whats better - uni or modern apprenticeship (1 Viewer)

[neath_lad]

firstly most people would think uni, higher education is better. for me it depends on the type of job you plan to do. in the uk they are saying modern apprenticeships are getting more important all the time. for me last sumer i finished my ALevels and i had the choice of university or a modern apprenticeship, a very big decision. ive got to be honest i was very tired of doing coursework but wanted the experience of uni, meeting new people, parties etc.

my chosen field i wanted to do was technical part of ict eg building, networking, solving problems etc. i did a lot of research and i feel in ict maybe a modern apprenticeship is better than uni . i think this because most ict jobs i looked at say they want experience on a certain system, so is a modern apprenticeship getting work experience and a qualification (not as high as a degree tho) is better?

this summer i chose to do an modern apprenticeship instead of uni (although ive got the qualifications to go to uni when i want to in the future) and i was lucky to get a modern apprenticeship in the council in ICT technical support. where im fixing users computers, putting in the server back up tapes, seeing how a network work for the biggest employer in the area and so far ive picked up so much which i wouldnt put up in a lecture. so its working out for me.

im not saying that modern apprenticeship is better than uni for all courses, because in uni you do have a bigger chance of getting a better job. and the experience of uni is once in a lifetime.

what does everyone think?

 

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[Martin]

I think you approach the question in the wrong way. It's not about what is "better", it's about what each one will teach you. Generally speaking, the "higher level" your education is, the more theoretical it is, the less practical it is. Once you go to work, you're likely to be doing very little theory and mostly practical things, so if you want to pursue that angle then go for something mostly practical. I've also heard it said that university teaches you nothing about your job, it teaches you to learn.

So if you for an apprenticeship, you will learn how to do a lot of different things, useful things. But universities exist for a reason, they give you a theoretical base of knowledge you can build practical knowledge on quicker and easier than you could without it. So if in 10 years the technology you work with changes radically, it will be a lesser bridge to gap with a theoretical understanding of networks than to know TCP/IP very well. Of course the two concepts intersect a lot and learning practical things will give you theoretical knowledge as well, it's a question of how you approach the question.

As I see it, the mission of a university is to graduate people who can say "I don't know how to debug a LAN but give me a week and I'll learn."

Going by my own example, I went to what they call a "university college", which is higher education but less prestigious and more practical. I felt that was the right choice for me at the time, but now I realize I would like something more theoretical and so I'm going to university soon.

 

[ZhiXin]

Personal perception and highly dependent on what the market needs, these r the 2 points which I will highlight, I will explain later.