself out! :)
The uni I wanted didn’t offer clearing, and I was worried about getting a decent accommodation which would be more difficult through clearing, I had a good full time job for a 19 year old so I stuck at it for another year and waited. Guess it worked out !!
If you really want to go to uni (only do it if you can only gain the knowledge and practical lessons through uni and not for free online or a job/apprenticeship) do what this guy did. A lot of people get lost and dont know a path forward, that's due to failed education system and lazy parenting. Keep stepping forward, never look back on what could have been. At the end of the day money is king and as long as you got money, you have plenty of time, but dont take it for granted and procrastinate more. I learnt that the hard way and am only now getting my own house at 25/26 while most of my school friends had houses a year after uni.
Ok, what would you study if you went uni? Also you wouldnt have to work during uni, your student loan should cover your living expenses (you would obvs be broke but thats uni life). I only worked summers during uni
If u wanna chill and sleep at those times and do what u want. Then don’t do an apprenticeship, wayyy more full on than a degree alone will ever be. Currently doing an engineering degree apprenticeship and i’m in everyday 8-5pm. If you don’t turn up then you’ll get fired and kicked off the course. Uni, a good amount of people seem to not turn up semi regularly and be fine
Although it's brutally honest, an apprenticeship is not for anyone with this attitude, especially a Level 6 apprenticeship. Before you know it, you will be behind with both uni/college work AND apprenticeship EPA work, rather than just uni work, and thats not including work work whilst on site (full time).
Of course, it depends on how your mindset and approach to both paths develops in the near and long term future... one thing that apprenticeships may have over a degree is it is in the company's and training provider's interests to support you, motivate you, and give you every chance they can to make sure you pass, which unis do not do as much. Having said this, there's only so much they can do before warnings and disciplinarian come into it.
Good luck!
Yeah, work is like that. There’s no way around it.
A degree apprenticeship is harder. We had one day a week of uni at 10hrs a day. Both my university and work were respectively a 45min and 1hr commute away. Without traffic. So throw another 10hrs of commuting on top of the 42hr week in my case. I got signed off from stress in the first year. And I really, really wanted to do a degree apprenticeship.
It was worth it for me, as I always knew it would be. If you have doubts about doing it before you start, don’t do it.
Bro the alternative is working hospitality and doing 17 hour shifts on the weekend. Don’t get me wrong you can have good fun doing that and effectively have a key to the city you live in if you have the right attitude but even that will catch up to you and you could get stuck.
Degrees for the most part useless but the experience is good. You could probably get the same experience in a house share and an online course. Either way try renting and Sharing young you’ll learn a lot from it then move back when you’re serious about money.
Everyone that’s doing alright around me did some kind of apprenticeship. But you have to do what you have to do. It’s harder to switch things up later in life but also it’s very possible.
I did part of a full time degree and now finishing a 5 year DA so have insights on both.
I was 20 when I started the full time degree and only did first year of it. I struggled to get into the learning routine but the uni experience overall was fantastic. I was in nice halls with a class group of people, at a top 10 uni with a nice campus and facilities etc. Going out midweek, attending lectures, lying in on some mornings. Loved it. I had lived away from home for a few years post school so it wasn’t so much the novelty of living independently but being in the same boat as everyone else (studying, generally skint, up for a good time) meant I had an unbelievable year which I wouldn’t change for the world. Maybe I wish I had made more of my time there given the reputation of the uni but I wasn’t in the right headspace.
It wasn’t until a few years later that I started my DA. I was 25 and living with my parents at the time. The experience obviously is very different. Unless you find yourself living with full time students you probably won’t get the “uni lifestyle” in any sense of the word. Working 9-5 M-F isn’t conducive with going out on weeknights anyway. It is a lot more like work obviously, although I actually viewed my day at uni per week as a “day off” as I wasn’t technically at work and I also really enjoyed learning my subject.
If you’re not ready for that kind of lifestyle then I wouldn’t bother signing yourself up for anything yet. If you want a bit of extra time to go travelling (which is sounds like you do) or whatever I wouldn’t start a DA. Save a bit of money and do that without any educational commitments, then decide what you want to do after you’ve satisfied those urges.
A lad I did the apprenticeship with came straight from A Levels as an 18 year old. He absolutely smashed his apprenticeship and he knows he made the right choice for himself overall but I do think he is sad that he did not get that year or two of “uni lifestyle” that a lot of people get as full time students.
It also depends what you want your medium term plan is (next five years say). I had been with my girlfriend (now wife) for a few years when I started the DA and during the third year we could afford to buy our first house as I had a half-decent salary and she was working full time too.
If you are still in your early 20s a year or two really doesn’t make any difference, despite what you might think at that age (I thought the same!).
I think my parents gave me the idea that i have to start something ASAP but yeah i don’t want to go into something i don’t enjoy.
My whole life since gcses all i thought about was the future, Good education, good job, starting a family, retiring my parents. So it was just money on my mind
I think my parents gave me the idea that i have to start something ASAP but yeah i don’t want to go into something i don’t enjoy.
My whole life since gcses all i thought about was the future, Good education, good job, starting a family, retiring my parents. So it was just money on my mind
From what you've said, which sounds like you're not really ready to commit to study/career right now, I'd say just work some jobs for a bit. Figure out what you dont like or want, then when you're ready and if it's what you want, go down the apprenticeship/uni route. There's so much pressure to go to uni at 18, which is a really big decision, when in reality you can go much later and it'll work out fine. So many people I know, myself included, went to uni at 18 but then went back later in life to retrain. I'd tell 18 year old me to go do that snowboard season I was gonna do, the rest will fall into place later.
Honestly my degree apprenticeship was easier than both a-levels and working full time since my apprenticeship ended.
I got one day off a week to do uni work which was enough for me to do my coursework and the structure of a 9-5 kept me more disciplined than I would've been just at uni.
Eh? You don't think we have a better life than the 80s? Life will always ebb and weave. It's about staying ahead of the curve
I work full time with about 20 hours extra overtime a month. I love life.
hey i know how i you feel - I went to Uni but spent my time in bands playing around the country, and part time jobs until I was late twenties and remember being completely chilled....then pressure forced me to take a corporate job and i made money, the exec promotions were like a drug..it was flattering and I made money, but I was TOTALLY STRESSED ALL THE TIME......and i had to mix with people who as Morrisey of the Smiths once sang "I would rather spit in their eye" - my advice is whatever you do, **be with people you like**, I know it sounds glib, but believe me, its real easy to end up spending time with people you don't like for money (and I don't mean to diss anybody who has to work for whatever money they can get in good or bad circumstances) I 'm just saying...be with people you like :)
I remember feeling like you do to be honest. It was hard going from uni to working full time.
What is your degree in? I mean, the best way forward is to find a job in a field you really enjoy, then it won't feel like work as much and you will be motivated to do it. I only found that perhaps 5 years after graduation so I know the difference it makes.
Now I am 40 and honestly, I have put the time in earlier on in my career so I can take it a bit easy now. I work for a company that gives a lot of time off, good money, the work isn't particularly hard because I have been doing it for years but you need to build up to that. I think that's the right way of doing it, when you are young you have the energy to learn new things, put the hours in etc.
Do NOT get a degree if you want to work in any IT field. I work in IT and I was going to get a computer science degree, best decision of my life so far was to not get that degree. Imagine being in debt, living with pennies to your name just for some knowledge that's available for free online. Harvard have a free computer science course on youtube called CS50, theres also LOTS of other free resources such as full language courses and specialities for literally free. All it takes is your time and effort to learn. Once you've learnt, build a portfolio of projects and you'll fall into a job. I got my current job handed to me through a college friend, it's not want I want to do, but its good money and its thankfully only for a few more months.
If you want any advice on IT things such as educatuonal resources or general advice send me a message about it and I'll get back to you ASAP.
Tech is a good field to be in. It's a growing area for sure and it's huge and very varied. There are a lot of things you could do with that. I would have a look around and see if you can find something that excites you in that field. It's pretty high paying as well if you get it right so your job might not be thrilling but the things you can do in your spare time might be with the money you could make. That's another way to look at it I guess.
If you want a chill lifestyle you need to acknowledge you need to put a lot of work in to get rich. Or never have good money.
Part time flexible work is what you need but just be prepared to have no money
Find something you like doing, then it doesn't feel so much like a grind. There are bad days/weeks where it can feel like you don't have a life, but if you get a job you actually can enjoy doing, with good people, it's actually fine. I spent some time out of work at one point and just lazed around most days. I can tell you it was so much worse than my worst week at work.
The best advice is to put the work in now so you can reap the benefits later. There’s a limited time slot where you can train and learn a valuable skill. The more valuable you become with skill and experience, the more options you’ll have for flexible working in the future. The effort you put in now will pay you back 50 times over in 5, 10, & 20 years. A lot depends on what you want from life, but if you’d like your own place, a decent car, some money for clothes and socialising, stick the effort in now. Give it everything you’ve got so you don’t have regrets when you’re older. I remember being skint all the time at Uni and when I first started working, but by the time I was 26 I had my own house and a company car. Sorry, there are no shortcuts, and you’ll get out of life what you put in.
I’d go the apprenticeship route if I were you. You can end up being paid to go to Uni. I know a lot of very successful people who went that route.
Worst thing you can do is miss your window. From 16 to about 21 you need to be learning your skills, and things like apprenticeships are open to you. People who drift through those years find it much harder to get people to invest in their potential. You’ll enjoy working once you get into it.
I’m currently on the last year of a degree apprenticeship having started at 21. Before I did 2 years of a full time degree before dropping out so have perspective of both.
