Decisions, Decisions

David086

I've been offered a mechanic's apprenticeship (sorry can't go into much detail) but I'm only 16 and I'd like some opinions on whether to take the apprenticeship or continue with the leaving cert. When I finish the course I get a qualification.

Thanks,
David.

tenchi-fan

The apprenticeship is a really big deal and you'd be crazy to pass it up.

Then again, the leaving cert is a big deal too especially if your trade doesn't work out. The thing is EVERYONE has a leaving, but how many people were offered an apprenticeship.

I know a guy who did his leaving, took a year out, and went back to repeat his leaving so he didn't finish secondary til he was 19. There are also private colleges that let you cram the leaving cert into one year.

What year are you in now? TY, 5th or 6th?

David086

I'm in TY.

tenchi-fan

Hmm.. it's really tough. I don't know what do advise you! I know a lot of people who didn't go to college feel they missed out on the craic with their friends, will you have the same regrets by not doing 5th & 6th year?

You could always do the leaving cert as an evening course later on or as a one year full-time course.

I just know that everyone in the country can do the leaving cert whereas very few get offered an apprenticeship.

Stay in school and get the leaving cert.

Apprentices as careers are becoming pretty redundant these days, at least with a leaving cert, you can go to college and have more subjects/topics.

You're way too restricted with just an apprentice plus you may like the idea of it now - but you'd be wise to invest in your future.

Mrs OBumble

Deleted User wrote: »

Stay in school and get the leaving cert.

Apprentices as careers are becoming pretty redundant these days, at least with a leaving cert, you can go to college and have more subjects/topics.

You're way too restricted with just an apprentice plus you may like the idea of it now - but you'd be wise to invest in your future.

Take the apprenticeship. A job offer in the hand is worth two leaving certs in the bush (so to speak).

Mechanics will always be needed, and if you start you career early enough you have enough time in life to take things wherever you want to (eg chief mechanic, garage owner, franchise owner of a chain of garages, consultant mechanic to garages all over Ireland ... or a zillion other options, based on the business and technical skills you lear). If you delay starting until you have LC, there will be a lot more competition from folks your own age ... and you have an opportunity right now.

Be aware that as an apprentice you will need to study. And if you do want to take the career a lot further, you'll need to do even more.

You can always go back and do LC, college and even a post-grad qual later, if you find you need it.

Stheno

JustMary wrote: »

Take the apprenticeship. A job offer in the hand is worth two leaving certs in the bush (so to speak).

Mechanics will always be needed, and if you start you career early enough you have enough time in life to take things wherever you want to (eg chief mechanic, garage owner, franchise owner of a chain of garages, consultant mechanic to garages all over Ireland ... or a zillion other options, based on the business and technical skills you lear). If you delay starting until you have LC, there will be a lot more competition from folks your own age ... and you have an opportunity right now.

Be aware that as an apprentice you will need to study. And if you do want to take the career a lot further, you'll need to do even more.

You can always go back and do LC, college and even a post-grad qual later, if you find you need it.

+1 you can even do the leaving cert part time in the evening through adult education.

Completely disagree with previous posters.

Just because you have a job offer, it doesn't mean you have job security. How many mates do you know who started apprentices and got sick of it and dropped it/wanted to do something else but are now in their mid to late 20's and doing what they should have done at 18/19 now?

Of course there is always time to go back and do it and if this is what you want to do then take it but please think it through.

tenchi-fan

Most people who dropped out of apprenticeships did so because labouring jobs were paying €600 a week often cash in hand while their apprenticeship was paying peanuts. This temptation isn't there any more.

The op is 16, will be qualified by 20, will be earning during that time, and will have 3-4 years of relevant, skilled work experience... which is 3-4 years more than most college graduates who can't even manage to secure a job in Tesco or McDonalds either while a student or after graduating.

avalon68

I think you should finish the leaving cert - I know you can always go back and do it later , but most people never do. What if you dont enjoy the apprenticeship? In my opinion 16 is far too young to cut off so many options for your future. Think ahead 10 years - it may be difficult for graduates to find jobs right now, but they still have a lot of options available to them that simply arent available without a good education behind you.

Mucco

The choice is yours, but you should fully inform yourself. Here's a graph of average lifetime earnings - sorry it's from the US, Ireland will have the same trend.

6679

If it was me I would finish school, as I would think you will miss out on a lot (not just education wise but socially as well) by leaving school now and taking up this apprenticeship. Who knows by the time you have your LC you might have changed your mind and want to try a different profession. But if you do choose to do you LC just make sure you put a lot of effort in as you would have been better off doing the apprenticeship then having a really poor LC.

