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Higher education

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Original poster

Should DS do a Big 4 Apprenticeship or go to Cambridge?

216 replies

StressedaboutUni · 17/03/2023 17:31

DS has managed to get a Big4 Apprenticeship in Accountancy and he has also managed to get an offer to read economics at Cambridge. Assuming he gets the grades, he is not sure which one to pick. Going to the apprenticeship would give him the opportunity to save 60k over three years vs 45k debt. He would also be able to become fully qualified accountant in 4 years. He would not get a degree though.
Cambridge would open doors for him in other industries that he may consider in the future such as Investment Banking or Management Consultancy.
He is really confused on what to do.

OP posts:
ParentsTrapped · 17/03/2023 18:32

Really it’s a no brainer. He should do the degree. An economics degree at Cambridge (and I’m sure elsewhere) is a really broad thing encompassing maths to humanities. He will be taught by world experts. There is no limit to what he could do afterwards and it won’t stop him pursuing the ACA qualification if that is what he wants.

Im a lawyer and my firm offers legal apprenticeships which are similar. They are a great way for, as someone said above, averagely bright students to swerve the massive student debt in circs where they were planning to study law anyway and know they want to be lawyers. But I did English at Cambridge and those 3 years were the best years of my life - the most incredible educational and life experience. And far from holding me back in my career my degree has consistently opened doors to me.

I know the money thing can be daunting and I grew up in poverty, but that’s a calculation that should be made when your options are a poorly ranked uni vs a career, not when the choice is Cambridge.

Moonlaserbearwolf · 17/03/2023 18:34

Cambridge!!!
I have an Oxbridge degree and then ACA.

Having the degree will give more flexibility if he decides accountancy is no longer for him. So even from a salary perspective I would go for Cambridge first. From a fun and excitement perpective, definitely Cambridge first.

Paella2022 · 17/03/2023 18:34

Please please encourage Cambridge. It will open any door he wants to go through in the future. Make lifelong friends, become and accountant later.

lljkk · 17/03/2023 18:36

Think I'd advise my DS to go for one he thought would be funner. Some would prefer no debt & getting stuck in, others want the Uni atmosphere ... although I'm not sure I could stomach the snobbery of Cambridge, but some of my DC would love it.

Original poster
StressedaboutUni · 17/03/2023 18:38

@NetballMumGrrr You do raise a good point about Cambridge being a great experience too in itself.

Thanks everyone. I will show DS this thread and I think it will help clarify in his mind that if he does get the grades he should go to Cambridge.

OP posts:
ParentsTrapped · 17/03/2023 18:39

Cambridge isn’t “snobby” btw…not sure what that even means but as the child of a single mum who grew up on benefits and got there from my average state school I never felt for a second that I didn’t fit in or belong.

Motheranddaughter · 17/03/2023 18:40

Cambridge,no contest IMHO

PettsWoodParadise · 17/03/2023 18:40

A thought. A similar thing happened to a friend’s DD, but for engineering. Could your DS explain he was taking up the Cambridge offer but didn’t want to cut all ties and was there an internship available for the summer? If at Cambridge he will probably have more lucrative and interesting options in summer of Y2 etc but may be an option to bridge the dilemma, pay down some debt and show initiative. He will probdy realise on the internship what a right decision he made or continue the relationship if he seems to gel with it. May not happen or be possible of course, but a thought!

Original poster
StressedaboutUni · 17/03/2023 18:42

@PettsWoodParadise He did ask the firm but they said no. He would have to reapply. They seemed quite inflexible tbh- as in it is a 4 year apprenticeship within a specific decision with little room to move before the qualification is completed. The only good thing is that it is big 4 and the salary is very good for a school leaver

OP posts:
TerryIsAllGold · 17/03/2023 18:44

I’d probably agree with Cambridge as the one to go for (another Camb grad/Big4 FCA)….
….but what if the choice is his insurance offer vs Big4? Would he make a different choice? Does that impact what he would choose?

When does he have to commit to one route (by declining the other). What are the impacts of declining - does it close that door fully forever?

PettsWoodParadise · 17/03/2023 18:45

He sounds like a very bright kid and on the ball if he has already explored that @StressedaboutUni - you must be so proud. good luck to him! If he does end up at Cambridge do update us! Never know if DD might bump into him too if she gets the grades. Small world.

