What would you do re job change?

[HarleyQuinn21]

Hello all,

This is hypothetical as I haven't even been offered the job but I overthink so just planning ahead.

At the moment I work part time (worked here for almost three years) and I'm on maternity leave at the moment and due to go back in August, I also study full time (year 2 of 3 year degree) and have a 13 week old baby.

A job I've always wanted to do has come up and I've applied for it, it's a bit more than my current wage (not a lot at all) but it's something I've always been interested in and is also an apprenticeship so you'll gain a qualification on the job but if I get this job, it means going back to work at the beginning of June, working full time and to stop studying.

Would you :

A) continue as you are, stay at this job and continue to study and hope the job comes up at a later date and apply again.

B) Keep the application going and accept the job if offered.

This is just an idea, I might not even get offered the job and A may be the only option but I'm wondering what other people would do? (Childcare and other things are catered for) just interested in people's opinions?

I guess it depends, without outing yourself is the qualification you'd get doing the apprenticeship a useful/necessary one in your chosen career or is the rationale for the apprenticeship more a 'foot in the door'/gain on the job experience kind of thing? Is your degree in the same field? If so I would have thought, all other things being equal that having the full degree would be better than the apprenticeship qualification (aware that some apprenticeships do give you a degree level qualification but doesn't sound like this is one of them), and it seems a pity to give up the degree entirely when you are most of the way there, presumably you've spent quite a bit of money on fees and put a lot of effort in to get this far (whilst working as well, which is impressive!)?

How rare are the apprenticeship/entry level job opportunities in this field? If you think you stand a good chance of getting a job in the field in a year's time, and you aren't in absolutely desperate need of the extra money, I personally would probably stay as you are and finish the degree then look to move into the field. Or is it a possibility to defer the degree for a year or so (or move it to part-time), so you can 'bank' what you've done so far, do the apprenticeship (how long is it for, one year?) and then complete the degree in your spare time or after you've finished the apprenticeship?