How to complement classroom learning

After completing the first year of my A levels in law, business, sociology and geography about 4 years ago, I found myself coming to terms with the fact that this path wasn't for me. All the same, studying geography navigated me towards the world of construction – something I never saw coming.

Taking the decision to abandon my A levels, I instead took an advanced technical extended diploma in constructing in the built environment at York College. During the course, I asked around various firms and professionals for careers advice and work experience, and eventually found what I was looking for. I started my building surveying degree apprenticeship after successfully completing my diploma.

I was delighted, but also somewhat apprehensive about what lay ahead. I chose to work full-time and study on day-release at university as well as in my own time. But I was at least able to skip the first year of the course, as my college studies and experience allowed me enter straight into the second.

I was incredibly lucky to have been able to pursue this opportunity. I hadn’t heard or known much about a degree apprenticeship before, as this isn't a common route into surveying. The programme has shown me that there is even more to the profession than I thought, presenting new and exciting challenges.

I have gained varied and valuable experience already, supplementing not only my studies but also my preparation for sitting the APC. I have just started this process as I begin the last 2 years of my 5-year course, and I believe doing these simultaneously will give me the best of both worlds.

Several times in the past couple of years I have found it easier to understand my learning at university purely because of the experience I had already had in the workplace, seeing how the course was relevant to my day-to-day tasks. I think this kind of experience is the most valuable.

The hardest part is striking the right balance between work and study. So I began staying after work for an extra hour or so, knowing that once I left to go home it would be more difficult to restart the laptop and work.

This isn't always successful, though, and on occasion I found myself working over and above my time in the office – particularly when deadlines have been tight or assessments demanded it. I would still recommend keeping a divide between work and home and completing most of the assessments in the office if possible.

I have also recently carried out a couple of measured surveys for office lease plans in the North East of England, further developing my skills in computer-aided design (CAD). Practising this has been good for me as my regular work – such as condition surveys and dilapidation surveys – often doesn't require such drawings, which are the domain of the CAD technicians and architects in my department. This work has therefore increased my focus on ensuring drawings are suited to clients' needs rather than being too general or containing unnecessary detail. This has given me a broader understanding of how to be versatile when working with clients.

Modules throughout my course have complemented my experience in the workplace and vice versa. That, I think, is the beauty of this route into the profession: whether it be conducting a certain type of survey or identifying defects and appropriate remedies, once I have seen and done a job for myself then it has really stuck. I have always found the practical side of learning is when I grasp things more easily, and the apprenticeship has given me plenty of opportunity to do so.