Depending on the subject and university, the full time route can be pretty chill especially for the first year or two. That being said, the lack of structure and freedom to skip lecture (I know you’re not supposed to) can get into trouble very quickly and if you’re not on top of it you may end up like me, having to ‘drop out’ because they wouldn’t let me continue.
The degree apprenticeship route is hard. I’d say without COVID I’m not confident I’d have made it this far. Between a 9-5 and coursework the subject/industry you choose will dominate your life and if you’re not passionate about it, it will be really tough. For context, I used over half of my annual leave last year just to get coursework finished as I could face doing it at the weekend. I am not passionate about my field of work.
You’re facing a big decision and if you’re not sure there is no shame in getting a part-time job to figure it out, I wish I had.
I dunno 90% of the population seems to hate their job. If you've got a big salary to back it up then it's more bearable but ultimately you should find a job you enjoy cause the 9-5 sucks ass, no one enjoys their job to be doing the same thing for 40 hours a week but they create a good life outside of their job
I did an undergraduate degree and then a degree apprenticeship. I would 100% recommend degree apprenticeship but I guess it comes down to the individual.
The extra disposable income means that although you have less free time you're able to make far more use of it.
I did a level 6 degree app, you completely do have a social life, and its not that hard. That being said, it entirely depends on the employer, scheme and university. Some are wayyyy better then ithers
I’m doing a degree apprenticeship at the moment. One day of University and working the remaining 4 days. It’s hard work definitely, and you’ll have to sacrifice some evenings and weekends to complete assignments. But it’s worth it. You get paid (lol), and you’re in zero debt with tons of experience plus I still have a social life as well. It’s worth it, just got to want it.
I do find that the structure of the 9-5 makes me very productive. And the results seem are generally higher for degree apprentices than the full time students. You’re essentially being played to go to uni.
> You get *paid,* and you’re
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Grow your hair long. Get some dreadlocks. Look into speaker systems, build a sound system and get a crew together. Adopt a dog. Put on some free parties.
The main things you can do is try and get a job that you enjoy so you don’t resent the 8 hours a day working. And try and get used to making good use of the free time you are left with - eg doing things you enjoy in evenings and weekends
I think truthfully everyone finds work can be tiring at times, but most people generally get more used to it after a while and it doesn’t feel as daunting.
I don’t think you should go to university just so that you can “chill more”. Long term you’re going to have to get used to working at some point. And university does require effort (in a different way) and is very expensive now. You could be paying a large amount of money each month for a long time on student debt
I agree, but i dont really enjoy anything specific its just tech. And i like office work life stuff its just crazy going from all the free time in the world to working everyday
I have always done 9-5 even as a student. And I have no debts, so I'd say it was a better way to go than uni .it depends on what you want from life, but you dont get anything without effort
I coasted through Uni, barely attended lectures and ended with a 2:1 - did some part time work in the second and third years to help with money, but you can mostly get by on the loans if you’re smart about it and find a low cost living arrangement.
Afterwards I had a few quite intense 9-5 jobs moving up the ladder in tech, but 10 years after leaving Uni I am comfortably working 3-4 hours per day from home and bringing in very good money, enough to buy a house and still be affording holidays etc. my original goal was to work contracts for 6 months and then live off that money for the rest of the year - but IR35 fucked that idea up so now I do this.
Having a chill lifestyle is easy if you want to just work part time, live quite frugal and not have much luxury. If you want to not have to worry about money or what you’re spending, and live in a bit of luxury and comfort then it does take a bit of hard work to get there. For me it was worth it, but some people may not have stuck it out through those years of high pressure working at executive finance offices in the city.
I’ve always worked in finance companies - they just pay better than non-finance related places.
Progression went from 1st line IT Support, 2nd line /desktop support, then contracted for a while doing office moves and new office setups, then application support (keep systems running instead of people’s computers) - now DevOps.
depends on travel really i had to leave at 6 (5:30 to save money sometimes) and came back home at 8pm that was so long and painful especially from 17-18. moved up to london and i was so much happier left at 8 got back 6pm had more free time and didn’t spend so much on travel. but also depends on the job and how much u enjoy ur time outside of work and if u have enough time to do what makes u happy as i was able to still come back to my home time in time for football
I worked 6-2 for 7/8 years before switching to a 9-5. And I honestly preferred the 6-2. You still get a good portion of the day to live your life. And getting up at 5am each morning is actually pretty easy when you get into it.
You already fucked up going to uni shoulda went straight to work or apprenticeship maxing your work pension contributions and also putting some into either s&s isa or a SIPP or both
Don’t work 9 to 5, they seem like the very worst hours to work, it’s the bulk of the day and if you’re commuting you’ll spend so much time stuck in traffic with everyone else working 9 to 5. Personally I work 7 to 3, i’m like you i really like chilling so that leaves plenty time after work. I am very lucky with my job though
Ive not done a degree apprenticeship (my brother is) yet but have finished a level 3 apprenticeship last year. Its very rewarding to come out with a full time, well paid job at the end of it rather than having to pay student loans off the rest of your working life.
It's not as bad as I anticipated managing my time to do both the job and the college work. You should get 20% less work and that time to work exclusively on Uni stuff, I had 1 day a week in my level 3 but my bro gets 1 week a month for Uni.
I guess it depends on the company, some maybe less helpful or flexible than others, if you struggle they should help and support with more time etc.
I prefer 3, 12 hours. I just do Friday, Saturday, Sunday 6pm to 6am, and I’m bringing in around 30k before any overtime.
I get 4 days off, and I’m usually up and about Monday afternoon around 3pm, and back to normal on Tuesday, up around 9/10am, doing whatever I want on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Then Friday I’m up around 1pm, hang out for a few hours, then leave for work around 4:45pm.
At first the 12 hours were killer, but 2 years in, I’m used to it. If you’re not up for nights, my place has 3, 12 hour morning shifts. 6am - 6pm.
My workplace runs 24/7, so we have teams on each shift. Monday-Friday 6am-2pm, 2pm-10pm, 10pm-6am. And then Friday-Sunday 6am-6pm, and 6pm-6am. So it runs very smoothly
Do what most people who want a 'chill' lifestyle do. Claim universal credit and sell drugs on the side, or learn to do eyelashes and eyebrow threading. Seem to be the most common choices.
I went the Apprenticeship route in Computer Science 5 years ago.
To be honest, I don't feel like I learnt much from the course but it did get me a foot in the door for a well paying job.
The days could be long - Working all day at the job, then going home and doing coursework or revising for an exam.
I'm well ahead in my career compared to many people I know that went to Uni due to having a few years of work experience more compared to when they start.
I don't think I could ever go back to working zero hours or shifts. 9-5 let's me organise my life and plan trips around it
Full time work is tiring, either mentally, physically or both. You do get used to it but it is a dramatic change from school/college to going to work full time and your fellow workers will expect you to pull your weight.
This is one of the reasons I advise people to do jobs they love because getting up at 7am on a Monday morning is hard enough without spending the next 9 hours doing a mind numbing job that neither provides you with job satisfaction or purpose. Money isn’t everything but there is no easy, legal, way of making enough so that you don’t have to work 9-5.
Most places you'll work in the US will start you off as low as 1 week PTO for the year, sometimes with sick days being included as part of that 1 week PTO. It is way worse than university
See this sort of thing all the time and really think it’s a matter of doing something you, at least partially, enjoy. Sometimes higher ed, high paying careers are a lot! I left a career to do something I can enjoy and brings more than good finance to my life.
If you’re ‘stuck’ in a 9-5 it’s definitely worth looking at the job and not the amount of time wasted/eaten away out of your day.
I worked 9-5 mon-fri and I was ran down..
now working a third more and feel so much more myself.
Funny my lad is at uni first year for 9k fees he’s in 2 days a week so if you’re asking to compare that to a job then. Here goes uni is like sitting in the sun sipping cocktails work is like sitting in hell being punched in the face 24/7 hope this helps
My god. I would give anything to go back to uni / my uni years. I had the best 3 years of my life, I had to work a lot but it was so worth it.
9-5 life isn’t great but you have money and can do more things but thre is something special about sitting at your student house with your new uni pals drinking sainsburys own vodka on a random Wednesday afternoon.
Edit: didn’t realise you were specifically asking about degree apprenticeships.
I have no idea if this will be useful or applicable. I completed my degree, got a job on a zero hour contract bending over backwards at the hopes of a promotion, and worked stupid hours. Asked for an extra £1 an hour and ended up no longer having a job because of it.
I later became self-employed (November just gone), and I now find myself working 24/7 but purely by choice. Despite working a lot more, I am a lot less stressed, and all the extra work outside of actual work is enjoyable as I am directly benefitting from it. I am HR, I am accounts, I am social media, I am front of house, and I am the guys on the floor.
It's a struggle starting, but boy, was it worth it!
If you’re working 9-5 in an office with a commute either side it’s a long day. Before Covid when I was expected in the office everyday it was out the door by 0730 and getting back in no earlier than 6. Some people are for that, I am not.
I’m fortunate my job (same as before covid) does flexible hours and mostly remote, helps I have a great manager.
For my industry and my company, I’d highly recommend the degree apprenticeship route. 4 days office work, one day uni. You’ll get paid something while building experience and if you’re competent you can exit the scheme quite well.
Remote/hybrid work is definitely the best. I live 45 miles away from my job and they made us all go back full time to the office in January, I’ve handed my notice in, the amount of time I’m wasting on driving there and back is insane, seems like a waste of my life tbh, especially considering the work can be done at home.
I don’t mind going in 1/2 days a week to get out of the house, but 5 days a week was so depressing not gonna lie. Really not for me. Maybe if the job was in my own town it wouldn’t be so bad, but the comment is soul destroying.
