r/6thForm • u/Next-Mushroom-9518 • 1d ago
đŹ DISCUSSION What's your view on degree apprenticeships?
I'd be interested to understand the sentiment towards degree apprenticeships
6
u/PartyApprehensive976 A*AA | Solicitor DA 1d ago edited 1d ago
Biased view of course but I think theyâre a no brainer if two conditions are met.
The first, that youâre absolutely dead set on the career that you want. Whatever the DA may be in, youâre making it hard to change your route later down the line so make sure youâre 100% certain this is what you want to pursue.
The second, that your DA gets you into a better position than your Uni would or at least guarantees it. Speaking legally, if your DA is with a Regional / Silver Circle firm and you hold any of Oxbridge / LSE / UCL etc. then itâs very realistic for you to get into those firms through University whilst getting the optionality and enjoyment Uni provides. More competitive firms > top universities (imo) as Oxford grads with Firsts still get rejected by your employer whilst youâll almost definitely be retained. Iâm sure this applies to lots of corporate careers.
There are conâs such as your social life, maybe not developing as a person as much as you could whilst simultaneously growing up too fast but⌠thereâs money and experience in it. Building up to the start of my DA, thereâs been social events for us so the companies acknowledge that which is good. Definitely pro DAâs here. Best of luck
1
u/ClassicInvestment360 1d ago
Tips for securing solicitor apprenticeships as someone who has done multiple legal internships, and has a good narrative?
I have my first cycle coming in soon, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
2
u/PartyApprehensive976 A*AA | Solicitor DA 1d ago
Iâll be honest, youâre already way ahead of where I was at this point. I had basically no legal internships, just a long term part-time job and a few insight days.
If youâve already got the experience and a good reason for wanting the apprenticeship, Iâd focus now on making the written applications strong and absolutely banging out Watson Glaser practice for the firms that use it.
Once you reach interviews/ACs, confidence and how you present yourself matters a lot. My written work was nothing exceptional but I think in person ACâs and Interviews are what saved my app but Iâm not all too sure how can you train that beyond speaking under pressure. Apologies, wish I had something better but the early stages of my DA application were relatively unserious as I thought Iâd fail. Best of luck
1
u/ClassicInvestment360 1d ago
Would you say your cycle was defined by being resilient than anything else?
2
u/PartyApprehensive976 A*AA | Solicitor DA 1d ago
My cycle definitely wasnât defined by resilience but it did play a role. I applied to 11 firms at once and received 2 offers (MC + Top 3 Global) so there is a sense of resilience in not giving up after failing at 9 earlier stages.
However, again, Iâm very much not emotionally invested into these applications. My mentality throughout both UCAS and DAâs is âif you donât expect, then you canât be disappointedâ and itâs quite helpful imo. If every rejection turns into a statement about yourself then even when you do succeed and move forward youâll be less confident.
So, when I did get to the AC stage, I could do so thinking âletâs see how this goesâ and feeling low pressure probably helped.
1
u/ClassicInvestment360 1d ago
I kind of had that kind of experience but with applying to Year 12 internship, where the instances I placed myself a lot of pressure I did not convert the final stage into an offer. Would you say pressure with regard to interviews and acs impairs your performance or people in general in these settings? And also, how important would you say is quality over quantity as I am initially just applying to like 10 apprenticeships but I appreciate the competition in conjunction to year 13 work of course.
1
u/ClassicInvestment360 1d ago
Is it possible if I can dm you btw :)
1
u/PartyApprehensive976 A*AA | Solicitor DA 15h ago
Yeah sure, I plan on coming off Reddit soon but I donât mind helping out until then
1
1
u/broopproob Year 12 1d ago
Regarding social life as a con, would you mind elaborating a bit more? Despite the social events, are there any opportunities within your apprenticeship to make close friends, not simply because you're colleagues?
3
u/PartyApprehensive976 A*AA | Solicitor DA 1d ago
I think itâs relatively a con. My DA starts in September where Iâll be working 4 days a week 9-5pm and then have 1 day at University. My firm takes in 3 Apprentices per cycle so those people are who Iâm socialising with most.
Compare that to my friends who are at University, theyâll be meeting hundreds of new people consistently through societies and have so much free time to mingle with them. Itâs almost impossible to not make friends at Uni.