Kisskiss · 17/03/2023 18:45

Cambridge!!!!! He will have much more flexibility after and if he gets into ib, the 45k debt will be paid off super quick

Original poster
StressedaboutUni · 17/03/2023 18:46

@PettsWoodParadise Thanks! Good luck to your DD too.

OP posts:
averythinline · 17/03/2023 18:46

Cambridge...... hes doing the degree for himself....the scope and opportunities after will be much wider.... if he wants that path after it'll still be there...

very few kids get to go to a globally recognised university......take it!

Derbee · 17/03/2023 18:46

Cambridge definitely. Much wider opportunities long term. Short term, it seems more lucrative to start doing an apprenticeship and earning.

But in a few years time, he’ll be much better off with an economics degree. I know the debt is intimidating to kids, but it’s more like a graduate tax. Not much to pay back every month, and when he’s got such high earning potential, I’d argue it’s nothing to worry about.

Uni is a great experience. He has decades ahead of him to chase money. This young, fun, study at uni experience is finite.

Good on him for having to make a choice between two such great choices! You must be very proud

Original poster
StressedaboutUni · 17/03/2023 18:47

@TerryIsAllGold His insurance is UCL at the moment or maybe LSE if he gets in. He is not sure what to do in that scenario to be honest but he will need to have a think.

OP posts:
dew141 · 17/03/2023 18:48

I'm an ACA who qualified at a big four firm and went into investment banking.

I'd say Cambridge every time as I think you'd have a better career path as a grad. Doesn't have to be Oxbridge, my colleagues came from a wide range of unis.

Appreciate the debt point but university is also about more than just the degree.

ClassicLib · 17/03/2023 18:49

He has his whole life ahead of him to think about careers. I think he should give being young & having no responsibilities a go while he has chance. Go to Cambridge. Do the work, but also meet new people from different countries & backgrounds, broaden his interests & horizons, get drunk, party, get laid, travel, play sport, enjoy the experience and make the most of everything it offers.

I have never met anyone who went to Oxbridge who regrets it.

2bazookas · 17/03/2023 18:49

My son at that age was uncertain what career he wanted. My advice was not to specialise; to keep as many options open as long as possible.

In 3 years time, if your son still wants to be an accountant, he can train and do it.
But by then he will have more life experience, a more mature outlook; maybe very different ambitions.... and his degree in Economics will offer far wider opportunities.

choirmumoftwo · 17/03/2023 18:50

In effect he could do both. DD graduates this year with a degree in maths/economics plus some other bits (not Oxbridge though) and starts a grad scheme with PwC in the autumn leading to ACA qualification in three years. Yes she has student debt but university has been hugely beneficial to her and she's mature enough now to fully engage with a job and professional training. I'd encourage university for your DS.

Lindtnotlint · 17/03/2023 18:51

Cambridge. Will be a life experience. Will generate more flexible options for the long term. Will give him time to learn more about himself.

Cabbageontheside · 17/03/2023 18:55

Congratulations to him! For those saying they would recommend the apprenticeship route to the 'averagely bright', what does that mean in this context?

Zer · 17/03/2023 18:56

Cambridge. But I'm biased as I went there and it was one of the best times of my life. Sigh.

Cal2022 · 17/03/2023 18:56

Cambridge. So obviously Cambridge. It will open a huge number of doors to him and new opportunities. It should be intellectually challenging and inspiring. It’s an amazing opportunity. He may well find that after three years he wants to take a different path than accountancy. All that will be open to him. Far less likely the other way round. As for the debt, appreciate it’s daunting but if he wants to go into one of the professions, with a Cambridge degree he will be in a position to pay that back in a very short amount of time. He would be (in my view) bonkers to turn that down.

TongueTwistr · 17/03/2023 18:58

The degree will open doors across the world for a lifetime.
Unless you're the child of an accountant, I would question an 18 year-old setting their heart on a career in Accountancy. I'm a very well paid accountant and wouldn't recommend it to a child of mine. If you you compare the incomes of the best paid banker, the best paid lawyer and the best paid accountant, the Cambridge degree will show a far better return IMHO.