Choosing an industry and a specific job role to go into is quite hard, especially if you have just left school. Without exposure to a job you may not know what the day to day tasks entail and what the progression looks like, this could make choosing the correct apprenticeship hard.
You may be feeling like you have no idea which industry to start looking into as the subjects you have studied or the experience you have can be applied to multiple jobs. By taking career quizzes you will be shown roles that match your interests, working style and lifestyle. Whilst these tests aren’t 100% accurate it could show you an industry that suits you and from there you could find a role within it that you would enjoy.
Before applying for an apprenticeship, make sure you research the industry and role that you are interested in. There are many sources online that will give you an insight into a role, this could be via Prospects and Not Going to Uni blog entries that describe someone's day in the life, books and YouTube videos. Sources like this give a good overview of the responsibilities in the role and the skills you would need, they also explain what qualifications and work experience you would need as well as career prospects and salary. I found prospects a good starting resource as you can see if the role would suit you and if you would enjoy carrying out certain roles or studying for a specific amount of time. Any resource that gives a detailed and personal insight into a role and industry is very useful, this includes autobiographies and YouTube videos. Having a realistic view of how an industry works will allow you to work out if you would enjoy the positives and negatives of the job.
Once you have a job role in mind, try to get some work experience that relates to it. Work experience will allow you to gain credibility in that area so when you come to apply to your apprenticeship, the employer knows you are passionate about the role, additionally it will help you understand if you like the work setting, the type of work you are carrying out and the career progression. Your work setting is very important, some job roles can be conducted in different environments (in an office, on-site, with clients). If you find that a specific setting doesn’t work for you, see if you could move to a different environment or try and find additional work experience in another environment to see if you would like it. The type of work you will carry out will give you an idea of what you will be doing in your apprenticeship. As you spend 80% of your time at work in your apprenticeship you have to enjoy what you are carrying out. By being surrounded with people at different stages in their career you will be able to see what their responsibilities are and if you could see yourself doing it in the future. This opportunity will also allow you to talk to people at different stages in their career and gain a more personal insight onto their role.