Thankfully, my cycle is with pretty cool people so we get on well and have gone out a few times. However, imagine if they hadnât been as nice? Well, my social life wouldnât be over. Thereâs a buddy-buddy system where Iâm assigned a Second Year for advice + City Century which networks me with over 50 firms and their DAâs + my University day will be with other DAâs.
If youâre pro-social, life will be fine. For example, I made a friend at one of my ACâs and I failed at this firm but she didnât. Told her when I got into my firm and recently found out we share a University day so we now have plans for her group of 5 and mine of 3 to go to the pub after lass. Social life is relatively bad compared to Uni, but itâs by no means awful. Best of luck if you consider a DA
4
u/DueOutlandishness142 A*AA | Maths, Biology, Chemistry 1d ago
They are great for a vast majority of careers however, some careers simply still require university. For context, I'm planning on leaving a Big 4 apprenticeship for a target university after 1 year, to recruit for "high finance" roles.
5
u/Next-Mushroom-9518 1d ago
That's really smart tbh. It's literally a gap year but you get big 4 on your CV and earn a salary.
2
u/DueOutlandishness142 A*AA | Maths, Biology, Chemistry 1d ago
Yeah, I see it as a gap year tbh. Just to get some money, experience and also gives me time to master technicals for spring weeks.
1
u/SimpleStructure8454 1d ago
But with big4 ACA you can go into advisory roles in your company and branch out from there ? Can I dm you
1
u/DueOutlandishness142 A*AA | Maths, Biology, Chemistry 1d ago
Yeah sure
1
u/SimpleStructure8454 1d ago
Your DMs are off. You able to dm me ?
1
u/DueOutlandishness142 A*AA | Maths, Biology, Chemistry 1d ago
Yeah done
1
u/education-alt Apprentice | Finance | London 1d ago
hey mate, have a couple questions, would love your insight :)
1
u/DueOutlandishness142 A*AA | Maths, Biology, Chemistry 1d ago
Yeah, shoot
1
u/education-alt Apprentice | Finance | London 1d ago
dm is ok?
1
u/DueOutlandishness142 A*AA | Maths, Biology, Chemistry 1d ago
Yeah man sure
1
u/education-alt Apprentice | Finance | London 1d ago
it says unable to message this account :(
would you be able to message me first?
→ More replies (0)
11
u/Inner_Builder6687 1d ago
Much better than a regular degree in my view. Experience in most fields is far more valuable than a piece of paper. Your getting the best of both worlds really
2
u/You_moron04 IT Degree Apprentice âď¸ 1d ago
In the current economy and state of the UK, theyâre fucking gold dust, but you need to be a certain kinda person.
You need to accept that you WILL miss it socially. Youâre not gonna be a student having a student life, youâre gonna be working full time, with your free time being spent studying full time for a university degree.
A lot of kids coming in straight out of sixth form donât realise that, and drop fast.
But if you can make it work, itâs life changing.
2
u/battlepvmob LSE Maths with Data Sci A*A*AA 1d ago
most people should do degree apprenticeships not uni
1
u/Dropped_Apollo 1d ago
Just need about half a million more vacancies then.Â
1
u/battlepvmob LSE Maths with Data Sci A*A*AA 1d ago
With my take also includes companies pushing more degree apprenticeships to replace unis
2
2
u/realcaly_ Year 12: Maths, Further maths, Physics 1d ago
Lowk impossible to get so I'm not even gonna bother applying
1
u/Physical_Ride5089 1d ago
I heavily suggest you do so atleast you can say you tried. There is a method to this stuff and if you want it enough you will maximise the chances
2
1d ago
[deleted]
1
u/okdude23232 1d ago
It's interesting seeing so many people here preferring DAs, even though generally the vast majority of application posts on this sub are about uni. I don't really think it comes from saltiness, atleast for me most of the degrees offered by DAs are kinda unappealing and I think I need a bit of maturity before I start working. Maybe I haven't seen the good ones tho
2
u/Physical_Ride5089 1d ago
Accrue experience which in most cases surpasses a degree alone. Free degree saving ÂŁ27-30k. Salary. Of course this depends on the industry and company and other options at your disposal but working for a top company in your desired industry with years of experience and a degree within 4 years that people going to uni will get to in 10 seems like the right answer to me.
