ENGINEERING DEGREE APPRENTICESHIPS | WORTH IT?

[@jimster845]

It seems like you are guessing in most of what you are saying without any hard evidence to back it up. You state that the people you are networking with at university compared to a degree apprenticeship would be much more valuable but this seems to be a complete shot in the dark without any evidence... How do you know? Some people may have had an extremely hard childhood which in turn destroyed their possibility to study at an early age but then may choose to study in later life when they have more stability... You also state that most people on degree apprenticeships are not as career driven compared to the ones following the normal degree route. This statement is completely illogical as the students on the apprenticeship route will have to balance a full time job on top of doing 80-100 credits a year. Do you think a person who is not career driven would be able to manage this workload? I don't think so... To be honest it appears that you are giving misleading information to potential students with no solid evidence to back it up. It sounds like most of your opinions would have come from rumors or just pure ignorance towards the students on the apprenticeship path.

[@onetrickhorse]

OK, great video as always, here is my view as someone who graduated with £45,000 of student debt. If you get offered a degree apprenticeship, please please PLEASE, TAKE IT!! Bite their hand off, don't even hesitate. It is literally no different in the eyes of employers to doing a degree, in fact they often value it more because of the targeted studying and connection to industry. You get paid to study, and you get your fees paid for, all while gaining professional accreditation and experience working in industry, so when you finish, not only do you have a degree, you have 3 or 4 years work experience which puts you at an advantage compared to other candidates. Then there's the job at the end, pretty much guaranteed as long as you don't majorly annoy anyone. It is literally the Willy Wonka golden ticket of early career options, and it's not an opportunity companies just give away, to get offered one means that an employer has a huge amount of faith in you as a candidate, tens of thousands of pounds worth of faith. I'm going to be paying off my loan for the next 8 years give or take, having already been paying it for the last 7 years, and it bites, especially when you get a bonus or something, and they take a huge chunk of it. Don't get me wrong, I regret nothing. But if I was given the choice, it would have been the degree apprenticeship all day long. Just my opinion of course!

[@SA64R]

Thank you again for this awesome insight! :D

[@siam7094]

Even though degree apprenticeships require lower grades, logically speaking they'd be more difficult to get into as there are only a handful of spaces, unlike a few hundred for universities. so in reality it'd be extremely competitive, not to mention I'm sure they'd be more interested in you as a person rather than JUST your grades

[@hiramkhackenback]

shocking advice. Industry rates a degree apprenticeship route very highly. Someone that has done 4 years as an apprentice then an extra 6 years for the degree, all while holding down a job, is snatched up by employers. The reality is when it comes down to a choice between a qualification and a qualification with experience which one would any company choose. It's because when there is a real world problem to solve experience will typically get results, whereas saying I went to a really good Uni brings nothing to the table.

[@asim9738]

His advice is not shocking at all. It's all true. You will be limited in career progression compared to a Russell Group University graduate and also a lot of the course modules are different as it's a lot more technical and indepth on a proper university degree course compared to a degree apprenticeship course.

[@jimster845]

Its exactly the same modules just spread out over 4 years. @@asim9738

[@jonsouth1545]

As an Employer I find that students who went through a DA route are far more employable to be honest I don't touch 90% of students who didn't go down that route as they have no practical skills and the stuff they are taught at uni usually has zero practical implications in the workforce and I have to spend a year or so retraining them.

[@SA64R]

Thanks for your insights! I can only speak from my experience in the DA route so always open to more perspectives

[@damonmartin1572]

Degree apprentices go to many of my classes at plymouth for CS. They just dont do our 40 credit project module. Must be pretty tough as the stuff kills me normally. My mate who does the apprenticeship says its very hard. Way less party life. But its paid so i think its good 😅

[@danielalizadeh2439]

Is Brunel Uni good for Engineering?

[@SA64R]

It's not the best but I think many people do choose it since it is technically in London and being close to the capital has perks to it

[@onetrickhorse]

I went to Brunel for aerospace MEng, and I can sum it up like this; you learn to do a lot with a little. The lecturers are brilliant, the courses are well balanced, you get a good mix of people from various backgrounds on your course (from working class to upper class wealthy, foreign and British, etc), but the facilities aren't the best to work with and badly need updating compared to other universities. I now work for a large aerospace manufacturer, and in the industry, Brunel actually has a pretty decent reputation, surprisingly so in fact, probably on a par with the lower end Russel Group/redbrick universities. Ignore the rankings like the times etc, they aren't good indicators. A lot of good engineers have come from there, I think other engineers respect that you had to kind of 'make do' without the best facilities, so you end up having to problem solve more than if you went to better equipped universities, but the downside is that you have to be more pragmatic in the later year projects and what you can achieve with the facilities you have. Sadly they aren't particularly smart when it comes to research, so for PhD's and postgrad degrees (MSc, not MEng) they don't seem to be able to recognise an opportunity when it hits them in the face. I can't go into details, but years after I graduated and was running research projects in industry, I went back to them offering them a research partnership and money, but they were completely uncompromising in what they wanted to investigate, and we decided not to bother. It could have been a massive opportunity for them long term, but they just wanted to do their own thing. I never went back, but I look fondly on those times.

