The advice these days for young people leaving school is to study more and get a job.
Parents, teachers, and career advisers all tell you how much going to university will benefit your life, but they don’t think to tell you about all the unemployed graduates who moved back in with their mum because their lack of experience means that they can’t get a job.
In some sectors like law a degree is necessary, but in the creative industry experience speaks louder than a bit of paper that says “I’m clever”. A degree says “you can do this”, whereas experience says “you’ve done this”.
Consider an apprenticeship
My two main fields are digital marketing and music business: both two rapidly changing industries where a lot of emphasis is put on experience. I’m currently completing a digital marketing apprenticeship with a focus on social media.
Why did I choose this route? Of course I could spend three years learning about social media, but by the time I’ve gotten my degree who’s to say that I’ll know how to apply what I’ve learnt? Who’s to say that social media won’t have completely changed by then?
All the time you hear about graduates ending up in unpaid internships making tea due to lack of real-life experience in their field, yet they supposedly start higher up the career ladder? And how are they supposed to progress if they then still have no real-life experience to take to their next job? They’ll just continue to be exploited.
I feel like an apprenticeship is the sweet spot between getting a job and staying in education without all the debt. You learn the theory of a subject and then apply it in the real world, and if things in the industry change it’s easier to realise this and adapt because you are in the industry, not a lecture theatre. An apprenticeship also lets you ease yourself into the working world of 9-5s, smart shoes, and Sainsbury’s meal deals.
Go against convention
Uni is the conventional route, but it’s not for everyone and definitely wasn’t for me. My advice to the people on the fence about uni is take a gap year, do an apprenticeship. If that turns out to be a better alternative for you then not only have you gained a qualification and real-life experience, but you’ve saved yourself a few grand worth of debt. If, on the other hand, you still feel like you want to go to university then go and do some internships along the way, but if you’ve had doubts about going to uni in the first place then doesn’t that tell you something?
Whether or not you go to uni is your choice, just have a little think about it before you make it. What’s right for most may not necessarily be right for you. In my eyes, I’d rather learn, earn, and gain experience than learn, get in debt, and end up making tea for free.
Do you agree with Aysh’s opinion? Let us know in the comments below!
Photo: Chris Jobling / Flickr
19 year old blogger and digital marketer from London. I like writing more than I like people.
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