An apprenticeship, most likely. It doesn't matter if you are thinking something like baker, hairdresser, car mechanic, office clerk, these are all jobs you do an apprenticeship for. For becoming a Doctor, laywer or scientist or something like that you would have to change to the Gymnasium and then the Abitur to qualify for studying at a university, but for a lot of jobs this is the traditional way.
And doing an apprenticeship applies for both the Hauptschule and Realschule, then? I read that if you leave a Hauptschule, your opportunities may not be as good, but can apprenticeship types one is eligible for vary between the two schools?
Well, yes and no. Basically, when you leave school after year 10 and haven't failed the year, you get the 'Mittlere Reife,' comparable to English GCSEs. You may get those with or without qualification for years 11-13 and then Abitur. As far as I know, apprenticeships that require Mittlere Reife don't care where you got it, as long as you got it. However, individual employers may care what school you went to, and thus may prefer someone from a Realschule, because it's more prestigious.
However, that is very much what is the case today. Back in the 1970s, as far as I know, Hauptschulen didn't have nearly as bad a rep as they have today, and it was much less common for students to go on to make Abitur, so if you had a decent Mittlere Reife from a Hauptschule, most people would think you very well qualified for most apprenticeships.
(I should add that I was born in the '80s, so have no first-hand knowledge of this, so if anyone knows better, please correct me.)
I realise now that I was a little unclear in my previous post. Both Hauptschule and Realschule *can* get you a Mittlere Reife, but it's not that you automatically get it. It depends from state to state and has changed over time, but basically, with most Hauptschulen, you can have a 'qualified' year ten graduation, which would be Mittlere Reife, and an 'unqualified,' which would be 'just' a Hauptschulabschluß (Hauptschul-graduation). I'm not sure at the moment what makes the qualification, but I think it's the grade average and may also depend on subjects taken.
In addition to this, voluntarily leaving a Gymnasium after year 10 -- provided you had the grades to go on -- would be considered the equivalent of the "Mittlere Reife" as well, qualifying you for the same careers even though the curriculum was laid out for 9 instead of 6 years (Gymnasium vs. Realschule). It was considered an acceptable option for kids who just lost interest in school ... with the (unspoken) option of maybe doing additional schooling later in life.
Not only those who lost interest in school, but also those where it was deemed probable that they wouldn't be able to get an Abitur anyway. We had a girl in our class leave after year ten to go on to become a nurse - if she had come with the same grades (she barely passed the year) but from a Real- or Hauptschule, they probably wouldn't have accepted her, but with her Gymnasium Mittlere Reife, she was automatically thought to be 'better qualified,' plus, what probably really sealed the deal in her case, she had extensive experience with voluntary first aid work.
Now it is a lot harder to get an apprenticeship in the specific job you want, in part because there are a lot of people who got their Abitur or even studied for a while and then decided on it, but not in the 70s.
Generally you can do an apprenticeship after finishing both schools. But depending on what you want to learn the Realschule is preferred. If you want to become a baker they are Okay with it if your grades fit their expectations. If you wanted to become a technical draughtsman for example, the Realschule would give you better options
I'd heard that more recently, employers may want to see a higher certificate, yes. So, more technically oriented apprenticeships usually prefer/require a Realschule education?
It really depends on the employer. But it doesn't have to be be technical, if you want to learn in a bank for example you would most likely need the Realschul certificate. In my own case, sure it was later, but the apprenticeship I did, Documentalist Assistant, is officially open with a Hauptschul certificate. I was an exception with my Realschul certificate in my class, most other had Abitur or even studied some time
For becoming a Doctor, laywer or scientist or something like that you would have to change to the Gymnasium and then the Abitur to qualify for studying at a university, but for a lot of jobs this is the traditional way.
Apprenticeships
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However, that is very much what is the case today. Back in the 1970s, as far as I know, Hauptschulen didn't have nearly as bad a rep as they have today, and it was much less common for students to go on to make Abitur, so if you had a decent Mittlere Reife from a Hauptschule, most people would think you very well qualified for most apprenticeships.
(I should add that I was born in the '80s, so have no first-hand knowledge of this, so if anyone knows better, please correct me.)
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Generally you can do an apprenticeship after finishing both schools. But depending on what you want to learn the Realschule is preferred. If you want to become a baker they are Okay with it if your grades fit their expectations. If you wanted to become a technical draughtsman for example, the Realschule would give you better options
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In my own case, sure it was later, but the apprenticeship I did, Documentalist Assistant, is officially open with a Hauptschul certificate. I was an exception with my Realschul certificate in my class, most other had Abitur or even studied some time
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