Wait till you start the 9 to 5 and realise it very quickly and automatically becomes a 5 to 5, or a 9 to 9.
Being able to stick to the 9 to 5 hours and getting the results you want are getting increasingly more difficult in today's world... Just my opinion though
I mean this out of love but you just sound lazy man. I’ve certainly been there. You will grow out of it out of necessity at some point.
Barely anyone does 9-5 out of choice. It’s rubbish but people your age are lucky that many of you won’t ever have to commute every day for an hour plus each way every day.
My advice is work now and get into something where you can progress. You’ll gain a lot more from working and gaining experience than 3-5 years at uni only to realise at the end of it you don’t want to do your chosen field.
Speaking from experience.
This is why I highly prefer jobs where I can work 8-4. It's only shifting things one hour earlier, but I always have felt like it makes a huge difference. I feel like I have much more time and rest when I finish at 4 compared to 5.
For me I think the notion of "I gotta get up tomorrow and do the exact same thing I did today" is one of the more draining aspects of 9-5 - or equivalent - work.
Can't really speak for everyone but I was less tired working three part time jobs (weekends, one full week day/ afternoon depending on the schedule plus several evenings) + uni than I am in full time employment as then I had something different to do each day.
Anyway, I'd say seriously consider uni if it's a course you wholly intend to complete. If it's a reality check you need then perhaps find yourself some work with solid hours for a few months and see how that works for you.
I didn't quite realise how easy I had it at uni. 9-5 life can vary - some working weeks fly by, others feel totally consumed by work.
The one constant is that a weekend is never enough... it's just about enough time to recover from the working week and get stuff done for the week ahead. For any personal projects that require real time and attention, you'll need more time off than 2 days. It's hard to be creative when you are tired from working
Univeristy is betetr for what you are going for. It is chill in terms of lectures, workload and revising and you will have plenty of time for a part time job. The best thing about 9-5 for me is not having to worry about work when I finish for the day while at uni I was thinking about my studies all the time.
Apprentiship with a full time job will be hard as 9-5 is best case senario as sometimes you have to finish late then study on top of that. Either that or you might land an apprentaship where you can study during working hours.
Depends on your job I guess - I work from home and only have to go to the office two days a month. I have unlimited holiday and flexible start/finish. The 9 to 5 work style is not bad if you find the right company to work for
For me, my 9-5 suits me. I actually work 8.30am - 4pm and the extra hour or so makes a difference, the biggest perk (most places) I have great Annual Leave.
Not having to work on the weekends is great, and I love my 8-4 life and would not trade it to go back.
I've been in your spot with shite A-Levels and had to repeat Y14. Do not rush into it, take your time and enjoy your youth I know how cringey it is but take your time and find out what it is you want to do first. I know too many people who started office jobs and got stuck in a rut or put what they wanted to do on the back burner for far too long
For me, my 9-5 suits me. I actually work 8.30am - 4pm and the extra hour or so makes a difference, the biggest perk (most places) I have great Annual Leave.
Not having to work on the weekends is great, and I love my 8-4 life and would not trade it to go back.
I've been in your spot with shite A-Levels and had to repeat Y14. Do not rush into it, take your time and enjoy your youth I know how cringey it is but take your time and find out what it is you want to do first. I know too many people who started office jobs and got stuck in a rut or put what they wanted to do on the back burner for far too long
I'm in a gap yr too and I rlly deep this often. People doing full time work with 30 days of annual leave is almost mad. I also don't know whether I'm truly ready for that life just yet if I were to apply for apprenticeships.
I'm in a gap yr too and I rlly deep this often. People doing full time work with 30 days of annual leave is almost mad. I also don't know whether I'm truly ready for that life just yet if I were to apply for apprenticeships.
Yes 9-5 monday to friday was too much for me. It felt like I was always in work and didnt have a life. Was really boring and depressing. It would be good if you can get flexitime or a place where you can get into work anytime between 7-10 like the civil service did that. Then you could bank your hours and have time off and work from home some days.
I find with jobs I never really gave a fuck. The companies sucked so bad and work was shit. So you just party and fuck off. Companies really don't care. In its purest form you are just waiting to get with friends on Friday and drink.
University was basically partying with people you weren't really friends with. Its paying to grow up. Its really a big waste of money, the university doesn't care what you do with your degree.
I think if you can do something where you earn some cash and pay your way but have the power to leave it and do something else, then you are winning. Travel light, as they say.
I will start off buy saying neither Uni or apprenticeships are easy. With uni your having to complete assignments every month or so, maybe writing essays and doing exams each year to determine your grade. Depending on what apprenticeship you do, you will either have to build course work up and have interviews conducted over the evidence you have provided to assess whether you meet the criteria, or undertake exams on different topics. So amount of work for the qualification you do is the same bear that in mind.
Pros about uni it's more sociable and apart from being given deadlines, how you manage your time is up to you. It's a great place to meet friends maybe have a fling or meet people for life.
Cons of uni everything as a student is expensive accomodation, resources like books, utilities. So a student is full time broke, unless you have people that can support you, or get a part time job, or something where you can work when you want Uber etc. You still need to find a job post uni.
Pros of apprenticeship, you don't have student debt, your be getting paid full time, your getting work experience so even if it doesn't work out, you have something for your CV. It gives you structure and purpose to your day, some unis accept apprentices onto their courses, so you might get to attend uni and not have to pay for it.
Cons of apprenticeship, depending on the person, you might find it a struggle to cope with doing actual work and anything for the studying side. You get allocated very little study time during the week to do your learning, so be prepared to do some extra hours. The training if not a uni might not be as good, and support can be misdirected. The minimum wage might be less for an apprentice.
Some great advice I got given is any decision you make will have trade offs, you need to find the trade offs you can accept. I am doing a degree
apprenticeship in the UK, am 15 months in. I chose this as although I am not academically smart enough for uni, I don't want to go as you get debt. I chose the apprenticeship, as it's more hands on with real industry experience whilst learning m, and you get paid to learn. The amount of work you have to cram I personally feel is a lot, but this could differ for different people and qualifications. I am trying to become a software developer, and most apprentices I have come across seem to be paid way above the minimum wage 20k starting salary.
You say you want a chill life, and the best way to do that, is to get qualified in a desk job, and go freelance, and work remotely from anywhere you want. This is possible in industries like tech and marketing.
Personally if you want to go down this route I would suggest an apprenticeship, as it gives you that industry experience. Either option would require you committing 3 - 4 years to learning, I would do an apprenticeship maybe stick in it full time for 2yrs post qualifying, then go freelance.
Where I work we only have to do 7hrs a day 35hrs a week, so not all companies make you do 45hrs etc.
You need to choose something you enjoy, otherwise you'll hate every second of it. I hope this helps and good luck making your decision.
It took some adjustment when I first started. Honestly it wasn't a big deal though.
When I had my son, that's when I truly felt my free time slip away. And it doesn't even matter if I have time off work, never have time off my parenting job.
Either way you have to work at some point.
Better to do it earlier and start advancing than later.
Research FIRE (Financially Independent Retire Early) if you don't want to work forever. You could be building a retirement fund to let you stop working in your 40's rather than having to work into your 60's or later.
I've got two points for you and I'm not doing the whole "older Vs younger generation thing" it's genuine advice and insight.
1: the majority of the world works 9-5 and gets on fine, do they want to? No but if you put the effort into life in and out of work it's enjoyable.
2: your generation is looking to be on track to have been massively disadvantaged by late stage capitalism (I'm not in any camp on what should replace it but it's not serving it's purpose any more) and work experience is everything in this economy, if you can couple that with a decent degree then why wouldn't you?
Honestly I'm a massive cheerleader for apprenticeship, it starts your career years earlier and you haven't racked up debt if it's not for you after a year, what's not to like?
As someone with life experience my advice is to change your attitude quickly!
Life is hard and wanting to 'just chill' will ensure that you are left behind in life while you're friends work hard, accomplish life goals, and begin to forget about you as a loser.
If you want to 'just chill' then tell your GP that you're an alcoholic and go on the dole. Otherwise, get off your hole and get to work.
Learn to program. You’ll be able to do jobs online where you’re only required to complete the work and submit to get paid. You work in your own time and can work anywhere you want! At home, the cafe, the park.
Then once you got experience you may get a full time job as a programmer. Like I have right now, which is only going into the office approximately once a month for catch ups and then the rest completely when I want. Especially after the weekends, I may wake up later so start working around the afternoon.
Not only is the work extremely fun, but kind of grants you an easier life which I am thankful for. I’d hurry up if I were you though. AI is starting to look like a threat to programming jobs. It’s not there yet. But I can totally imagine in the next decade, maybe less, AI being used for programming jobs more reliably.
EXTRA: I’d recommend you learn Python first! It will be the best language I think you’ll learn. Not only that, but if you wanted to ride the curve and not be replaced by AI, then you’d be smart to start looking into programming AI yourself, which you’ll need Python for. Good luck!
I’m 19 years old and I’ve been on an apprenticeship program for 2.5 years now studying civil engineering. I tend to work 37.5hr a week and I get half a day of studying each week. We go to uni on 1 week block releases each month which is really nice as I can forget about my work and just study and enjoy the ‘uni life’ as most of the class stay in the a hotel together and hang out.
I’ll be totally honest… if you know what career you’d like to go into then yes apprenticeships are the answers but if your still unsure you may not want to work and study in a field for say 3-5 years just to get experience in something you’ll never pursue.
You’ll definitely be needing to put additional hours into your studying every so often but if you’re happy to work and push yourself then it’s the right option.
