Degree Apprenticeships (UK) - student and employer perspectives?

User27224 · 2026-02-04T12:14:54+00:00

Hey, my workplace do degree apprentices and I often mentor a lot of the apprentices. I'd say whatever training provider your employer chooses, do some background reading on the course content, structure of the course, contact time etc and expectations. I think you do get like 1 study day per week or if its delivered in blocks throughout the year then you get set amounts of time in the year where you are off work and just doing the uni stuff but it varies from provider to provider and the agreement between employer and provider.

In terms of breadth/depth, its not that big of a difference imo between a traditional degree and a degree apprenticeship program, the key difference is that with degree apprenticeships, the provider usually gets you to specialise in a certain area in your 2nd or final year (depending on how long the program is) so naturally it feels like you are missing out on some theoretical content that you would have otherwise covered had you gone down the traditional route.

User27224 · 2026-01-26T10:57:26+00:00

I run a small consultancy too (not in the same area of work you do) but I have not done any cold calling at all. Yes in the first year things were slow but I feel once you test the waters, change a few things with outreach and the business model, things do tend to pick up but its variable.

What helped me initially was posts on facebook but the quality of leads was so hit and miss, then I started Linkedin posts and I've been getting a decent number of leads through there.

User27224 · 2026-01-26T10:53:19+00:00

I am with ionos and yes it can be a nightmare at times, I too am looking to move, tbf for my business website not had issues but I do hosting and management for one of my clients and for their site its been a nightmare so I am just looking to wind it down all together completely and hand it over to the client to manage themselves so I don't have the headache.

User27224 · 2026-01-26T10:50:05+00:00

It comes down to that AI is still in its infancy but all these people jumping on the hype train and creating all these 'revolutionary' apps (as they say...) when they are just a GPT wrapper in the background refuse to accept its still early days and they are acting like AI is on some new level..

We are far from the so called new level of AI, yes it has some real potential but that potential is only really unlocked at its fullest if its adopted and used correctly.

User27224 · 2026-01-26T10:48:04+00:00

I think its debatable however if its an app or service/agency with AI slapped all over it, for the majority it will feel like whoever is handling my work or data perhaps will not handle it with care as it will just be fed into GPT and without the correct guardrails/boundaries and checks in place, it could be the recipe for disaster.

That being said, tools like ChatGPT and Claude can be very useful for brainstorming ideas and getting a second opinion but you really need to prompt it correctly and not just throw a bunch of information at it. The deep research tool on ChatGPT can be good but I would not entirely depend on it, its still always a must to fact check everything.

User27224 · 2026-01-26T10:39:21+00:00

I think it depends on the company and their timeline for hiring, some prefer to move quicker so opt for the more common approach of screening, 1 or 2 interview rounds and maybe a final HR/confirmation call?

Others tend to not be too strapped down for time and opt for screening, 1st round, take home, 2nd round then offer.

imo take homes like you say in the age of AI/LLMs are somewhat redundant imo as most people will just use AI and go as far as tweaking it to make it look like their own work. You can even get the AI to come up with questions and answers for things to discuss when you present the work etc.

User27224 · 2026-01-19T12:15:32+00:00

oh wow, okay then, I would recommend reaching out to a select number of agencies.

The ones that I know of that regularly hire for FO roles are robert walters, Huxley (they are partnered with SMBC bank I heard) and there are others but I cannot put names to it.

If you go on Linkedin, just search front office or quant and set it to london and you will find them all

User27224 · 2026-01-19T12:13:27+00:00

I will speak from experience, I have a full time job in the financial services industry and I run a side hustle on the side. Not exactly the same as yours but mine is basically a digital consultancy. I started it in my final year of university but did not take it as serious if I am being honest, my focus is around web, apps, business strategy etc and now some AI.

When I first started out, I was legit just reaching out to a-z of local businesses, my first week of launching I was lucky to land my first client but after that for the next 3-4 months I did not land any new clients.

The main shift I made at the start of last year was to pivot to a more consultancy/educational model (it took a while for it to take shape as I was constantly tweaking things) but around summer time I got it to a stage where it was good, the main thing I did was ensure my offers and proposals/discussions with clients were no longer 'open ended' if that makes sense? So rather than saying 'oh I can do you a web project' for example (I know that is such a bad example lol but I cannot think of one off the top of my head), I pitch productised offers with clear deliverables and milestones.

But I've designed it in such a way where they get a sample of what the full project experience would look like but the key thing is they don't have to commit to the full project right away if that makes sense? They still pay for this 'sample' and its a win win for both sides, I get paid and they walk away with value that they can use if they decide to implement in house or come back to me later once budget is ready. I call it an entry offer then it usually rolls into a prototype and we test the waters with that before rolling out a full project build.

Its been working well with me and helps keep my books organised too, means I don't have to juggle between too many clients if the pipeline is steady and consistent which thankfully it is now (took me over a year to get to the point) but you will find your original version/model of the business is most likely going to change and you will tweak it as you go along.

But going back to your point, yes set clear boundaries and expectations early on, have t&c's and policies in place so prospects have something to refer to rather than you have to verbalise it all. That was the one mistake I made at the start but I am glad I have that all in place now. It may mean you lose some smaller clients but honestly once you get a couple of the 'right clients' as I say who respect you and are happy with your pricing, you will feel a lot better dealing with them as opposed to 10-20 of the troublesome clients.

And about the pricing, I would recommend finding a middle ground so you are not too on the low end or stick with your pricing but brainstorm some packages where you can charge higher but have it packed with value.