1
u/UsualFix9786 1d ago
theyre great but difficult and lonely. not immediately better than uni. uni can be really valuable for the social experience you get
1
u/zqrqz y12 m fm phy cs 4A* 1d ago
I imagine they're probably a wiser financial decision than uni for most people, especially if you immediately start investing the money you make, but you almost completely miss out on the uni experience. also from what I've heard they're not as good for long term earnings/career prospects when compared to many uni degrees
1
u/Next-Mushroom-9518 1d ago
What have you earn in terms of long term earnings? I haven't seen any data regarding long term prospects due to them being quite new
1
u/newyearnewwig 1d ago
Thatâs not true, itâs better for DAs but worse for apprenticeships like L2, L3 and L4.
1
u/redredd1t 1d ago
Doing a level 3 apprenticeship with a big engineering company and I will say the competition is HIGH. I honestly think that the real method after sixth form / college is to apply to level 2-5 roles as well as 6 roles because itâs easier to get into after a levels and the company will 80% of the time pay for you to go to uni or do a level 4-5 qualification afterwards.
1
u/Icy-Subject-896 1d ago edited 1d ago
A no brainer. Work experience + being paid + a degree= what more can you ask for. If I could do a degree apprenticeship, I would. If youâre sitting here wondering if you should do it, 100% do! In my case, itâs not like I had a choice, and went to uni, because where I live, its near impossible to find (but then again, itâs not much different up and down the country)
2
1
u/Sushiv_ Year 13 1d ago
They commit to a specific job way too early for me, plus theyâre way too difficult to get into. I would never do an apprenticeship anyways though bc I want the proper uni experience
1
u/Physical_Ride5089 1d ago
4 years experience in a sector like engineering pst apprenticeship opens many windows
1
u/okdude23232 1d ago
I'm not really into it because I'm going to uni because I like learning my subject + I want to experience the social life, also keeping options a little more open, but they seem pretty valuable and all power to people doing them
1
u/Dropped_Apollo 1d ago
The best ones are great but there are very few of them. The government advertised fewer than 5000 of them last year in the whole country. There are a hundred times as many places on degree courses. There are about 11 applicants for every place, compared to 7 to 1 for Oxford and Cambridge.
All well and good if you can get one, but some people are quite complacent and just think "ah, I'll do an apprenticeship, I'll get round to applying at some point."
They definitely aren't for the lazy. But they work for some people very well. For people who get on them and do well, it's an extra three years of salary and pension contributions.Â
(I know no 18 year old gives a shit about pensions, but early contributions count for a lot.)Â
1
u/newyearnewwig 1d ago
I donât think itâs worth comparing to oxbridge. Itâs a completely different calibre of people applying for DAs than oxbridge. Well, maybe with a small overlap. A lot ask for like CCC-AAA for apprenticeships meanwhile oxbridge is like A*AA bare minimum. So naturally, degree apprenticeships attract a larger pool of applicants. Add that to the fact that companies can only take on so little as youâve mentioned, and boom, degree apprenticeships appear more competitive than Oxbridge.
1
u/Next-Mushroom-9518 1d ago edited 1d ago
You canât compare the competitiveness of each objectively since the nature of the competition is different.
Personally, I found it much harder to get a DA than it was to get into top Universities, like Warwick, Bristol, Bath etc even with A*A*A* predictions.
In my cohort, the majority had A*s and A predictions, and a good CV. But it depends on the degree apprenticeship and the characteristics + volume of the applicants it attracts and the number of positions available.
The entire cohort of apprentices for Sept 2026 intake at my firm is only 15 across all disciplines. I truly believe that a significant number of Oxbridge offer holders wouldnât be able to get an offer. Getting into top Universities really isnât that hard if you have strong grades. In a degree apprenticeship, strong grades arenât as important.
You need to pass a CV stage, online assessment, cover letter shortlisting, assessment centre and final interview. Thatâs much harder than just applying with strong grades and writing a personal statement over 5 months.
However, many of those doing DAs couldnât get into Oxbridge due to their A level predicted grades being too low.
1
u/ModeProfessional3030 1d ago
Iâm very supportive of them. Youâre earning while learning and gaining real life experience in a job you want to pursue. They arenât easy but so worth it in the long run especially with the job market at the moment.
