At 16 I had three career ideas: something creative, something vague, and something involving as little maths as possible. Highways and infrastructure were not on that list, yet here we are.
When I tell people I work in these sectors, I usually get one of two reactions. Either a blank stare, or a very well-meaning “oh, that’s… interesting.” And yes, it is interesting. Genuinely, surprisingly, endlessly interesting. But it looks nothing like what most people my age are doing right now, and I think that’s worth talking about.
Equally, I haven’t opted out of higher education either. I’m doing a degree apprenticeship, which means I’m studying for a full degree and working in the industry at the same time. My version of education just looks a bit different – one that happens to involve site visits, client meetings, and the occasional very early alarm alongside the lectures and assignments.
The contrast nobody warns you about
The difference isn’t the destination, it’s the journey. Students write essays about procurement while I sit in procurement meetings. They learn about client relationships in case studies, I’m managing them. There’s a particular kind of learning that only happens when the stakes are real, and that’s the education a degree apprenticeship gives you on top of the academic one.
It’s not easier than a traditional degree. If anything, juggling work and study simultaneously is its own challenge. But it is, without question, one of the most valuable things I’ve ever done.
I still feel part of that world
Here’s the thing, I’m not missing out on university life, I’m experiencing it from every angle. My friends are spread across the country at different universities, which means I’ve had the grand tour. I have a window into multiple university experiences simultaneously, without having to live in any of them. And I’m doing all of this without the debt!
If I’m being completely honest, I’m not sure I’d have hacked full-time university life anyway. I visit, I join in, I have a brilliant time, and then I go home and sleep in my own bed like the functioning adult I am pretending to be.
What I get on top
Real responsibility, real clients, real deadlines that don’t get extensions. I’ve been in rooms where discussions have taken place about infrastructure that millions of people will use every single day. I’ve worked with businesses that keep roads safe, that design the signs you follow without ever thinking about them. There’s something quietly brilliant about that.
I’ve earned my own money from the start and built a professional network that most graduates spend their first few years after university trying to develop. I’ve made mistakes, real ones, with real consequences, and learned from them in ways that no case study ever quite captures. And I’m doing all of this while working towards the same qualification my university friends are working towards.
I’m also doing it in an industry that, frankly, doesn’t have enough young people in it, especially not young women. Which is exactly why I started writing this.
The highways sector is one of the most overlooked, underrated industries in the UK, and the degree apprenticeship route into it is one of the best-kept secrets going.
There’s no single right path
University is brilliant. I mean that. The degree, the experience, the independence, it matters and I’m not here to argue against any of that.
But it’s also not the only path, and in an industry like highways, where so much experience is built in the field, on the ground, and in conversation with people who’ve been doing this for decades, there’s a very real argument that getting in early, getting your hands dirty, and learning as you go is just as valid.
My friends are at university. I’m in highways, studying and working at the same time. We’re all figuring it out and we’re all going to end up with a degree. We’re just taking very different routes to get there.
Welcome to the blog! There’s a lot more of this to come.