[@Lew.6]

I am considering doing a DA. I am studying a BTEC level 3 in Engineering at the moment. I got a 4 in GCSE foundation maths, but i have been working very hard to up my skills and I am getting there slowly but surely.

[@ghgfrghfrhgdxvgredghhgvfth1573]

Hi mate can I ask what age you are?

[@Lew.6]

@@ghgfrghfrhgdxvgredghhgvfth1573 I'm 17. What'd you need to know?

[@tar244you8]

@@Lew.6 im in the exact same spot right now im doing a betc in manufacturing engineering just finished the first year now into the 2nd im 18 and looking a aerospace apprenticeships i know airbus do some and rolls royce as well as mb systems / BAE systems

[@absamadbinahad2082]

Is UWE Bristol is good for aerospace engineering or not ??? Because it’s fees is affordable for international students .

[@SA64R]

I'm afraid I don't know enough about that university to make a fair comment, I recommend messaging someone on LinkedIn who did that course to get their opinon

[@bigtorrisi]

So if you leave school with 4 A levels all A's, and go to do a degree apprenticeship, you will pretty much stand out from everyone else with B's and C's at A level also later on in your career, companies will see your excellent A level grades and know that you could have gone to Bristol or Warwick etc, but chose to be hands on.

[@TozzaYT]

Yeah I have an offer from warwick but am considering a DA

[@theiphone4179]

there are degree apprentships for warwick uni, so i guess thats the best of both worlds

[@whatisthis1262]

After you've been to uni, no one will give a shit about your A levels. They will just waste space on your cv if you include them.

[@fuchris8617]

Can you do a video on good ways to network outside of university? I just started an apprenticeship so I want to make sure I make some connections for the future.

[@SA64R]

Yes I will :)

[@dank9640]

you will get connections on the apprenticeship, just talk to people, ask questions, be genuine, try to learn, people wont be bugged by it, they will sympathise with you

[@bdtalents3067]

Man I just found you in time...! I am first year student at Inholland UAS, Netherlands. I have 2 things to tell you. Are you Bangladeshi? Cause your name suggests so. I am bad at mathematics (Like I passed my math exams by literally memorising and vomiting on paper in exam). Can I survive for AE? ( You may make a video regarding this, would be helpful) Your video topics are amazing, thanks so much..!

[@SA64R]

Not Bangladeshi, I'm ethnically Indian but born in the UK. Here's the short answer, but I'd say it's not going to be easy since maths is quite core to the degree. However, I don't know you enough to tell you a definitive you'll be fine or not.

[@The.IT.Apprentice]

Written a blog about being an IT apprentice funnily enough, definitely worth it!

[@brandonglover2276]

How competitive was the year in North America at Sheffield? I’m looking to apply for it

[@SA64R]

As in getting onto the course, or getting your preferred choice of American uni to go to?

[@brandonglover2276]

@@SA64R getting on to the course, I’m currently in year 13

[@SA64R]

@@brandonglover2276 It's as equally difficult as getting on to the normal course, as you can actually switch from the normal course to a YINA course later

[@brandonglover2276]

@@SA64R oh when I went to the Sheffield open day they said you couldn’t transfer onto the YINA?

[@SA64R]

@@brandonglover2276 maybe rules have changed then

[@prabeshhamal1649]

Where do i find aerospace engineering degree apprenticeship? Tried so many places but still no Luck

[@qal4real372]

bro im doing the same, give me ur insta, we can help each other if ur down

[@jacobbadu5107]

@@qal4real372 airbus or rolls royce

[@dank9640]

I'm studying a degree app and its all paid for by my company and I get £34,000 per year, an apprenticeship is really a no brainer Almost every graduate I've ever worked with has been useless, one had a masters degree in mechatronics and had never seen a PLC, grads also have zero experience on tools or with fault finding, there's only so much you can learn in a classroom I'm not saying full-time degrees are bad, but you will leave with zero industry experience so will have to complete an internship if you want to stand a chance at getting a job

[@SA64R]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience, I know a lot will find it valuable to see from both perspectives.

[@joshilpatel1814]

What degree app is this?

[@whatisthis1262]

Yep.. graduates with first class degrees in maths, engineering or computer science stand about useless. They get an 8 week bootcamp and that's meant to compete with the practical training apprentices get. It's nonsense. As someone who done a standard degree before doing an apprenticeship, you can coast like hell as a standard student at uni. That just isn't possible as an employee. The proof is in the pudding. This guy is a snob with a chip on his shoulder.

[@sami023]

did u say apprenticeship at 6:26

[@whatisthis1262]

Yes he did haha

[@rc8803]

Love the video, if possible can you check my DM on Instagram? 🙏

[@BenDover-xk7jz]

Do you apply after GCSEs at 16 of after A levels

[@SA64R]

If it is a degree apprenticeship, it is generally after A-Levels

[@BenDover-xk7jz]

@@SA64R cheers 👍