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4 Reasons Why It Is Better to Be an Apprentice Rather Than Going to College

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A long time ago, apprenticeships were necessary for construction and similar jobs that required learning through practice. With the increased popularity of college degrees, this type of learning fell in the shade. Nowadays, a degree seems to be more important than practice. Apprenticeship is seen as the “second best” alternative to an undergraduate degree, and it’s usually linked to vocational qualifications.

Here comes the surprise: some of the most successful entrepreneurs were once apprentices. Laurence Graff (a famous English jeweler and owner of a multibillion business), popular chef Jamie Oliver, Sir Ian McKellen, Stella McCartney… the list can go on. Although apprenticeship is seen as a not-so-good alternative to a university degree, it still holds tons of benefits.

Here are 4 reasons why it is a good thing to be an apprentice:

1. You Gain Real Experience Earlier than People Who Go to University

When you decide to be an apprentice in the industry of your choice, you start gaining practical experience way earlier than your friends who carry on with their education. You will become independent and you’ll get an opportunity for making career progress. Four years from now, the best students will be graduating. Most of them will take longer. By that point, you’ll already be further on your career path.

If you’re productive enough, you’ll have enough time to combine your apprenticeship with actual studies. You can sign up for part-time studies or an online degree and do the studying in your free time. Unlike most of the people who go to college or university, you’ll be paying for your own studies. That’s a huge accomplishment for a young person.

“The only source of knowledge is experience.” – Albert Einstein

2. You’ll Be Learning and Making Money at the Same Time

We already mentioned the money, right? That’s the greatest advantage of being an apprentice. You’ll be getting fair payments for your work. You’ll be doing hard work, but you’ll also be learning. Apprentices are not gaining tons of money however, you’ll be making enough for a living and you’ll be moving towards an actual job.

You’ll constantly learn new skills and put them immediately into practice. At university, the students are learning a lot. They are developing some skills along the way, too. However, they don’t get to implement those skills, and can’t make any money for studying. As an apprentice, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing.

3. Apprenticeship Is Great When You’re Not Sure What You Want

Many people are completely confused when they graduate from high school. They have no idea what direction they should take. Most of them pick one of these two options:

  • They go to college anyway. They assume they could pick a major after taking several courses and deciding which one they like best. This method works for some, but others are so indecisive that they pick a random major just because they have to. You’ll agree, this is an insanely expensive method of deciding what you want.
  • They take the year off, hoping they could figure things out. Then, they are still not sure what they want. They go to college anyway and do the same thing as the students from the previous example.

An apprenticeship gives you an opportunity to experiment with different fields and decide what works for you. If you don’t like it, you’ll just quit with no financial risk involved.

“For young persons just starting out in the world of work, apprenticeship has important advantages. It offers an efficient way to learn skills, for the training is planned and organized and is not hit-or-miss.”

4. You’ll Learn How to Bear Responsibility

The apprenticeship is not a real job, but it still comes with real responsibilities. You’ll give your best to get good results. If, for example, you’re going for a position in the restaurant business, you’ll be responsible for the outcome of your work. If you’re not good enough, they will get rid of you. If you’re great, you’ll make progress sooner than expected.

Taking responsibility for your work will be scary. You’re young and wild, after all. Sometimes things won’t go as planned. However, taking responsibility is a huge part of growing up, and you’ll be learning from mistakes before university students even get to make them.

Remember, you’re free to make your own choices. Just because society expects everyone to go to college doesn’t mean you should go with the flow. Now is the right moment for taking responsibility for your decisions. If you want to become an apprentice, you should stand behind the choice you make. Now that you’re aware of all benefits you’ll gain, maybe you’re closer to the decision.

What is your experience with being an apprentice? Leave your experiences below!

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com

Olivia’s biggest passion is writing. That is why she is a journalist by profession and explorer by her convictions. She does different types of writing for Aussiewritings.com as well as different independent journalists researches. You can find her on Twitter.

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Success Advice

How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements

Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.

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altering business approach
Image Credit: Midjourney

Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.

There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.

Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.

Embed the strength of AI and ML.

AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.  

Bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.

ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses. 

In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.

Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities

Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased. 

Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information. 

Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place. 

In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.

Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development

You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.

You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.

Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.

Developing key skills to achieve goals

Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.

Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.

Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.

Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.

Development/Coding Knowledge

Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.

Hacking proof framework

There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.

Communication Abilities/Soft Skills

Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:

Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.

Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.

Agile Implementations

It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.

  • Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds. 
  • Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
  • Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
  • Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them. 
  • Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.

  • Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
  • Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
  • Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.

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Success Advice

Understanding the Power of Yes and No: How to Create Boundaries For Success

These words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds

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Creating legal boundaries
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The two smallest yet most powerful words in life, “Yes” and “No,” have a big impact on our growth on both personal and professional levels. In addition to affecting the choices we make every day, these words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds. (more…)

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Motivation

From Couch Potato to Go-Getter: A Step-by-Step Motivation Plan for Everyone

By understanding what motivates you, you can turn your dreams into reality

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How to be motivated
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Are you tired of feeling like a couch potato? Do you want to transform your life and become a go-getter? You’re not alone! Many people struggle with motivation, but the good news is that change is possible. (more…)

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Success Advice

10 Micro Financial Habits for More Wealth and Peace of Mind

The World Economic Forum still reports that half of U.S. adults lack financial literacy

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micro financial habits
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You’ve heard about developing financial habits, but what about micro-financial habits? Micro habits are the tiny things you can do every day with minimal effort that, together, transform your future. (more…)

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