I'm just finishing my 1st year at A levels and I'm not feeling too confident that I've achieved the grade and if I even want to go on to do my chosen career path anymore. The more I think about it the more I want to work for the VAG group. I'm really passionate about cars and love working on them. I know people say doing it everyday is going to get boring and the pay isn't great but what are people's thoughts on the apprenticeship VW offer? Is anyone on it or done it before?

It will make you hate VWs because the new ones are annoying to work on :( People who tell you it'll get boring working on them everyday aren't lying They were probably in your position before they started too!

Think hard

As Arrun says, think hard.

My advice as a teacher would be to stay on and so your a-levels, especially as you have started. Even if you don't pass the course this year, you should be able to retake. I have taught several pupils who suddenly find they need to work when retaking year 12 and their grades are substantially better than first time around, and they have continued this form into year 13. However, not knowing your ability or subjects you are taking makes advice a litte more difficult.

I'd recommend doing some research into the career you want to get into and see what qualifications are needed for that and tailor your course choices to suit the requirements. If you're undecided on that path, then I'd advise taking a broad range of subjects including at least 1 core and even 2 core subjects (english, science, maths). This way you will have a broad skill set. However, when it comes to university (if you plan to go that far) be certain of the course you want to do before hand. Take it from someone who went to univeristy 3 times (and still ended up as a teacher). Even if you take a year out to gain some experience in the field you hope to study, it's better than going for any course and being stuck with minimal choice when you finish.

Although, believe it or not, I'm against the push to educate our whole population through A levels, university and college, it is the world we currently live in. If you have the ability and are not desperate for money in the short term (e.g. not fendining for yourself) I'd say stay in education. It will benefit you in the long term. If you actually hate school and think you will waste 2 more years then of course, explore other avenues. But be aware of the long term impacts that decision may have in the future. Now is a good time to be in education (due to job shortages) and being qualified is a benefit in todays competitive job market.

In short, do your research. I know you're young and these choices all seem arbitary, but they will impact on your future in a big way. Decide what you want to do (you can always change at a later date) but have a focus and train for that. If you do choose the apprenticeship, explore the career prospects, moveement within the company (parts, marketing, sales etc.) prospects. Lots of place enable you to move horizontally (between departments) as well as verticaly (through a department).

As for hating what you do as a hobby, the majority of people I know in the motor trade in any guise have no interest outside of work. In fact that goes for a lot of trades.

Edited 31 May, 201313 yr by prankstar2003

You'll have to think about the 3 years you will be at the apprenticeship too dude, it's awful. They can legally pay you way way way below minimum wage, so while your friends are all at uni getting money hurled at them from every direction, drinking every night, doing drugs and partying hard with easy women, you will be sat at home counting your pennies to see if you have enough cash left to pay for fuel for the work run.

I did an apprenticeship with NIE and it was the most depressing, poverty stricken time of my life. Would never consider another apprenticeship in the UK, you get treated like dirt. I've no hard knowledge on the matter but anyone I've spoken to about mech work say its a dying trade and the pay is pathetic.

Think outside the box, move away somewhere and take on a trade. I'm moving to Canada in October to hopefully start an apprenticeship in Fabrication / Welding. I'm already qualified but ill get all my codings and books this way and ill still be on $20-$25 an hour as a first year apprentice. There are more options out there for you dude. Worst idea i ever had was doing my A-levels, they're useless. The biggest earners in my year group are either trades men or lucky kids inheriting a family business etc, 90% of the people in my year that completed uni are either working in a supermarket or going back to uni as they cant get jobs.

When I started my apprenticeship a year ago I was on 3.80 an hour...

Edited 31 May, 201313 yr by Jake Ellis

When i started i took home, including paying pension, £192 a week.. you get paid to do qualifications, and get actual real life experience, not shit from a book which a vast amount of grads cant apply in real life for shit, and i can have a degree paid for too, whilst being paid £600 odd a week too...schools seem to push for 6 form and uni but i disagree.

Got a few pals at VW/Audi and 99% of the cars they get in are just plugged into diagnostics, fault code tells them exactly what's wrong, they go print out instructions on what/how to fix and that's it.

