The world is undeniably changing for better or worse. The attractiveness of “easy money” or income through methods such as drop shipping now have oversaturated markets and are certainly not as easy as what the social media creators make it out to be. Ultimately its luck. The same way people capitalised on Bitcoin when it was new and emerging, it’s simply a matter of being in the right place and the right time. But what if you could be in the right place at the right time. Apprenticeships are gold dust!! For all their benefits they are worth “sacrificing” a couple years to start work earlier and get ahead of most people your age.

My journey

I am currently an 18 year old first-year degree apprentice at Unilever. I am doing a chartered management degree and doing my first 18 month office rotation in Marketing & Innovation. After these 18 months the idea is I rotate out to a different part of the business to gain a broader understanding of the company and a wider set of transferable skills. My journey to getting an apprenticeship was not easy. I applied to over 50 apprenticeships in the winter of 2024 with the degree level ones being my focus. I researched everything assessment tips, company values, different levels. All of this you can find so much easier on social media now with the emerging popularity of degree apprentice content creators. From there I had to manage fitting assessment centres around A- Level studies in a boarding school.

“Escaping the Matrix”

The term “Matrix” derived predominantly by Gen-Z from the popular dystopian film series (The Matrix), gets thrown around a lot these days to describe the resent towards being trapped in a corporate hierarchy where you are negligible (At the bottom of the food chain). But apprenticeships are the easiest way to break this cycle and get ahead in your career. A fundamental problem that recruiters emphasise with students entering the job market after their uni degree, is that they are often clueless as to how the real corporate working world works. Now this makes the on-the-job learning and expertise you gain from an apprenticeship invaluable. Furthermore, recruiters favour that proof of practical proficiency in your chosen field. By the time your friends are finishing their degree, they are in debt and wondering how they are going to earn money with a drought in the job market and a cripplingly unstable economy. Meanwhile you will already be applying to jobs a whole work level ahead of them in an indefinitely more financially stable position with real on the job experience under your belt. That is how you “Escape the matrix” and kickstart your career.

Some words of warning

Not all Apprenticeships are the same - This seems obvious but the benefits range quite a lot depending on what type of company you are working for and how big it is.

Nowadays apprenticeships are scarily competitive - They are increasingly becoming more popular making them no longer the hidden gems they once were. With acceptance rates lower than Oxbridge you need to know what you’re getting into. It’s no small commitment.

Given how competitive apprenticeships are, those dream stories of people who only applied to a few apprenticeships and got into their dream company seem quite farfetched. Practice makes perfect so if you want to learn and improve your application strategy, you are going to have to improve as you go along which is going to mean bombing a fair few application.

The dream life sometimes isn’t all its cracked up to be. Late hours can wear you down quick and lead to burnout. You are making a sacrifice in these youth years, and it can sometimes be hard to justify. Actual work where people rely on you for outcomes is tough. It’s no longer just you sitting in your room procrastinating over a test, your actions have consequences on other people lives now too. This is a lot for a young person sometimes.

Top Tips

Utilise social media!!! – With a rapidly digitalising world EVERYTHING IS ONLINE, you only must fix your algorithm for it to start feeding you the type of content that is going to land you the apprenticeship that will without a doubt set you up for greatness

Use a spreadsheet to track all your applications – there are many online and it helps to have all info in one place and organised. Therefore, your precious deadlines wont be missed

Go out !! – whilst budgeting and saving is great you also need to be enjoying yourself. Getting out there and meeting other apprentices of which there are many will help with any isolation you might experience not going to uni and being with loads of people your age.

Sort out your UCAS stuff early - I made my personal statement, my first CV and Cover Letter in February of my 1^st year of 6^th form. Everything goes so fast so before you know it September will be upon you. Then you will have final predicted grades exams to worry about, UCAS starting up and most importantly prime apprenticeship season. Getting your decisions sorted (i.e knowing where you want to go to uni if you are applying as a backup for apprenticeships like I did) is crucial. Also, doing your research on companies and having your CV’s and cover letters in place early helps when everything seems to hit you all at once in September of your final year of 6^th form

To Conclude

Overall, starting my Degree Apprenticeship is the best opportunity I have ever attained. I wouldn’t change my position for the university experience ever because I believe it is the better path career wise. Now my questions to you is what will you do with this newly found information? I can’t force you to “drink” but I sincerely advise you to go and apply if you want a piece of a potentially more successful life. If you want more info or tips connect with me on LinkedIn and reach out I’d be happy to help and give advice on anything. The apprentice community is expanding year on year so don’t miss out on a chance to be a part of something great!

Anthony Dowling

Chartered Management Degree Apprentice | Unilever | Marketing

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