Unit 4bc Book

When listening to the first job interview in this unit, you may have been surprised by the unusual career path described in Reme´s interview. In Great Britain and many other English-speaking countries, a typical technical career path leads from apprentice, to technician and finally graduate professional engineer. After finishing their apprenticeship, many students start working in entry-level positions, attending a vocational school part-time, finally gaining a certificate. The next step in the career ladder is to study part-time for a diploma at a technical college. Finally, students can join a degree course at a university to receive a Bachelor´s degree after four years of study. Some students then plan to take further qualifications, starting with a Master´s degree program, again, by distance learning. As students study further, they are also promoted and step up the career ladder from an apprentice technician position, to junior technician and finally graduate engineer. Studying part-time is therefore a great opportunity to get required qualification as well as extensive work experience. A similar, but at the same time, in many aspects different concept, is cooperative education. Read about co-op education in this task.