You might learn a bit more in an apprenticeship but will soon forget when you spend all day every plugging things in to diagnostics.

You then speak to an old school mechanic who can fine tune the ignition timing by ear and has made his own tools for certain jobs and they're embarrassed by modern day spanner turners.

If you really have your heart set on an apprenticeship, go for something more specific like engine tuning or suspension set up etc, there are companies out there that take people on as trainees.

Personally I just started at the bottom and worked up. I'm working in engineering now which I am taking out to Australia in a few months (where they pay shit loads!) but started out sweeping floors and cleaning out lathes. Took around 6 months to get into proper machining and the pay has gone up to suit.

Gaz was it hard to get a visa for Aussie? I'm a machinist too and heard stuff about out there

When i started i took home, including paying pension, £192 a week.. you get paid to do qualifications, and get actual real life experience, not shit from a book which a vast amount of grads cant apply in real life for shit, and i can have a degree paid for too, whilst being paid £600 odd a week too...schools seem to push for 6 form and uni but i disagree.

Apprenticeships in general are brilliant for the reason you say, but not at a dealer like VW or the like. Only brands as prestigious as Bentley or similar are actually a pleasure to work for in a dealership as a mechanic.

I know a hell of a lot of mechanics who have worked in various jobs in the trade and the generic everyday dealerships are reported as the worst. Backstreet or individual garages are more enjoyable because the work is varied. The future prospects may not look as good but the longer you stick at it the more responsibility you gain, and when that happens the likelihood of you being allowed access to equipment whenever you want becomes more apparant. And that means foreigner work which will double your wage or even more depending on what you take on. Dealerships give you no opportunity to do foreigners.

I was actually in your position when I was 16. Obsessed with VWs and wanted to work on them for a living because I thought it would make me happy. But now almost 10 years on I am so glad that I didn't. I wouldn't still have the same attitude towards working on my cars if I was working on them day in, day out doing the same jobs, not really developing my own direction. You might not be the same as me but the story repeats itself with many different people.

Dealerships are a shocking environment tbh

I can't comment on the vw apprenticeship or any automotive related apprenticeship but there's nothing wrong at all with apprenticeships, you get your education paid for you, you get a salary and you get experience. Far better in my opinion than going to university, graduating, paying back all the student loans, and then there's no guarantee you'll get a job.

I would stray from automotive apprenticeships personally, they're underpaid and from what I've heard not particularly pleasant.

I'm an apprentice engineer with BAE systems and it's excellent, I would much rather be where I am than at uni any day of the week.

In these sorts of industries the quality of the apprenticeship seems far better - I earn more than minimum wage.

I got an annual payrise as an apprentice, in my last year was taking home around £350 a week which isn't bad really. That's without overtime or working shifts

I got an annual payrise as an apprentice, in my last year was taking home around £350 a week which isn't bad really. That's without overtime or working shifts

Can't ask for better than that mate

Not forgetting the costs of putting you through the qualifications

Edited 31 May, 201313 yr by derskine

Gaz was it hard to get a visa for Aussie? I'm a machinist too and heard stuff about out there

Really easy mate, just costs a few hundred quid. I sorted all mine through STA Travel and you fill out on online from and it's done. So long as you have no criminal convictions you should be fine.

They're begging for engineers out there so now is the time to go.

Exactly - people have this instant thought of "must get a degree" then spend time after struggling to find jobs, and paying off loans.

Iv gained loads of qualifications already, not in the right mind set to do a degree atm but I could do sponsored, or even move onto a job internally which "should" need a degree and do it as and when.

I have no debt. I own everything, nothing on finance etc.

All of my quals paid for, decent job, totally happy there now. Admittedly probably above average money for the kind of job role, but it's good.

And the apprenticeship was a good crack too, whereas I may have the ability to do a degree, but I don't even think I'd have bothered with getting through A levels else.

I did my apprenticeship with Renault 6 years ago and after tax etc came out with £500 a month... It was a shit time as literally after fuel you can't do much and it gets pretty frustrating.

