*\**[*dramatic music begins to play*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kr7pv2fin8)*\**



Dear Dweebs of the r/AliceTheBully subreddit.

I, u/TingelTangelLeo, am very sorry that I, u/TingelTangelLeo, have not been active for in nearly 4 months, and I, u/TingelTangelLeo, understand the severity of my mistake. I have made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment, and I, u/TingelTangelLeo, completely sign my body over to the punishments of my actions for my inactivity on Reddit and not participating in the LynnFest on time, however severe.

*^(\*Sigh\*)* ^(Alright, now that's out the way)



Well, like the title said, I'm back (partially mostly back?) and now I want to come clean about what happened and where I have been all the time. For those who don't know me, I've been a member of this subreddit for a very long time, being here in the early stage of this community, when it had only a micro handful of members.

Now for clarification, I'm from Switzerland. While writing about where I have been, I also wanted to write about how the Swiss school and learning system work, because we don't have this college system here. If you want, you can read it, but **you don't have to**, only if you're interested. So settle down and hear some [music](https://soundcloud.com/nick-jones-654798719/super-mario-world-game-over-lofi-hip-hop-remix) while reading this, because I spent hours to write this down :)



  


**Where I have been:** For the past 4 months, since the 11th of August 2025, I've started working and started my vocational education or apprenticeship (whatever you want to call it) as a "[Bäcker-Konditor-Confiseur](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A4cker-Konditor-Confiseur)", so what does that mean, Leo? There is not really a word to describe this profession, but putting together the words, it means I'm a baker-pastry chef-confectioner. But you can't learn all three at the same time. You can only learn to be a baker-pastry chef or a pastry chef-confectioner. You could learn both, but you have to first finish a vocational education in one of the two. Afterwards, you can add an extra year learning the other one.

This is what I have always wanted to be and do since I was 5-6 years old, finding out what my dad works as. My father is a professional chef pâtissier and works in a private hospital. When he was my age, he did a vocational education as a baker-pastry chef, and so I wanted to be like him. He inspired me. He has been my idol since I was a little child. Now I'm doing vocational education as a baker-pastry chef. When I'm done, I will add an extra year learning to be a confectioner. What really motivated me is that I would be the 4th generation going this path. My father, his mother, and her parents started doing this bread, sweets, and chocolate thing and even had their own shop back then.

So since I started this vocational education, I have had to focus 100%, while still having some free time for myself, playing guitar, doing my workout, because there are always 3 months of practice time for the company to see how good I am, how well I fit in with their team, and if they accept me or not. It was not so hard for me, but I still had to lock the f\*ck in to be accepted, and I did!! I'm going to do my vocational education there as a baker-pastry chef and will continue to lock in, go to my vocational school, learn, and do exams but be active here again :3





**Swiss School sytem:** In Switzerland there are only 9 years of school, which are mandatory. (11 years if you count kindergarten) These 9 years are separated into 3 sections:

1st - 3rd grade is Primary school

4th - 6th grade is Middle school

7th - 9th grade is High school

(10th grade is if you couldn't find the right path in your 8th or 9th grade, you can pay to go a final school year to find yourself a way for your future)

After those mandatory school years, at the age of 15-16 years, you can choose which path to go.

Most of the students (about 65–70%) do a [Vocational Education/Apprenticeship](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocational_Training_(Switzerland)). There are two, one of them, the "EFZ" (Eidgenössisches Fähigkeitszeugnis) can go 3-4 years, where you go to work 3-4 days and to vocational school 1-2 days a week, learning primarily focused on the subject you chose to do a vocational education in. And the other one, "EBA" (Eidgenössisches Berufsattest) lasts only 2 years, where you go to work 4 days and to vocational school 1 day a week. EBA is for students who have difficulties in school or learning, but the difference is not that EFZ is easier. They are both the same difficulty, but in EBA you just get a bit less schoolwork compared to EFZ. (PS: Switzerland is a country that has the most varieties for learning a profession, around 250 different ones)

Some of the students go to"[Gymnasium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnasium_(school)#Switzerland)" and will not get you a certification like the vocational education path, but you get a Matura, and it prepares you for university. This is like the classic academic route to choose.

And lastly, students can choose to go to "FMS" (Fachmittelschule), which prepares you for health, education, social work, and arts. This is more applied than Gymnasium but more academic than Apprenticeship.

After Gymnasium, with your Matura, can you get to the universities and ETH to focus on theory, research, academic careers, etc. The same goes with FMS, but you can go into "FH" (Fachhochschule), where you focus on engineering, business, IT, health, and design.

Then there is "HF" (Höhere Fachschule), which is just higher than FH and makes you into master craftsmen, technicians, business specialists, etc.

[Here is the Swiss education system explained in simplified](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Switzerland#/media/File:Schweizer_Bildungssystem.svg)





So, if you have any questions you can ask me anything that I can (or want) to awnser!! >:3

*art by me btw, and yes, I drew it \~w\~*