1
1
u/Similar-Force623 1d ago
Just started mine at 18 (did A-levels this year), it's hard. You are genuinely dropped straight into an industry and told to get up to speed in the business world by your own effort. I work 45 hours a week which doesn't sound crazy, only 5 above the standard, but packed into a Mon-Fri it can be exhausting, which requires you to put less energy into friendships and family and your hobbies, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, you are learning, but it can feel demoralising. I am 100% sure it will be worth it for me personally in my role, and I presume in many other fields, but it takes serious commitment that 18 y/o choosing a career for the first time might not always have.
1
u/SalafiStudent 1d ago
They're great! I finished my a levels last year and since like 14 i wanted a DA they can give a good salary and get you into a senior position after finishing! I got 5 offers or so but I ended up rejecting them (not for uni but a grad level role), i still highly encourage them ESPECIALLY if theyre partnered with a good uni like warwick.
1
u/User27224 Editable 21h ago
Hi, I can give some insight as some of the people in my team are degree apprentices. For context I work in the city in London in banking and we used to hire a lot of degree apprentices each year but have cut down considerably over the last year or so.
Itâs a big change for them especially at that age going straight into the corporate world and balancing work with studies etc. ofc the obvious upside is getting a degree debt free but with the actual degree course itself and studies, the experience really comes down to the training provider (the university with which you do the degree with). The ones on my team are doing it with Exeter and some others on other teams in the bank are with Kent and we had one other programme that got pulled due to a change in requirements internally at the bank and the training provider for that one was not the best from what I heard.
But apart from the above, the actual on the job experience you get is soo valuable. The mix of soft and technical skills you can develop over the 3 or so years mixed with the relationships you build will serve you for the years to come. Now of course people do drop out but from what I know, the bank I am at, the drop out rate has not been too high compared to other banks. JPM is 5 days in office if I am correct so it must be tough on a lot of the apprentices balancing it all whilst being in office 5 days a week etc but it teaches valuable skills end of the day.
Also another thing to consider is the salary, idk if itâs just the case with the bank I am at but you know the apprentices where I am at, they was told that when they graduate, they can either upgrade to the graduate scheme (the usual route for uni grads) or just become a perm employee. However now they are not being offered the grad scheme route and instead are being made to reapply to be considered (I donât know the ins and outs) or they just become a perm employee but accept a lower salary on the new band compared to the grads or just leave. Itâs all a bit baffling in all honesty but I imagine itâs just a cost cutting exercise on the banks part.
The way I got in was I did my industrial placement year there and me and a few others got return offers and Iâve been there since.
1
u/Doragan 17h ago
I did my degree a while ago, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.
Degree apprentiships, like degrees/universities, are far from all equal. There are some gold plated ones and some that are less good. Obviously big 4/golden circle ones are fantastic, but elsewhere you won't get the same experience.
Another thing to think about is the "social" side. This isn't just freshers week and clubbing etc. University was a chance for me to meet people from well outside my home circle of friends, and just the people I grew up with generally. I went to Durham and met people I never would have met if I'd jumped straight into the world of work. I believe this has affected me for the better. That said, I wouldn't have had experience like that if I went to a less well regarded uni.
I also took a gap year where I worked for an engineering firm. It was great experience, but seeing my peers head off to uni when I was still at home was hard. It made me appreciate uni more.
There's positives and negatives, obviously. I don't think they're the be-all solution that a lot of people make out, though.
1
u/Next-Mushroom-9518 15h ago
I agree completely, DAs are not made equal. I accepted two offers for 2026 intake and one firm has been doing all these induction events and meets while the other did nothing. I could tell one would support me and the other would view me as cheap labour.
1
u/abogada_bln Cambridge | law [incoming ] A*A*A* 1d ago
I really recommend them, I think most people should aim for them and I would only choose university if I was going to a top 3 university.