The 3 years goes by pretty slow and alot of it is shit to be honest. I wouldn't say you could get bored working on a car everyday and if you do then the job isn't for you!

I enjoy it everyday, you get challenges and learn new things every now and again (even though I qualified 3 years ago) if your just thinking about it and haven't got a passion for it you probably really won't enjoy it and like above said get bored of doing it everyday.

Fully qualified pay is shit only start getting good when you become a MT/CT and the likes.

The other good bonus is that you can work on and fix your own car!!

Edited 31 May, 201313 yr by matt01

When i started i took home, including paying pension, £192 a week.. you get paid to do qualifications, and get actual real life experience, not shit from a book which a vast amount of grads cant apply in real life for shit, and i can have a degree paid for too, whilst being paid £600 odd a week too...schools seem to push for 6 form and uni but i disagree.

x2, I'm completely with you mate.

They can legally pay you way way way below minimum wage

Wrong. If you are 19 or older & have been an apprentice for the same company for over 1 year, they legally have to pay you at least minimum wage.

I've been pissing about with cars and bikes since I can remember, iv worked In a few backstreets and then I started an apprenticeship with a Volkswagen dealers when I was 19.

I enjoyed my apprenticeship, I learned quite a bit and iv met some good people along the way, how ever you do have hard times with Money and all your mates doing shit and your too broke to buy 10 cigs. And you have to make money other ways judt to live really.

How ever the dealership I was at was a shit hole, run by a complete fucking idiot, I didn't get a great deal of opportunities to learn in the dealer on the first 2 years as I was doing sales work, or cleaning, or shovelling snow or services . It was only after then I started getting more challenging jobs. But I wasn't happy just cause of the way I was treated, not getting paid for my overtime, being screwed over in wages and not getting a pay rise, being told when you can have time off ect.

As soon as I got my papers, I fucked off to Audi and I haven't looked back its a much better place to work, more money, actually getting paid a good bonus and time an half over time. And just generally treated better.

Working on cars does get a bit much some times tho, I have found my self moving further away from modding ect as of late.

Can't really comment on the uni thing as I was a bit thick at school and was told I would be lucky to be a bin man never mind go uni lol.

My advice would be finish your degree, then you have that to fall back on, and then look in to doing something else if it takes your fancy.

Dealerships by their very nature will be different to work for as they are owned by different companies.

Uni is not the be all and end all. It's expensive and guarantees you nothing. Getting a trade is where it's at! I've got a HND and an honours degree; I just went in to the oil and gas industry as a service tech rather than a graduate aged 27. Will work my way up from there and get proper experience.

Edited 2 June, 201313 yr by Tav

Yeah, its true as dealers are a kinda franchaise too.

I know people who were happy at a certain dealership, it changed ownership, and they've since left..so I guess it could be hit and miss in that respect.

Thanks for the input everyone, I think I'm probably going to quit my A-Levels as I can't think of anything else I'd rather do, I'm currently studying Chemistry, Biology, Business and Psychology because I wanted to go into Dentistry but with the grade boundaries creeping up its out of my head now. That and the fact I'll be in more or less 80k debt by the end of the 5 years. I know that the pay at VW is way below that of a dentists but it is higher than my parents and I don't ever want for anything and we don't struggle so I'd be happy as long I am enjoying what I'm doing. I'll start applying tonight, at the whole VAG group. Is a driving license essential? I'm learning at the moment.

License is not essential but it does help.

And just to let you know the wage is not fantastic untill you reach a couple of years out of your time, and then it's only big money when you reach master tech level. The going rate for S/T seems to be between 16-18k more if you have experience.

When I get on a comp ill post the pics from the graduation day they send you on when your apprenticeship has finished.

Hi that would be great! I'm in Manchester too and we've been going to Smith Knight Fay Oldham for the past 14 years so we're known quite well there and that's where I want to apply really but I know I will be lucky if I get placed there.

I done everything online and got offerd one quite far away but still jumped at the chance.

Keep us posted on how you get on and of you need any advice ect drop us a pm.