Danish to English Social Sciences General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

I understand the religious meaning of this term, but am uncertain how to translate it in this context: "De første penge, jeg har tjent, hidrørte altså fra apoteket. Og de få måneder, jeg arbejdede der, fik stor betydning for mig. Hos mig opstod den tanke, at jeg, når tidens fylde var inde, jo kunne blive discipel der, og derfor valgte jeg at søge optagelse på den matematisk-naturvidenskabelige linje i gymnasiet."

I'm assuming, since the writer enjoyed his employment at the pharmacy, he decided to seek admittance to the mathematical/scientific track at the high school, and then--when the time was right--hoped to train as a pharmacist at his former place of employment. Or am I totally on the wrong track here? I'm interpreting "discipel" as something like "trainee" here.