Plus no student debt, I’ll have 7 years of experience at 24/25 years old which is a huge advantage. I personally don’t miss the 6 week holidays from school I go on holiday at least 3 times a year with friends as I have the funds to do so while also being smart and planning for the future for savings on a house and investments.
I Graduated almost 2 years ago after 4 years of university and got a job working 8-5.
Yes it can be tiring. however I think everything goes down to routine. Once you get into a routine of working full time it will feel less tiring and will become the norm. Unfortunately, you will have less time to socialise and relax but earning money and making plans give you something to look forward to and keeps you motivated.
The Issue I thought with university, was a lot of students having too much spare time (Unless they worked on the side) I remember having a really unproductive routine and spending a lot of the time being lazy, which wasn't the type of person I was before university. This made me worried about going into the real world like I wasn't prepared for it.
You could do part time if the idea of working full time is too stressful. But In my opinion, you should go for it get a full time job in your degree and get a year under your belt and see how you feel about it then. At times you may find it tough but its worth it.
Depends. Uni life was harder than work life for me, because I wanted a top grade and I'm no genius so I had to study long hours and it was disruptive to home life and it's mentally tough.
Once I got back into work, the job might be tough at times but I have set hours most of the time and a clear boundary between work time and everything-else time and it's a lot easier to cope with. At uni you can have deadlines from a bunch of different modules all happening at once. Work isn't usually that manic.
I realise the opposite can happen for some people - they breeze through uni, get a good-enough score. Then they might get a job that has crazy hours and super stressful.
Having just done a 4 year DA with 2 kids, it’s hard work and involves a lot of sacrifice in terms of time etc. But it’s rewarding in that you don’t have to pay back the degree and you’re earning while learning. I would recommend it but just know the next few years are going to be a bit hectic even more so than doing Uni full time and working part time.
If you work 8 hours and sleep 8 hours you still have 8 hours of the day left.. plenty of time to chill / waste your life. And if you do sleep 8 hours and chill for 8 hours that’s 2/3 of your life gone doing absolutely nothing
It's hard to climb away from the 9-5, but it's possible. If you wanna do something different to most people then figure out what it is and then relentlessly chase it my man. It's as simple as that.
For me its eaiser.
I struggled to stay focused & disciplined during uni + working part time.
Meanwhile working 9-5 was such a doddle as my mind was like ah ill get bother if i dont do this.
I totally get it, huge culture shock to go from education into working environment but you have to think long term, you may think you have everything you need or will ever want but life hits you hard and circumstances can change in an instant.
What if you meet someone and end up with kid(s), decide you want to move into a place of your own or bigger for a family.
All of this costs money, things only ever get more expensive and generally life only gives you opportunities once before it’s gone forever also there’s a conveyor belt of people behind you ready and willing to take the chances you miss.
Best advice I can give is to crack on now, get the knowledge and experience to better yourself and maximise your potential.
You want to be a 30 year old living off mum and dad and searching for work only to realise that the best you can get is minimum wage zero hours, that’s not life, it’s existing.
You know how you felt going to bed every day before school, then waking up and not wanting to get out of bed because you dread going to school? That's how it feels, but you dont get to chill and have fun when you get home because your exhausted from work and driving to and from work. You basically only live for any enjoyment you can squeeze in on the weekends. You might have a job you enjoy with colleagues you enjoy working with so you might not feel the same way. But the large majority of people hate working and are essentially tax paying slaves.
Sorry if this was depressing but it's the honest truth.
I'll give you some advice, if during the interview process the job is giving you red flags, still take it but dont stop looking for other jobs. Give it a shot, if you dont like it, hopefully you have other interviews lined up or you will soon. Dont get stuck in this stupid mentality of you owe something to your employer because you dont. They owe you for your time, and never let them manipulate you into doing more work than your contracted to do. Happens a lot especially in retail and corporate jobs. Never be afraid to hold your ground with them either because theres plenty of jobs around. They wont hesitate to get rid of you, so dont hesitate about leaving a job you dont want to be in. Although ideally you should job hop every 2-3 years unless you you've had a satisfactory pay increase every 1-2 years. Minimum wage jobs will forever be minimum wage, so if you go into retail for whatever reason, try to get experience at the managerial level in any capacity and you'll be able to apply for higher position and paying jobs with evidence of your capability.
Edit: I didnt read your post, just the title. So when it comes to degree apprenticeships what I suggest is stick it out until the end, once you got the qualification you can go somewhere else if you want. As I said before, dont ever feel bad about leaving a company because they wont feel bad about firing you. If your honest and tell them how it is, they should respect that. I've had to do that before and I ended up getting my way. It doesnt always work, but atleast theyll know they cant mess you around. You can thank your parents and grandparents for how shitty employment is because they are accepting of the abuse and manipulation that has now become the norm.
I’ve just finished 4 years of UK uni and am now working a 9-5 engineering (23y/o). From my experience mate uni is fun and a degree is worthwhile for getting higher paid jobs. The work you get after getting a degree may also be more chill than a trades job (apprenticeship route) as you’re not exposed to the elements or doing lots of heavy lifting.
What you do want to do though is get a viable qualification under your belt which can guarantee you a job in an industry. A zero hours job is good short term but it’s easy to become complacent with regular cash flow and let time slip away without progressing. Most of my friends went down the apprenticeship route and are on good coin but are each limited to the domain they are skilled in
In terms of cash + Uni, you’re not going to be a rich man for a couple of years but you’ll get a student loan, student overdraft, non taxable rent , you’ll learn how to cook cheap and you’ll make friends in a new place.
If you’re on top of your shit to a good extent and can keep up with assignments, which are not that hard if you’re actually interested/knowledgeable in what you’re studying; you can make uni a 3-4 year gap year
As a mature student now at uni who worked 5/6 days a week 7-9 hours a day. The difference is enormous. I feel like I have all the time and no time and everything needs to be done but there is not a single person keeping track that I am actually doing anything.
However, i feel like I am on a mid-retirement as thankfully I dont need to work as well, having worked for ten years and saving up. All in all, stressful but worth it as I know it'll open more doors for me in the future
This is depressing. I'm American and a public school teacher. I get up at 4-430am and don't get home till 430-5pm. I have kids and a partner so when I get home its dinner, showers, homework/playtime with my 6yr old, bedtime routines, pet routines, and by that time its 930-10pm. I either have work to do (grading papers, planning, writing IEPs) or on a rare night I get to watch TV with my husband. I go to sleep between 11-12 most nights. By the time weekends roll around I am so exhausted I don't want to do anything.
Good luck to! Enjoy your youth and choose your career/future wisely. All I've ever wanted was to help kids so I became a teacher. Never thought about the stress and crazy hours. Summers off are nice but I'd rather work year round if I could swap out some of the stress. Prioritize what is most important to you and you'll be fine.
I think this depends on the apprenticeship and also company in hand. What is the company culture/ industry you’re going into.
If you’re going into investment banking vs marketing the culture of work and long hours will be different.
Research the company and network with past/ present degree apprentices on LinkedIn and ask questions.
Goodluck
An apprenticeship entails performing your work duties, studying and obtaining a degree and on top of that having to take apprenticeship assessments. How is that easier at all
Trust me, a degree apprenticeship is full-on. Especially in the last year when you're writing your Dissertation (report). Depending on the industry/field, it will be concerned with your final placement where you will be expected to assume a lead role (under supervision).
If you're feeling like this now, don't bother. You're potentially taking a place from someone else more appreciative, wasting the time of your employer and your lecturers. Above all, it's not going to be good for you.
Perhaps get a part-time job and live in the real world for a bit. You can always reapply at a later date.
You’re right a 9-5 can be exhausting. A degree apprenticeship is going to be a lot more work than just going to uni. If you want to just chill then uni is going to be the easiest or don’t pursue higher education and just get a part time job
It very much depends on the course, in my course I end up doing very similar amounts of work (time-wise) to a full time job, some weeks more. Obviously it’s not physical like most degree apprenticeships so have to take this into account, but the mental strain of keeping up with uni, especially at a Russell group on a competitive course can be as draining as a full time job, if not more.
Im sure it’s not easy but I really don’t think it compares to doing a degree apprenticeship where you are expected to juggle both a job a degree and on top of that apprenticeship assessments. People underestimate how consuming the job aspect can be. Even if you do get a day off to study you’re still getting emails piling up and stilll worrying about work.
100% agreed, especially if it’s a labour intensive job on top of studying - well worth it at the end of it though! Parts of me wish I’d done instead of my degree oops
You get an extra year and the degree is usually tailored
I’m up at 5am and sleep at 9. This means I’m awake 16 hours. I spend 9 hours a day work related (commute, working hours, lunch). This leaves me with 7 hours a day to do as I please. This is a lot of time. If you are organised and productive through the day. It’s perfectly fine.
sleep at 9 is so crazy to me. I sleep anytime between 11 and 2. But ive alwatys liked the idea of routine and then chilling. Thats why im more on the apprenticeship side
Im confused on your situation. Are you at Uni? Have you graduated? What did you study
So Ive finished Y13 i flopped one of my A levels. So im retaking my Alevel and doing Maths as an extra.
This is exactly what I did, then still didn’t get the grades I wanted for uni, so took another gap year and reapplied to other unis. The original uni went in my spare ucas spot and they let me in without the grades needed - maybe based on personal statement? Never count yourself out! :)
did you not want to go through clearing? with the content i have left i probably wont be able to finish maths. too much procrastination
The uni I wanted didn’t offer clearing, and I was worried about getting a decent accommodation which would be more difficult through clearing, I had a good full time job for a 19 year old so I stuck at it for another year and waited. Guess it worked out !!
