Jake Burton: civil engineer
Depending on how much you’ve researched your future, you may or may not have heard of degree apprenticeships. Many people are tricked by the stereotype that doing A-Levels locks you in on the path to university, but this is simply not the case; there are many alternative paths you can take to specialise and perhaps the hardest but most rewarding of those paths is the degree apprenticeship. We recently interviewed former Heathfield student Jake Burton to find out more about his civil engineering degree apprenticeship.
So, what are degree apprenticeships? The name is self-explanatory: they are a mixture of study at degree level and on-the-job training in a specific field of work (aka. an apprenticeship). For Jake, this means living in London, spending four days per week working for Transport for London (TfL) and one day studying at London South Bank University (LSBU). He enjoys this balance as it means he can take knowledge from university and directly apply it at work the very next day. It’s the variety of practical aspects of degree apprenticeships that appeal most to Jake - in particular the chance ‘to explore lots of different projects … work in lots of places around London’ and go on lots of site visits which include ‘construction sites’ and ‘abandoned underground stations’.
Many people don’t realise the range of engineering until they begin to research it. A broad term referring to the application of science to construction, engineering encompasses over 50 different disciplines. Civil engineering is one of the four main ‘categories’ of engineering, and it revolves around the design and construction of public infrastructure. Jake has found himself in the middle of this exciting and diverse field of work in London. One recent project he was involved in was the installation of mobile data connection along the Underground’s Central Line[1].
Degree apprenticeships are one of the most competitive post-college routes. High grades are essential, and spaces are by no means guaranteed. Fortunately, all Jake’s hard work in school paid off and, after going through the multi-step recruitment process, which involved submitting his CV and going through multiple interviews, he was selected for the scheme. Jake took Maths, Further Maths and Physics at A-Level which are recommended choices to support an engineering career. However Jake also stresses the importance and utility of having good GCSE grades, saying that ‘Even if you don’t know exactly what you want to do when you are older, work as hard as you can at school. You only get one shot at GCSEs, but they can really help to set you up, no matter what you want to do.’
Another valuable asset to have is work experience; not only does it stand out on a CV, but it also gives you an insight into the career you want to pursue so you can confirm it’s definitely for you. Jake did a week of work experience before his degree apprenticeship and found it made him certain that he wanted to become a civil engineer. His final piece of advice is to ‘...remember the Quadratic Equation, it will actually be useful in the future!’
Although he only joined Heathfield halfway through Year 10, Jake still has many fond memories of his time there. In particular, he enjoyed Mr Gully’s fun and engaging science lessons and is particularly grateful to Ms Woodland for giving up her lunchtimes to help him catch up in History saying that he ‘will always be grateful and will never forget her support’ as he eventually managed to achieve an A. Jake enjoyed Physics and Maths and this passion was helped by knowing that they formed the basis of civil engineering. He recommends thinking beyond school since ‘having an end goal helps give you direction and motivation.’ His biggest regret is not doing his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award which he thought he wouldn’t have time for because of his exams but in hindsight believes he could have managed. He took away from this that ‘you don’t really know what you’re capable of until you try’ and getting into a degree apprenticeship is testament to that and is his greatest achievement so far.
[1] Find out more about one of the projects Jake has been involved with here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-64050687
Alfie Lovett, Y12
So, what are degree apprenticeships? The name is self-explanatory: they are a mixture of study at degree level and on-the-job training in a specific field of work (aka. an apprenticeship). For Jake, this means living in London, spending four days per week working for Transport for London (TfL) and one day studying at London South Bank University (LSBU). He enjoys this balance as it means he can take knowledge from university and directly apply it at work the very next day. It’s the variety of practical aspects of degree apprenticeships that appeal most to Jake - in particular the chance ‘to explore lots of different projects … work in lots of places around London’ and go on lots of site visits which include ‘construction sites’ and ‘abandoned underground stations’.
Many people don’t realise the range of engineering until they begin to research it. A broad term referring to the application of science to construction, engineering encompasses over 50 different disciplines. Civil engineering is one of the four main ‘categories’ of engineering, and it revolves around the design and construction of public infrastructure. Jake has found himself in the middle of this exciting and diverse field of work in London. One recent project he was involved in was the installation of mobile data connection along the Underground’s Central Line[1].
Degree apprenticeships are one of the most competitive post-college routes. High grades are essential, and spaces are by no means guaranteed. Fortunately, all Jake’s hard work in school paid off and, after going through the multi-step recruitment process, which involved submitting his CV and going through multiple interviews, he was selected for the scheme. Jake took Maths, Further Maths and Physics at A-Level which are recommended choices to support an engineering career. However Jake also stresses the importance and utility of having good GCSE grades, saying that ‘Even if you don’t know exactly what you want to do when you are older, work as hard as you can at school. You only get one shot at GCSEs, but they can really help to set you up, no matter what you want to do.’
Another valuable asset to have is work experience; not only does it stand out on a CV, but it also gives you an insight into the career you want to pursue so you can confirm it’s definitely for you. Jake did a week of work experience before his degree apprenticeship and found it made him certain that he wanted to become a civil engineer. His final piece of advice is to ‘...remember the Quadratic Equation, it will actually be useful in the future!’
Although he only joined Heathfield halfway through Year 10, Jake still has many fond memories of his time there. In particular, he enjoyed Mr Gully’s fun and engaging science lessons and is particularly grateful to Ms Woodland for giving up her lunchtimes to help him catch up in History saying that he ‘will always be grateful and will never forget her support’ as he eventually managed to achieve an A. Jake enjoyed Physics and Maths and this passion was helped by knowing that they formed the basis of civil engineering. He recommends thinking beyond school since ‘having an end goal helps give you direction and motivation.’ His biggest regret is not doing his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award which he thought he wouldn’t have time for because of his exams but in hindsight believes he could have managed. He took away from this that ‘you don’t really know what you’re capable of until you try’ and getting into a degree apprenticeship is testament to that and is his greatest achievement so far.
[1] Find out more about one of the projects Jake has been involved with here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-64050687
Alfie Lovett, Y12
