When I was sitting my GCSEs, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

That might sound familiar to a lot of you reading this. Everyone around me seemed to have a plan. Medicine. Law. Teaching. But me? I was what teachers call an "all-rounder." Decent at everything, outstanding at nothing in particular. 

I studied maths, physics, and French at A-level (tried to keep my options as open as possible) but still came out the other side with the same question hanging over me: so, what now?

Then came work experience.

I found myself a series of work experience opportunities: a placement at Rolls-Royce, HORIBA, Spotify and supported a charity called REMAP. It was at Rolls-Royce that I first heard about apprenticeships. What was interesting to me was that they weren’t being spoken about as the thing you did if university didn't work out. But as a genuine, structured, career-defining pathway into one of the most respected engineering companies in the world. 

When it came time to make the big decision after school, I found myself in a position I hadn't expected: I'd applied for both university and the Rolls-Royce Degree Apprenticeship. And I genuinely didn't know which way to go.

Part of me was pulled toward university. The experience, moving away, meeting new people, that time that so many people talk about. It sounded exciting. 

But another part of me kept doing the maths, not the kind from my GCSE paper. The student debt years before earning properly. The uncertainty of what comes after graduation.

The apprenticeship, on the other hand, offered something different: earn while you learn, a degree at the end, and a foot firmly in the door of an industry I was starting to get genuinely curious about.

After a lot of deliberation (and I mean a lot) I chose Rolls-Royce.

I could not be more grateful for that decision. It was, without question, one of the most life-changing choices I have ever made. Not a day goes by where I don't recognise how fortunate I am that I made it.

Walking through the doors on day one, I won't pretend I felt ready. Imposter syndrome hit me almost immediately. I looked around at the people I was working alongside and asked myself - do I actually belong here? I compared myself constantly. To colleagues who seemed more confident, more knowledgeable, more sure of themselves. I felt overwhelmed, underprepared, and honestly, not good enough to be in the room.

If you've ever felt that way, starting something new and wondering if you've made a terrible mistake, I want you to know that feeling is far more common than anyone lets on. It doesn't mean you're in the wrong place, it just means you're human and you have a lot of potential for growth.

A few months in, something started to shift. Slowly, then all at once. I began to find my confidence. I found my cheerleaders within the company; people who saw something in me that I hadn't yet seen in myself. I discovered the projects I excelled at, and equally, the ones that stretched and challenged me in ways that made me better.

And that, I realised, was the incredible hidden gift of an apprenticeship.

Without it, I would never have had the chance to try things. To explore different corners of a business, to figure out how I worked best, what energised me, what I was genuinely good at. And all at an age when most people are still sitting in lectures wondering what the real world looks like. I was already in it, learning, shaping my career in real time.

During this time, I found myself working with a team at Rolls-Royce Electrical on something that genuinely excited me - urban air mobility. The future of how people might move through cities. It was forward-thinking and attracted a team of the most ambitious engineers. I was presented with some amazing opportunities: working on strategy and travelling to Italy and Hungary. I was contributing to conversations that felt genuinely important.

And that was the moment I stopped questioning whether I'd made the right choice.

When my apprenticeship came to an end, I walked away with a degree, years of real industry experience, and (perhaps most valuably) a clear sense of where I thrived. I'd learned that I worked best in the business space, looking at the bigger picture, connecting dots at a high level. That self-knowledge landed me my first full-time role as a Market Analyst.

But the story didn't stop there! I made the decision to move to Australia. And now? I'm living right next to Bondi Beach, working for a space start-up, bringing that experience to one of the most exciting sectors on the planet. My apprenticeship gave me the financial freedom to take this risk and the experience to secure work down-under! 

When I look back, I can see so clearly what that early experience gave me - not just the skills, but the perspective. Starting your career young, in a real business, solving real problems, means you bring something unique to the table.

If there's one thing I want you to take from my story, it's this: nothing can replace real industry experience and the sooner you get it, the better.

Schools talk a lot about grades, qualifications, degrees but what an apprenticeship or first job gives you goes so much deeper than that. It's soft skills: learning how to carry yourself in a professional environment, how to build relationships, navigate a workplace, communicate with people at every level of a business. It's the credibility that comes from actually doing something and doing it early in your career. 

If you're torn between university and an apprenticeship, know that there is no universally right answer but don't underestimate what industry experience at a young age is truly worth. A degree is valuable. Real-world experience alongside a degree? That's rare. And it will set you apart for the rest of your career.

And if you’ve just started a new role, stop putting pressure on yourself to be perfect. You're at the beginning of your career, not the end of it. The goal right now is to learn, grow, and figure out where you shine - not to perform flawlessly from day one. Real-world feedback, the kind you only get by actually doing the work, will teach you more about yourself in a few months than years of study ever could.

Alice Lees

Associate at Spiral Blue 🚀 Climate security & national security from space

You can find out more and connect with Alice on LinkedIn.