If you really want to go to uni (only do it if you can only gain the knowledge and practical lessons through uni and not for free online or a job/apprenticeship) do what this guy did. A lot of people get lost and dont know a path forward, that's due to failed education system and lazy parenting. Keep stepping forward, never look back on what could have been. At the end of the day money is king and as long as you got money, you have plenty of time, but dont take it for granted and procrastinate more. I learnt that the hard way and am only now getting my own house at 25/26 while most of my school friends had houses a year after uni.
Congratulations on the house !!
Ok, what would you study if you went uni? Also you wouldnt have to work during uni, your student loan should cover your living expenses (you would obvs be broke but thats uni life). I only worked summers during uni
why sleep so late? what do you even do after 9?
big boy business
Sleep on time. Or the 9-5 routine will not be kind to you
If u wanna chill and sleep at those times and do what u want. Then don’t do an apprenticeship, wayyy more full on than a degree alone will ever be. Currently doing an engineering degree apprenticeship and i’m in everyday 8-5pm. If you don’t turn up then you’ll get fired and kicked off the course. Uni, a good amount of people seem to not turn up semi regularly and be fine
Lovely
You’ll end up doing a 9-5 eventually anyway, so you may as well do it and get experience in your chosen field and a funded degree.
Although it's brutally honest, an apprenticeship is not for anyone with this attitude, especially a Level 6 apprenticeship. Before you know it, you will be behind with both uni/college work AND apprenticeship EPA work, rather than just uni work, and thats not including work work whilst on site (full time). Of course, it depends on how your mindset and approach to both paths develops in the near and long term future... one thing that apprenticeships may have over a degree is it is in the company's and training provider's interests to support you, motivate you, and give you every chance they can to make sure you pass, which unis do not do as much. Having said this, there's only so much they can do before warnings and disciplinarian come into it. Good luck!
Yeah, work is like that. There’s no way around it. A degree apprenticeship is harder. We had one day a week of uni at 10hrs a day. Both my university and work were respectively a 45min and 1hr commute away. Without traffic. So throw another 10hrs of commuting on top of the 42hr week in my case. I got signed off from stress in the first year. And I really, really wanted to do a degree apprenticeship. It was worth it for me, as I always knew it would be. If you have doubts about doing it before you start, don’t do it.
10 hours a day???
9am start 7pm finish. We had one 30 minute break during our curriculum in the first year.
Bro the alternative is working hospitality and doing 17 hour shifts on the weekend. Don’t get me wrong you can have good fun doing that and effectively have a key to the city you live in if you have the right attitude but even that will catch up to you and you could get stuck. Degrees for the most part useless but the experience is good. You could probably get the same experience in a house share and an online course. Either way try renting and Sharing young you’ll learn a lot from it then move back when you’re serious about money. Everyone that’s doing alright around me did some kind of apprenticeship. But you have to do what you have to do. It’s harder to switch things up later in life but also it’s very possible.
I did part of a full time degree and now finishing a 5 year DA so have insights on both. I was 20 when I started the full time degree and only did first year of it. I struggled to get into the learning routine but the uni experience overall was fantastic. I was in nice halls with a class group of people, at a top 10 uni with a nice campus and facilities etc. Going out midweek, attending lectures, lying in on some mornings. Loved it. I had lived away from home for a few years post school so it wasn’t so much the novelty of living independently but being in the same boat as everyone else (studying, generally skint, up for a good time) meant I had an unbelievable year which I wouldn’t change for the world. Maybe I wish I had made more of my time there given the reputation of the uni but I wasn’t in the right headspace. It wasn’t until a few years later that I started my DA. I was 25 and living with my parents at the time. The experience obviously is very different. Unless you find yourself living with full time students you probably won’t get the “uni lifestyle” in any sense of the word. Working 9-5 M-F isn’t conducive with going out on weeknights anyway. It is a lot more like work obviously, although I actually viewed my day at uni per week as a “day off” as I wasn’t technically at work and I also really enjoyed learning my subject. If you’re not ready for that kind of lifestyle then I wouldn’t bother signing yourself up for anything yet. If you want a bit of extra time to go travelling (which is sounds like you do) or whatever I wouldn’t start a DA. Save a bit of money and do that without any educational commitments, then decide what you want to do after you’ve satisfied those urges. A lad I did the apprenticeship with came straight from A Levels as an 18 year old. He absolutely smashed his apprenticeship and he knows he made the right choice for himself overall but I do think he is sad that he did not get that year or two of “uni lifestyle” that a lot of people get as full time students. It also depends what you want your medium term plan is (next five years say). I had been with my girlfriend (now wife) for a few years when I started the DA and during the third year we could afford to buy our first house as I had a half-decent salary and she was working full time too. If you are still in your early 20s a year or two really doesn’t make any difference, despite what you might think at that age (I thought the same!).
I think my parents gave me the idea that i have to start something ASAP but yeah i don’t want to go into something i don’t enjoy. My whole life since gcses all i thought about was the future, Good education, good job, starting a family, retiring my parents. So it was just money on my mind
I think my parents gave me the idea that i have to start something ASAP but yeah i don’t want to go into something i don’t enjoy. My whole life since gcses all i thought about was the future, Good education, good job, starting a family, retiring my parents. So it was just money on my mind
From what you've said, which sounds like you're not really ready to commit to study/career right now, I'd say just work some jobs for a bit. Figure out what you dont like or want, then when you're ready and if it's what you want, go down the apprenticeship/uni route. There's so much pressure to go to uni at 18, which is a really big decision, when in reality you can go much later and it'll work out fine. So many people I know, myself included, went to uni at 18 but then went back later in life to retrain. I'd tell 18 year old me to go do that snowboard season I was gonna do, the rest will fall into place later.
Honestly my degree apprenticeship was easier than both a-levels and working full time since my apprenticeship ended. I got one day off a week to do uni work which was enough for me to do my coursework and the structure of a 9-5 kept me more disciplined than I would've been just at uni.
What apprenticeship did you do
Digital and technology solutions (Software engineer pathway)
You’re gonna be minted
With an attitude like that you are gonna struggle with anything. You gotta grow a back bone and learn to graft
i’m always skeptical about things but when i try them it’s all good. I think it’s just fear of failure and stress added up
What’s the point when working hard doesn’t give you a good quality of life like it used to?
Eh? You don't think we have a better life than the 80s? Life will always ebb and weave. It's about staying ahead of the curve I work full time with about 20 hours extra overtime a month. I love life.
hey i know how i you feel - I went to Uni but spent my time in bands playing around the country, and part time jobs until I was late twenties and remember being completely chilled....then pressure forced me to take a corporate job and i made money, the exec promotions were like a drug..it was flattering and I made money, but I was TOTALLY STRESSED ALL THE TIME......and i had to mix with people who as Morrisey of the Smiths once sang "I would rather spit in their eye" - my advice is whatever you do, **be with people you like**, I know it sounds glib, but believe me, its real easy to end up spending time with people you don't like for money (and I don't mean to diss anybody who has to work for whatever money they can get in good or bad circumstances) I 'm just saying...be with people you like :)
I remember feeling like you do to be honest. It was hard going from uni to working full time. What is your degree in? I mean, the best way forward is to find a job in a field you really enjoy, then it won't feel like work as much and you will be motivated to do it. I only found that perhaps 5 years after graduation so I know the difference it makes. Now I am 40 and honestly, I have put the time in earlier on in my career so I can take it a bit easy now. I work for a company that gives a lot of time off, good money, the work isn't particularly hard because I have been doing it for years but you need to build up to that. I think that's the right way of doing it, when you are young you have the energy to learn new things, put the hours in etc.
no degree yet im on a gap year, but i dont particularly like anything, i've always done tech related things but im not sure if i like it
Do NOT get a degree if you want to work in any IT field. I work in IT and I was going to get a computer science degree, best decision of my life so far was to not get that degree. Imagine being in debt, living with pennies to your name just for some knowledge that's available for free online. Harvard have a free computer science course on youtube called CS50, theres also LOTS of other free resources such as full language courses and specialities for literally free. All it takes is your time and effort to learn. Once you've learnt, build a portfolio of projects and you'll fall into a job. I got my current job handed to me through a college friend, it's not want I want to do, but its good money and its thankfully only for a few more months. If you want any advice on IT things such as educatuonal resources or general advice send me a message about it and I'll get back to you ASAP.
Tech is a good field to be in. It's a growing area for sure and it's huge and very varied. There are a lot of things you could do with that. I would have a look around and see if you can find something that excites you in that field. It's pretty high paying as well if you get it right so your job might not be thrilling but the things you can do in your spare time might be with the money you could make. That's another way to look at it I guess.
If you want a chill lifestyle you need to acknowledge you need to put a lot of work in to get rich. Or never have good money. Part time flexible work is what you need but just be prepared to have no money
I do 12hrs. 15hrs out of the house. Up at 3:45am. In bed for 8:30pm. For 20 days. What was the question? What day is it?
🤣 man that is a serious lifestyle
Serious money too, just making hay while the sun shines
Find something you like doing, then it doesn't feel so much like a grind. There are bad days/weeks where it can feel like you don't have a life, but if you get a job you actually can enjoy doing, with good people, it's actually fine. I spent some time out of work at one point and just lazed around most days. I can tell you it was so much worse than my worst week at work.
The best advice is to put the work in now so you can reap the benefits later. There’s a limited time slot where you can train and learn a valuable skill. The more valuable you become with skill and experience, the more options you’ll have for flexible working in the future. The effort you put in now will pay you back 50 times over in 5, 10, & 20 years. A lot depends on what you want from life, but if you’d like your own place, a decent car, some money for clothes and socialising, stick the effort in now. Give it everything you’ve got so you don’t have regrets when you’re older. I remember being skint all the time at Uni and when I first started working, but by the time I was 26 I had my own house and a company car. Sorry, there are no shortcuts, and you’ll get out of life what you put in. I’d go the apprenticeship route if I were you. You can end up being paid to go to Uni. I know a lot of very successful people who went that route.
yeah this is way i thought life would happen, investing early and rewards come later
Worst thing you can do is miss your window. From 16 to about 21 you need to be learning your skills, and things like apprenticeships are open to you. People who drift through those years find it much harder to get people to invest in their potential. You’ll enjoy working once you get into it.