Just my two cents

Mrs OBumble

Mucco wrote: »

The choice is yours, but you should fully inform yourself. Here's a graph of average lifetime earnings - sorry it's from the US, Ireland will have the same trend.

The problem with that graph is that it combines people who drop out of school to work in their local fish-and-chip joint and those who do a formal apprenticeship and get qualified at the end of it.

There's a world of difference between them.

And the extra earning years when you are young can make a big difference provided you're training for something skilled. People who I went to school with who took the apprenticeship route had purchased houses by 25, and had them paid off by 40. Some have gone back and done degrees - funded by what they earned.

Folks who are doing apprenticeships are continuing their education. Ok, so they may not be doing Irish and history and whatever. But they'll be learning a lots of maths and physics and mechanics ... and business studies too.

I wouldn't advise if for every 16 yo. And I wouldn't advise it if there wasn't an apprenticeship involved. But when there is, and for a 16 yo who's mature enough to ask the question here in the way the OP has .. then IMHO go for it.

experiMental

David086 wrote: »

I've been offered a mechanic's apprenticeship (sorry can't go into much detail) but I'm only 16 and I'd like some opinions on whether to take the apprenticeship or continue with the leaving cert. When I finish the course I get a qualification.

Thanks,
David.

What kind of mechanic? If that's vehicle mechanic, by all means take it. Nowadays, there's more to being a vehicle mechanic than screwing on a few nuts and bolts. Today's cars are complex, so you may gain concepts such as physics, chemistry and electronics during your apprenticeship. It's a much better way of learning these things than sitting at school. You'll see these concepts in action. If you want to do the leaving cert course after your apprenticeship, you'll find learning science and maths subjects quite easy.

I'm quite sure that there is a way of doing a part-time leaving cert course while you're doing your apprenticeship.

Cars, buses and trains will always break down no matter what, there's no way to resist natural wear and tear of parts. Speaking of prospects, if you get your apprenticeship, you can go for a job in the ESB, and bus companies to fix buses. Also, there's a heap of scrap lying around in scrapyards. What if there will be a real crisis and there will be a need to salvage parts from it and make use of them to construct something? If someone like a mechanic, who knows how these parts work, will be able to do this job, then there will be a real solution to any emergency or crisis situation.

The industry works because things there are done fast, and to do things fast, you have to fix troubles pretty quickly. Electricians and mechanics can do this job very well, and that's how they keep the industry going.

In conclusion, do your research on what part-time leaving cert courses you can do while learning your apprenticeship. Speak to your careers guidance councillor about what kinds of options you will have at the end of your apprenticeship, and find out whether you can apply to some further study courses with your qualification. If you have positive replies to these things, then you can apply for your apprenticeship. If I were you, I would seriously consider applying.

tenchi-fan

Mucco wrote: »

The choice is yours, but you should fully inform yourself. Here's a graph of average lifetime earnings - sorry it's from the US, Ireland will have the same trend.

That's graph is so far removed from present day reality in Ireland it's not even funny!

There are people in their 30s working for €18k, and college graduates working for the dole on WPPs. The op has a chance to get a serious career and make some serious money and you're advising him to go through the same leaving cert - degree - dole/emigration route like most other people in this country?

avalon68

tenchi-fan wrote: »

That's graph is so far removed from present day reality in Ireland it's not even funny!

There are people in their 30s working for €18k, and college graduates working for the dole on WPPs. The op has a chance to get a serious career and make some serious money and you're advising him to go through the same leaving cert - degree - dole/emigration route like most other people in this country?

He's not advising that - He's urging the op to consider all the options.....not the "I can have a job and money right now option". The op has a "chance" at a serious career - what if it doesnt work out, what if he doesnt like it or has little aptitude for it.....than he has nothing to fall back on. Why not finish the leaving cert and then do an apprenticeship - this will give him more options in the future. Yes a lot of people have had to emigrate - myself included - but at least I had that option - without my education I wouldn't have been eligible for a visa to the US. Im looking at my time here as a positive learning experience.....not the end of the world Noone can predict what will happen in the future - but the one constant that most people would agree with is; the better your education, the better you will fare long term.

Come off it FFS - a qualified mechanic does not mean "serious career with serious money"

Get a grip people and stop being silly

David086

experiMental wrote: »

What kind of mechanic?

Aircraft Mechanic.