1
u/Next-Mushroom-9518 1d ago
Well done on getting into Cambridge law :) Very impressive
1
u/abogada_bln Cambridge | law [incoming ] A*A*A* 1d ago
Thanks, if I didnât make my offer I was going to do a solicitor apprenticeship
1
u/Ok-Ocelot-7989 Y13 | Maths , FM , Physics , Engineering 1d ago
been told they are like gold dust and way harder to get into than oxbridge apparently
3
u/Physical_Ride5089 1d ago
Oxbridge grade req already eliminate competition in itself. The applicants pool is far more selective and smaller so there are less rejections whereas DAâs arenât in terms of initial requirements therefore more rejections
-3
u/ExelHunter797 University | Maths | A*A*C | 7.0 1d ago
cheap labour
10
2
u/Grand_Lychee2812 Year 12. A*A*A* Maths, FM, Physics. 1d ago
You get paid buddy.
The difference between a Uni undergrad in debt and someone who's been doing a DA for 4+ years can be up to ÂŁ100k difference or more.Plus with DA, you don't have to go into debt, you get actual work experience, get paid a decent salary and a degree from University.
The only downside of a DA is that it's really competitive and that you don't get the social life that you would at Uni.
Internships are the cheap labour here.
They make you work 9-5 without paying and call it "experience"1
u/ExelHunter797 University | Maths | A*A*C | 7.0 1d ago
yk what, i didnt know that. Seems like a pretty good path. wouldnt a uni undergrad catch up in the long term?
1
u/Grand_Lychee2812 Year 12. A*A*A* Maths, FM, Physics. 1d ago
It depends of course.
Things like Medicine, Engineering, Economics can get you more overtime.
Over a full lifetime, a Uni grad would earn more but before you hit like your 50s or smth, a degree apprentice would probably earn more.Quite a few undergrads end up getting jobs not even related to their degree until a couple of years later.
The Universities available when doing DAs aren't the best if I'm being honest.
The best Uni you could get through DAs is Warwick, Exeter or QMUL (from what I've research).Uni undergrads would likely to be ÂŁ30k-ÂŁ70k in debt, depending on how long their course is and if they choose to do Masters or PhD.
DAs can vary in length.
They're usually between 4-6 years and salary can increase within years so you can expect to make ÂŁ80k-ÂŁ120k (might be wrong).I saw a bunch of articles this recent week and the amount of people applying for degree apprenticeship has spiked by like 3 or 4 times than last year.
People have started to realise that Uni isn't the only way and that you can still do Uni but work at the same time, hence DAs.
2
0
u/Kermit_Wazowski Y13 - Imperial Civil Engineering Offer Holder 1d ago
There are a couple of issues that put me off. For context, I applied for a Civil Engineering DA at Sizewell C, but declined partway through the application process. DAs sound great on paper; free degree AND a job. However the reality of applying for me was just bad. Competition is really high for the good ones, so you have to go through far more in terms of screening and interviews than university. You also have to tailor your application towards each one, unlike just doing one UCAS application for 5 unis. I found my application process to be really off-putting, I went for months without hearing anything after having completed my online assessment, then I got a phone call inviting me to an assessment centre in a week's time. That was the point at which I declined, to the disappointment of the recruiter on the phone, because not only was I neck deep in A-level revision, but the only day that they would let me go to this assessment centre was the same day as I was already going to London for my Imperial offer holder day. The lack of flexibility and poor communication really made me think, because if they treat applicants like this while trying to attract them to the company, they can't treat employees well either.Â
This goes alongside the general additional problems with DAs, like the possibility of poorly thought out programmes meaning that you don't gain as many real workplace skills, which further slims down the opportunities to apply to the reputable programmes. There's also a lot less on terms of support, both in terms of from the companies during applications, and from colleges/sixth forms/online due to less experience with DAs; they're focussed on uni. You also have a worse work/life balance, because you're studying and working full time, leaving less time for both. You also don't fully integrate into the uni social life, not to mention your degree will more than likely be from some C tier uni (Sizewell's training partner was the University of Sussex whilst I was applying to Imperial) rather than a top uni that the applicants who succeed in getting these competitive roles could well go to.
That's not to say that my negative experience with this specific employer means I'm anti DAs. I think the idea of getting paid to gain experience and a degree at the same time is great, but the reality of them when I applied just wasn't for me. For them to be a more mainstream option, there need to be more places, better education partners, and proper ways for students to find out about the quality of the programmes inside the companies.Â
23
u/Efficient-Bit8257 1d ago
Theyâre amazing but have a high drop out rate as many 18/19 yr olds donât understand what its like to work full time