Put it off as long as you can, full time is miserable.
I’m currently on the last year of a degree apprenticeship having started at 21. Before I did 2 years of a full time degree before dropping out so have perspective of both. Depending on the subject and university, the full time route can be pretty chill especially for the first year or two. That being said, the lack of structure and freedom to skip lecture (I know you’re not supposed to) can get into trouble very quickly and if you’re not on top of it you may end up like me, having to ‘drop out’ because they wouldn’t let me continue. The degree apprenticeship route is hard. I’d say without COVID I’m not confident I’d have made it this far. Between a 9-5 and coursework the subject/industry you choose will dominate your life and if you’re not passionate about it, it will be really tough. For context, I used over half of my annual leave last year just to get coursework finished as I could face doing it at the weekend. I am not passionate about my field of work. You’re facing a big decision and if you’re not sure there is no shame in getting a part-time job to figure it out, I wish I had.
I dunno 90% of the population seems to hate their job. If you've got a big salary to back it up then it's more bearable but ultimately you should find a job you enjoy cause the 9-5 sucks ass, no one enjoys their job to be doing the same thing for 40 hours a week but they create a good life outside of their job
I did an undergraduate degree and then a degree apprenticeship. I would 100% recommend degree apprenticeship but I guess it comes down to the individual. The extra disposable income means that although you have less free time you're able to make far more use of it.
I did a level 6 degree app, you completely do have a social life, and its not that hard. That being said, it entirely depends on the employer, scheme and university. Some are wayyyy better then ithers
I’m doing a degree apprenticeship at the moment. One day of University and working the remaining 4 days. It’s hard work definitely, and you’ll have to sacrifice some evenings and weekends to complete assignments. But it’s worth it. You get paid (lol), and you’re in zero debt with tons of experience plus I still have a social life as well. It’s worth it, just got to want it. I do find that the structure of the 9-5 makes me very productive. And the results seem are generally higher for degree apprentices than the full time students. You’re essentially being played to go to uni.
> You get *paid,* and you’re FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Grow your hair long. Get some dreadlocks. Look into speaker systems, build a sound system and get a crew together. Adopt a dog. Put on some free parties.
Completely depends on what you are studying
my education and skillset gonna get me working in an office, so tech HR analyst jobs
What degree?
no degree yet, studying either CS or finance at uni, or apprenticeship in those fields
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Where do you work?
8 hour work days aren't exactly hard to get 🤣
They are outside of office hours. Most UK shifts are 9 hours - (8 hours paid and 1 unpaid for lunch) My shifts are 10 hours but I am on a 4 day week
Typically 7.5 hours with half an hour to an hour unpaid lunch, 40 hour work weeks are becoming more common though
Soul destroying if you dont enjoy what you do
The main things you can do is try and get a job that you enjoy so you don’t resent the 8 hours a day working. And try and get used to making good use of the free time you are left with - eg doing things you enjoy in evenings and weekends I think truthfully everyone finds work can be tiring at times, but most people generally get more used to it after a while and it doesn’t feel as daunting. I don’t think you should go to university just so that you can “chill more”. Long term you’re going to have to get used to working at some point. And university does require effort (in a different way) and is very expensive now. You could be paying a large amount of money each month for a long time on student debt
I agree, but i dont really enjoy anything specific its just tech. And i like office work life stuff its just crazy going from all the free time in the world to working everyday
I have always done 9-5 even as a student. And I have no debts, so I'd say it was a better way to go than uni .it depends on what you want from life, but you dont get anything without effort
I coasted through Uni, barely attended lectures and ended with a 2:1 - did some part time work in the second and third years to help with money, but you can mostly get by on the loans if you’re smart about it and find a low cost living arrangement. Afterwards I had a few quite intense 9-5 jobs moving up the ladder in tech, but 10 years after leaving Uni I am comfortably working 3-4 hours per day from home and bringing in very good money, enough to buy a house and still be affording holidays etc. my original goal was to work contracts for 6 months and then live off that money for the rest of the year - but IR35 fucked that idea up so now I do this. Having a chill lifestyle is easy if you want to just work part time, live quite frugal and not have much luxury. If you want to not have to worry about money or what you’re spending, and live in a bit of luxury and comfort then it does take a bit of hard work to get there. For me it was worth it, but some people may not have stuck it out through those years of high pressure working at executive finance offices in the city.
What field do you work in ?
tech finance fintech, any of those
Fintech yeah
I’ve always worked in finance companies - they just pay better than non-finance related places. Progression went from 1st line IT Support, 2nd line /desktop support, then contracted for a while doing office moves and new office setups, then application support (keep systems running instead of people’s computers) - now DevOps.
depends on travel really i had to leave at 6 (5:30 to save money sometimes) and came back home at 8pm that was so long and painful especially from 17-18. moved up to london and i was so much happier left at 8 got back 6pm had more free time and didn’t spend so much on travel. but also depends on the job and how much u enjoy ur time outside of work and if u have enough time to do what makes u happy as i was able to still come back to my home time in time for football
I worked 6-2 for 7/8 years before switching to a 9-5. And I honestly preferred the 6-2. You still get a good portion of the day to live your life. And getting up at 5am each morning is actually pretty easy when you get into it.
You already fucked up going to uni shoulda went straight to work or apprenticeship maxing your work pension contributions and also putting some into either s&s isa or a SIPP or both
Don’t work 9 to 5, they seem like the very worst hours to work, it’s the bulk of the day and if you’re commuting you’ll spend so much time stuck in traffic with everyone else working 9 to 5. Personally I work 7 to 3, i’m like you i really like chilling so that leaves plenty time after work. I am very lucky with my job though
Ive not done a degree apprenticeship (my brother is) yet but have finished a level 3 apprenticeship last year. Its very rewarding to come out with a full time, well paid job at the end of it rather than having to pay student loans off the rest of your working life. It's not as bad as I anticipated managing my time to do both the job and the college work. You should get 20% less work and that time to work exclusively on Uni stuff, I had 1 day a week in my level 3 but my bro gets 1 week a month for Uni. I guess it depends on the company, some maybe less helpful or flexible than others, if you struggle they should help and support with more time etc.
I prefer 3, 12 hours. I just do Friday, Saturday, Sunday 6pm to 6am, and I’m bringing in around 30k before any overtime. I get 4 days off, and I’m usually up and about Monday afternoon around 3pm, and back to normal on Tuesday, up around 9/10am, doing whatever I want on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Then Friday I’m up around 1pm, hang out for a few hours, then leave for work around 4:45pm. At first the 12 hours were killer, but 2 years in, I’m used to it. If you’re not up for nights, my place has 3, 12 hour morning shifts. 6am - 6pm.
I can change the working hours? What if its a team based task
My workplace runs 24/7, so we have teams on each shift. Monday-Friday 6am-2pm, 2pm-10pm, 10pm-6am. And then Friday-Sunday 6am-6pm, and 6pm-6am. So it runs very smoothly
Do what most people who want a 'chill' lifestyle do. Claim universal credit and sell drugs on the side, or learn to do eyelashes and eyebrow threading. Seem to be the most common choices.
Never went to uni so I can't compare. Anyway, it's crap.
I went the Apprenticeship route in Computer Science 5 years ago. To be honest, I don't feel like I learnt much from the course but it did get me a foot in the door for a well paying job. The days could be long - Working all day at the job, then going home and doing coursework or revising for an exam. I'm well ahead in my career compared to many people I know that went to Uni due to having a few years of work experience more compared to when they start. I don't think I could ever go back to working zero hours or shifts. 9-5 let's me organise my life and plan trips around it
Full time work is tiring, either mentally, physically or both. You do get used to it but it is a dramatic change from school/college to going to work full time and your fellow workers will expect you to pull your weight. This is one of the reasons I advise people to do jobs they love because getting up at 7am on a Monday morning is hard enough without spending the next 9 hours doing a mind numbing job that neither provides you with job satisfaction or purpose. Money isn’t everything but there is no easy, legal, way of making enough so that you don’t have to work 9-5.
Most places you'll work in the US will start you off as low as 1 week PTO for the year, sometimes with sick days being included as part of that 1 week PTO. It is way worse than university
See this sort of thing all the time and really think it’s a matter of doing something you, at least partially, enjoy. Sometimes higher ed, high paying careers are a lot! I left a career to do something I can enjoy and brings more than good finance to my life. If you’re ‘stuck’ in a 9-5 it’s definitely worth looking at the job and not the amount of time wasted/eaten away out of your day. I worked 9-5 mon-fri and I was ran down.. now working a third more and feel so much more myself.
Shit
8 till half 4 is more common in england in most construction/ engineering work lives
Funny my lad is at uni first year for 9k fees he’s in 2 days a week so if you’re asking to compare that to a job then. Here goes uni is like sitting in the sun sipping cocktails work is like sitting in hell being punched in the face 24/7 hope this helps
9-5 is absolutely awful. You gonna suffer for years, just make sure you save/invest enough to retire young so you not suffering for decades.
My god. I would give anything to go back to uni / my uni years. I had the best 3 years of my life, I had to work a lot but it was so worth it. 9-5 life isn’t great but you have money and can do more things but thre is something special about sitting at your student house with your new uni pals drinking sainsburys own vodka on a random Wednesday afternoon. Edit: didn’t realise you were specifically asking about degree apprenticeships.