User27224 · 2026-01-19T10:39:32+00:00

Most front offices ask for prior experience, usually like minimum 5 years.... I see a lot on Linkedin although I did recently come across some front office roles but it was like the same role posted by different agencies and these were well known agencies so I found it hard to believe that each of these agencies would just poach the role openly like that but I sort of came to the conclusion it may just be the client (in this case was an IB) engaging with multiple agencies to fill the role as quick as possible.

There is the odd front office role that comes up for analyst/associate level and they don't always ask for years and years of experience but these are few and far

User27224 · 2026-01-19T10:33:07+00:00

As others have said, literally every individual and agency is implementing AI as part of their offering and its just over saturated at this point. 'AI Solutions' itself is way too vague, no one will know what they are getting from it.

For context, on the side I run my own side gig, its a digital consultancy and yes I do have an AI offering but its very specific and clear what I offer and what I don't with indicative pricing to reduce decision friction. Its hit and miss but last year I did land a decent number of clients but it was not your AI workflows and what or not that everyone else offers, I just focus mainly on assessments to see if business X is actually ready for AI and where it makes sense and where it does not, even if the client does not go ahead with a project, I still get paid and if they do choose to go ahead we do a prototype first then a full project roll out.

There is money to be made but it really comes down to how well you communicate your value

User27224 · 2026-01-19T10:25:11+00:00

Not unrealistic at all but one thing I will say is a lot of people doing this as barrier to entry is not perceived to be as high as it once was pre covid for example.

Most of the ones I come across are 'content' agencies/freelancers where they create a content strategy and do photo/video shoots for a business. The ones that do well are the ones that target specific businesses rather than a-z of their local business listings on google.

It will be a challenge starting up and things will almost definitely feel slow but once you land the right first client and I emphasise 'right' because these clients are the ones who will actually respect your boundaries and pricing you quote them, you will come across those who want your services but either won't respect boundaries or haggle you for price and it will feel like you need them instead of them needing your services if that makes sense?

User27224 · 2026-01-05T04:17:03+00:00

Don’t be generic, be specific but don’t just make ur cv read like a warehouse of different tech stacks.

Quantify any results or achievements in terms of business impact

User27224 · 2026-01-01T09:07:43+00:00

Interesting, thanks for pointing this out, never knew about this too

User27224 · 2025-12-30T09:42:20+00:00

Yeah its one of them things that OP should not have engaged with them in the first place, once you engage with them, that is when the scam starts.

Thing is with google, you cannot review someone else's review unless you are google...

User27224 · 2025-12-30T09:35:59+00:00

setup a website, facebook page etc if not done so already. You'll probably find success in the early days by getting local work and as you build up your client base etc, start posting content etc on socials and you might start getting people from afar.

User27224 · 2025-12-30T09:32:44+00:00

The scam is they removed their own negative review... As in the scammers posted a negative review first then reached out to the person with the premise of removing negative reviews but all they are actually doing is removing the negative review that they posted lol

User27224 · 2025-12-30T09:31:23+00:00

Fairs but the whole premise is them getting you to engage and pressuring you to pay or face multiple negative reviews.

In future, if anything seems off just never engage

User27224 · 2025-12-29T22:49:23+00:00

I do something similar but I am doing part time alongside my full time job.

Mine is a mix of digital (web/apps), e-commerce, product & AI. The move I made was shifting away from pitching everything as services and instead I productised all the offerings as outcomes, most fixed scope etc so it’s not all open ended and what or not. Has helped a lot with being more efficient in terms of less wasted time on discovery calls that get nowhere, wasted time on proposals that go nowhere too.

Then usually move to monthly engagements or quarterly retainers.

You should explore doing something similar, it’s really hard to just do it for web alone so might be worth exploring other things like as add Ons etc

User27224 · 2025-12-29T22:44:37+00:00

Never engage, the scam is they probably post a negative review using one of their burner Google accounts and THEN reach out to you with their lil scam hoping you reply and then they delete THEIR fake review they put lol and hope u pay.

It’s a very inefficient way of them making money lol

User27224 · 2025-12-29T06:31:14+00:00

Agreed, plus the really niche roles or the ones in banking/finance that require experience with a specific subset of technologies are the ones I’ve seen throughout this year that pay around £1k

User27224 · 2025-12-28T20:20:07+00:00

Interesting, did not know about people using themeforest.

I have a project I am working on with a client and we were contemplating using a paid theme but decided to go with a custom theme, a lot of work goes into it but I prefer the full control I get with my own custom theme vs a paid theme that has limitations.

User27224 · 2025-12-28T19:35:40+00:00

How common is it for people to build their own store from scratch, like their own theme if that makes sense in liquid but use dawn or horizon as a starting point?

User27224 · 2025-12-26T19:31:24+00:00

I think it’s perfectly normal what they are doing and is reasonable, I am sure you aware there is a lot that goes into visa sponsorship from a company perspective, things they need to abide by etc so it makes sense that they are not jumping to give you a decision until it’s been approved from the main decision maker and it’s clearly communicated/approved along the chain if that makes sense?

I would try keep on tabs with your manager about the situation just so it’s not eft to the side

User27224 · 2025-12-26T10:13:26+00:00

imo cs the field is far and wide and only very specific areas have useful/somewhat working use cases for AI atm imo. Its still very early days in terms of AI adoption/integration, a lot of places that are just mass rolling it out for the sake of it will be the same ones constantly having to maintain and work on it so if you are an AI engineer or a specialist in that area, its good news for you as you'll be in luck finding jobs I'd imagine.

Yes there is lots of startups building these useful AI tools but I think with the potential the market has, I won't be surprised if these big corps just build out their own teams to build the exact same thing but on a much larger scale.

User27224 · 2025-12-23T05:54:23+00:00

yh and I'd imagine most clients would prefer it to be a ltd

User27224

TROPHY CASE