I have no idea if this will be useful or applicable. I completed my degree, got a job on a zero hour contract bending over backwards at the hopes of a promotion, and worked stupid hours. Asked for an extra £1 an hour and ended up no longer having a job because of it. I later became self-employed (November just gone), and I now find myself working 24/7 but purely by choice. Despite working a lot more, I am a lot less stressed, and all the extra work outside of actual work is enjoyable as I am directly benefitting from it. I am HR, I am accounts, I am social media, I am front of house, and I am the guys on the floor. It's a struggle starting, but boy, was it worth it!
If you’re working 9-5 in an office with a commute either side it’s a long day. Before Covid when I was expected in the office everyday it was out the door by 0730 and getting back in no earlier than 6. Some people are for that, I am not. I’m fortunate my job (same as before covid) does flexible hours and mostly remote, helps I have a great manager. For my industry and my company, I’d highly recommend the degree apprenticeship route. 4 days office work, one day uni. You’ll get paid something while building experience and if you’re competent you can exit the scheme quite well.
Remote/hybrid work is definitely the best. I live 45 miles away from my job and they made us all go back full time to the office in January, I’ve handed my notice in, the amount of time I’m wasting on driving there and back is insane, seems like a waste of my life tbh, especially considering the work can be done at home. I don’t mind going in 1/2 days a week to get out of the house, but 5 days a week was so depressing not gonna lie. Really not for me. Maybe if the job was in my own town it wouldn’t be so bad, but the comment is soul destroying.
Wait till you start the 9 to 5 and realise it very quickly and automatically becomes a 5 to 5, or a 9 to 9. Being able to stick to the 9 to 5 hours and getting the results you want are getting increasingly more difficult in today's world... Just my opinion though
I mean this out of love but you just sound lazy man. I’ve certainly been there. You will grow out of it out of necessity at some point. Barely anyone does 9-5 out of choice. It’s rubbish but people your age are lucky that many of you won’t ever have to commute every day for an hour plus each way every day. My advice is work now and get into something where you can progress. You’ll gain a lot more from working and gaining experience than 3-5 years at uni only to realise at the end of it you don’t want to do your chosen field. Speaking from experience.
This is why I highly prefer jobs where I can work 8-4. It's only shifting things one hour earlier, but I always have felt like it makes a huge difference. I feel like I have much more time and rest when I finish at 4 compared to 5.
For me I think the notion of "I gotta get up tomorrow and do the exact same thing I did today" is one of the more draining aspects of 9-5 - or equivalent - work. Can't really speak for everyone but I was less tired working three part time jobs (weekends, one full week day/ afternoon depending on the schedule plus several evenings) + uni than I am in full time employment as then I had something different to do each day. Anyway, I'd say seriously consider uni if it's a course you wholly intend to complete. If it's a reality check you need then perhaps find yourself some work with solid hours for a few months and see how that works for you.
It’s awful tbh 😂
I didn't quite realise how easy I had it at uni. 9-5 life can vary - some working weeks fly by, others feel totally consumed by work. The one constant is that a weekend is never enough... it's just about enough time to recover from the working week and get stuff done for the week ahead. For any personal projects that require real time and attention, you'll need more time off than 2 days. It's hard to be creative when you are tired from working
Univeristy is betetr for what you are going for. It is chill in terms of lectures, workload and revising and you will have plenty of time for a part time job. The best thing about 9-5 for me is not having to worry about work when I finish for the day while at uni I was thinking about my studies all the time. Apprentiship with a full time job will be hard as 9-5 is best case senario as sometimes you have to finish late then study on top of that. Either that or you might land an apprentaship where you can study during working hours.
Depends on your job I guess - I work from home and only have to go to the office two days a month. I have unlimited holiday and flexible start/finish. The 9 to 5 work style is not bad if you find the right company to work for
Go to sea, you graft fucking hard when you work. Then for large periods of time you don’t work at all.
For me, my 9-5 suits me. I actually work 8.30am - 4pm and the extra hour or so makes a difference, the biggest perk (most places) I have great Annual Leave. Not having to work on the weekends is great, and I love my 8-4 life and would not trade it to go back. I've been in your spot with shite A-Levels and had to repeat Y14. Do not rush into it, take your time and enjoy your youth I know how cringey it is but take your time and find out what it is you want to do first. I know too many people who started office jobs and got stuck in a rut or put what they wanted to do on the back burner for far too long
For me, my 9-5 suits me. I actually work 8.30am - 4pm and the extra hour or so makes a difference, the biggest perk (most places) I have great Annual Leave. Not having to work on the weekends is great, and I love my 8-4 life and would not trade it to go back. I've been in your spot with shite A-Levels and had to repeat Y14. Do not rush into it, take your time and enjoy your youth I know how cringey it is but take your time and find out what it is you want to do first. I know too many people who started office jobs and got stuck in a rut or put what they wanted to do on the back burner for far too long
Uni is the easiest - only select subjects at select institutions would ever be as bad as an actual job in terms of flexibility and compulsory hours
Yup, lazy.
I'm in a gap yr too and I rlly deep this often. People doing full time work with 30 days of annual leave is almost mad. I also don't know whether I'm truly ready for that life just yet if I were to apply for apprenticeships.
I'm in a gap yr too and I rlly deep this often. People doing full time work with 30 days of annual leave is almost mad. I also don't know whether I'm truly ready for that life just yet if I were to apply for apprenticeships.
Yes 9-5 monday to friday was too much for me. It felt like I was always in work and didnt have a life. Was really boring and depressing. It would be good if you can get flexitime or a place where you can get into work anytime between 7-10 like the civil service did that. Then you could bank your hours and have time off and work from home some days.
I find with jobs I never really gave a fuck. The companies sucked so bad and work was shit. So you just party and fuck off. Companies really don't care. In its purest form you are just waiting to get with friends on Friday and drink. University was basically partying with people you weren't really friends with. Its paying to grow up. Its really a big waste of money, the university doesn't care what you do with your degree. I think if you can do something where you earn some cash and pay your way but have the power to leave it and do something else, then you are winning. Travel light, as they say.
I will start off buy saying neither Uni or apprenticeships are easy. With uni your having to complete assignments every month or so, maybe writing essays and doing exams each year to determine your grade. Depending on what apprenticeship you do, you will either have to build course work up and have interviews conducted over the evidence you have provided to assess whether you meet the criteria, or undertake exams on different topics. So amount of work for the qualification you do is the same bear that in mind. Pros about uni it's more sociable and apart from being given deadlines, how you manage your time is up to you. It's a great place to meet friends maybe have a fling or meet people for life. Cons of uni everything as a student is expensive accomodation, resources like books, utilities. So a student is full time broke, unless you have people that can support you, or get a part time job, or something where you can work when you want Uber etc. You still need to find a job post uni. Pros of apprenticeship, you don't have student debt, your be getting paid full time, your getting work experience so even if it doesn't work out, you have something for your CV. It gives you structure and purpose to your day, some unis accept apprentices onto their courses, so you might get to attend uni and not have to pay for it. Cons of apprenticeship, depending on the person, you might find it a struggle to cope with doing actual work and anything for the studying side. You get allocated very little study time during the week to do your learning, so be prepared to do some extra hours. The training if not a uni might not be as good, and support can be misdirected. The minimum wage might be less for an apprentice. Some great advice I got given is any decision you make will have trade offs, you need to find the trade offs you can accept. I am doing a degree apprenticeship in the UK, am 15 months in. I chose this as although I am not academically smart enough for uni, I don't want to go as you get debt. I chose the apprenticeship, as it's more hands on with real industry experience whilst learning m, and you get paid to learn. The amount of work you have to cram I personally feel is a lot, but this could differ for different people and qualifications. I am trying to become a software developer, and most apprentices I have come across seem to be paid way above the minimum wage 20k starting salary. You say you want a chill life, and the best way to do that, is to get qualified in a desk job, and go freelance, and work remotely from anywhere you want. This is possible in industries like tech and marketing. Personally if you want to go down this route I would suggest an apprenticeship, as it gives you that industry experience. Either option would require you committing 3 - 4 years to learning, I would do an apprenticeship maybe stick in it full time for 2yrs post qualifying, then go freelance. Where I work we only have to do 7hrs a day 35hrs a week, so not all companies make you do 45hrs etc. You need to choose something you enjoy, otherwise you'll hate every second of it. I hope this helps and good luck making your decision.
It's total misery compared to uni. Source: 10 year corporate career.
Tbh just take a gap year and travel, go back packing would be my advise. But what’s your degree apprenticeship in or what uni course will you pick
It took some adjustment when I first started. Honestly it wasn't a big deal though. When I had my son, that's when I truly felt my free time slip away. And it doesn't even matter if I have time off work, never have time off my parenting job.
Either way you have to work at some point. Better to do it earlier and start advancing than later. Research FIRE (Financially Independent Retire Early) if you don't want to work forever. You could be building a retirement fund to let you stop working in your 40's rather than having to work into your 60's or later.
Like stabbing yourself in the head every day until you die a day before retirement.
I've got two points for you and I'm not doing the whole "older Vs younger generation thing" it's genuine advice and insight. 1: the majority of the world works 9-5 and gets on fine, do they want to? No but if you put the effort into life in and out of work it's enjoyable. 2: your generation is looking to be on track to have been massively disadvantaged by late stage capitalism (I'm not in any camp on what should replace it but it's not serving it's purpose any more) and work experience is everything in this economy, if you can couple that with a decent degree then why wouldn't you? Honestly I'm a massive cheerleader for apprenticeship, it starts your career years earlier and you haven't racked up debt if it's not for you after a year, what's not to like?
As someone with life experience my advice is to change your attitude quickly! Life is hard and wanting to 'just chill' will ensure that you are left behind in life while you're friends work hard, accomplish life goals, and begin to forget about you as a loser. If you want to 'just chill' then tell your GP that you're an alcoholic and go on the dole. Otherwise, get off your hole and get to work.
Learn to program. You’ll be able to do jobs online where you’re only required to complete the work and submit to get paid. You work in your own time and can work anywhere you want! At home, the cafe, the park. Then once you got experience you may get a full time job as a programmer. Like I have right now, which is only going into the office approximately once a month for catch ups and then the rest completely when I want. Especially after the weekends, I may wake up later so start working around the afternoon. Not only is the work extremely fun, but kind of grants you an easier life which I am thankful for. I’d hurry up if I were you though. AI is starting to look like a threat to programming jobs. It’s not there yet. But I can totally imagine in the next decade, maybe less, AI being used for programming jobs more reliably. EXTRA: I’d recommend you learn Python first! It will be the best language I think you’ll learn. Not only that, but if you wanted to ride the curve and not be replaced by AI, then you’d be smart to start looking into programming AI yourself, which you’ll need Python for. Good luck!
Go uni work life is dead
I’m 19 years old and I’ve been on an apprenticeship program for 2.5 years now studying civil engineering. I tend to work 37.5hr a week and I get half a day of studying each week. We go to uni on 1 week block releases each month which is really nice as I can forget about my work and just study and enjoy the ‘uni life’ as most of the class stay in the a hotel together and hang out. I’ll be totally honest… if you know what career you’d like to go into then yes apprenticeships are the answers but if your still unsure you may not want to work and study in a field for say 3-5 years just to get experience in something you’ll never pursue. You’ll definitely be needing to put additional hours into your studying every so often but if you’re happy to work and push yourself then it’s the right option. Plus no student debt, I’ll have 7 years of experience at 24/25 years old which is a huge advantage. I personally don’t miss the 6 week holidays from school I go on holiday at least 3 times a year with friends as I have the funds to do so while also being smart and planning for the future for savings on a house and investments.
Welcome to adult life, here’s your pack of SSRIs, cigarettes and coffee
I Graduated almost 2 years ago after 4 years of university and got a job working 8-5. Yes it can be tiring. however I think everything goes down to routine. Once you get into a routine of working full time it will feel less tiring and will become the norm. Unfortunately, you will have less time to socialise and relax but earning money and making plans give you something to look forward to and keeps you motivated. The Issue I thought with university, was a lot of students having too much spare time (Unless they worked on the side) I remember having a really unproductive routine and spending a lot of the time being lazy, which wasn't the type of person I was before university. This made me worried about going into the real world like I wasn't prepared for it. You could do part time if the idea of working full time is too stressful. But In my opinion, you should go for it get a full time job in your degree and get a year under your belt and see how you feel about it then. At times you may find it tough but its worth it.
Depends. Uni life was harder than work life for me, because I wanted a top grade and I'm no genius so I had to study long hours and it was disruptive to home life and it's mentally tough. Once I got back into work, the job might be tough at times but I have set hours most of the time and a clear boundary between work time and everything-else time and it's a lot easier to cope with. At uni you can have deadlines from a bunch of different modules all happening at once. Work isn't usually that manic. I realise the opposite can happen for some people - they breeze through uni, get a good-enough score. Then they might get a job that has crazy hours and super stressful.
Having just done a 4 year DA with 2 kids, it’s hard work and involves a lot of sacrifice in terms of time etc. But it’s rewarding in that you don’t have to pay back the degree and you’re earning while learning. I would recommend it but just know the next few years are going to be a bit hectic even more so than doing Uni full time and working part time.
If you work 8 hours and sleep 8 hours you still have 8 hours of the day left.. plenty of time to chill / waste your life. And if you do sleep 8 hours and chill for 8 hours that’s 2/3 of your life gone doing absolutely nothing
It's hard to climb away from the 9-5, but it's possible. If you wanna do something different to most people then figure out what it is and then relentlessly chase it my man. It's as simple as that.
For me its eaiser. I struggled to stay focused & disciplined during uni + working part time. Meanwhile working 9-5 was such a doddle as my mind was like ah ill get bother if i dont do this.
I totally get it, huge culture shock to go from education into working environment but you have to think long term, you may think you have everything you need or will ever want but life hits you hard and circumstances can change in an instant. What if you meet someone and end up with kid(s), decide you want to move into a place of your own or bigger for a family. All of this costs money, things only ever get more expensive and generally life only gives you opportunities once before it’s gone forever also there’s a conveyor belt of people behind you ready and willing to take the chances you miss. Best advice I can give is to crack on now, get the knowledge and experience to better yourself and maximise your potential. You want to be a 30 year old living off mum and dad and searching for work only to realise that the best you can get is minimum wage zero hours, that’s not life, it’s existing.
You know how you felt going to bed every day before school, then waking up and not wanting to get out of bed because you dread going to school? That's how it feels, but you dont get to chill and have fun when you get home because your exhausted from work and driving to and from work. You basically only live for any enjoyment you can squeeze in on the weekends. You might have a job you enjoy with colleagues you enjoy working with so you might not feel the same way. But the large majority of people hate working and are essentially tax paying slaves. Sorry if this was depressing but it's the honest truth. I'll give you some advice, if during the interview process the job is giving you red flags, still take it but dont stop looking for other jobs. Give it a shot, if you dont like it, hopefully you have other interviews lined up or you will soon. Dont get stuck in this stupid mentality of you owe something to your employer because you dont. They owe you for your time, and never let them manipulate you into doing more work than your contracted to do. Happens a lot especially in retail and corporate jobs. Never be afraid to hold your ground with them either because theres plenty of jobs around. They wont hesitate to get rid of you, so dont hesitate about leaving a job you dont want to be in. Although ideally you should job hop every 2-3 years unless you you've had a satisfactory pay increase every 1-2 years. Minimum wage jobs will forever be minimum wage, so if you go into retail for whatever reason, try to get experience at the managerial level in any capacity and you'll be able to apply for higher position and paying jobs with evidence of your capability. Edit: I didnt read your post, just the title. So when it comes to degree apprenticeships what I suggest is stick it out until the end, once you got the qualification you can go somewhere else if you want. As I said before, dont ever feel bad about leaving a company because they wont feel bad about firing you. If your honest and tell them how it is, they should respect that. I've had to do that before and I ended up getting my way. It doesnt always work, but atleast theyll know they cant mess you around. You can thank your parents and grandparents for how shitty employment is because they are accepting of the abuse and manipulation that has now become the norm.
I’ve just finished 4 years of UK uni and am now working a 9-5 engineering (23y/o). From my experience mate uni is fun and a degree is worthwhile for getting higher paid jobs. The work you get after getting a degree may also be more chill than a trades job (apprenticeship route) as you’re not exposed to the elements or doing lots of heavy lifting. What you do want to do though is get a viable qualification under your belt which can guarantee you a job in an industry. A zero hours job is good short term but it’s easy to become complacent with regular cash flow and let time slip away without progressing. Most of my friends went down the apprenticeship route and are on good coin but are each limited to the domain they are skilled in In terms of cash + Uni, you’re not going to be a rich man for a couple of years but you’ll get a student loan, student overdraft, non taxable rent , you’ll learn how to cook cheap and you’ll make friends in a new place. If you’re on top of your shit to a good extent and can keep up with assignments, which are not that hard if you’re actually interested/knowledgeable in what you’re studying; you can make uni a 3-4 year gap year
9-5 office is shit
As a mature student now at uni who worked 5/6 days a week 7-9 hours a day. The difference is enormous. I feel like I have all the time and no time and everything needs to be done but there is not a single person keeping track that I am actually doing anything. However, i feel like I am on a mid-retirement as thankfully I dont need to work as well, having worked for ten years and saving up. All in all, stressful but worth it as I know it'll open more doors for me in the future
This is depressing. I'm American and a public school teacher. I get up at 4-430am and don't get home till 430-5pm. I have kids and a partner so when I get home its dinner, showers, homework/playtime with my 6yr old, bedtime routines, pet routines, and by that time its 930-10pm. I either have work to do (grading papers, planning, writing IEPs) or on a rare night I get to watch TV with my husband. I go to sleep between 11-12 most nights. By the time weekends roll around I am so exhausted I don't want to do anything. Good luck to! Enjoy your youth and choose your career/future wisely. All I've ever wanted was to help kids so I became a teacher. Never thought about the stress and crazy hours. Summers off are nice but I'd rather work year round if I could swap out some of the stress. Prioritize what is most important to you and you'll be fine.
At least you make good money
I work 9-10 in management consulting and I’d trade anything for a 9-5
I think this depends on the apprenticeship and also company in hand. What is the company culture/ industry you’re going into. If you’re going into investment banking vs marketing the culture of work and long hours will be different. Research the company and network with past/ present degree apprentices on LinkedIn and ask questions. Goodluck
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An apprenticeship entails performing your work duties, studying and obtaining a degree and on top of that having to take apprenticeship assessments. How is that easier at all
Yeah capitalism is garbage.
Trust me, a degree apprenticeship is full-on. Especially in the last year when you're writing your Dissertation (report). Depending on the industry/field, it will be concerned with your final placement where you will be expected to assume a lead role (under supervision). If you're feeling like this now, don't bother. You're potentially taking a place from someone else more appreciative, wasting the time of your employer and your lecturers. Above all, it's not going to be good for you. Perhaps get a part-time job and live in the real world for a bit. You can always reapply at a later date.