To be panicking about DC’s employability post uni?

I know at McKinsey, Bain, BCG they have a strong Oxbridge bias.

Yes you can get in without going to Oxbridge if you go to a decent RG. But probably won't get in if you go to a "poly". But anthropology at Oxbridge would be good still.

No-one really gives a flying fxxx ... that is deluded.

I need to accept that it might means tough consequences for her. I find it difficult to accept. It’s either I keep bankrolling and become increasingly frustrated or stop bankrolling and potentially watching her living in a bed sit/struggling financially.

There are ways of cutting living costs- a lot of people in my area live on boats. You can have minimal monthly outgoings this way- no standing charges, no water bill, no council tax, just a boat licence and insurance, and savings for maintaining the boat. For someone wanting to follow an unconventional path, this might be a good way to go at least for a few years. The community where I am is also quite supportive, my impression is that this tends to be true wherever you are on the waterways.

Genuine question - where does healthy support stop and over- involvement begin?

Somewhere around the point of her mentioning law several times and you talking her out of it because YOU think it would be boring.

Let her live HER life.

I think Op has been given quite a hard time on the thread. She obviously just cares. Ds1 is in a 4 year course at Notts; but most of his friends are only on 3 year courses obviously as more the norm, do finishing, and they are all really worried, he says.

How is a 'nonsense' degree defined and by whom? The point of a degree, and in essence, what emplyers requires, is that it proves you can apply yourself to work, can express yourself and marshal a cohesive argument.
Sometimes a 'nonsense' degree is the perfect preparation for a job.

She is definitely not pursuing the classic investment banking, Bain/BCG/McKinsey, accountancy, law routes

Classic for whom? Anthropology graduates? The 'great and wonderful RG' graduates?
How snobbish some are about schools and universities. Most employers require someome with the knowledge to do the job they have applied for, who is able to work in a team (where appropriate), have ideas, and be keen.
No-one really gives a flying f### about the university attended, 'RG' or otherwise.
I worked in an area relevant to my degree for a while, but have had an eclectic, interesting and happy career, ending in a completely different field. So yes, your child is very likely to get a job she wants/likes, even if it is with a 'soft' degree. Please don't compare her to others, or just because you are immersed in this post-grad world.

I think you're way too involved. Your daughter is an adult and more than capable of doing her own research and finding her own passions. Your role is to support and be interested in whatever she comes up with.
Looking for jobs and choosing a career are part of the journey towards being a functioning member of the working population. She'll learn from the process and figure out what she wants. Too many people are pushed towards possibly unsuitable jobs by parents so it's important to let her make her own decisions, and own them.

She'll be fine!
My husband did what he will admit was a nonsense degree (following his passion - nothing as sensible as anthropology!) at an ex poly. He works very hard though, found employment, worked his way up with no help or connections and now earns good money and has good future prospects, too.
I work in conservation and it's brilliant. A joy to go to work each day and do something I enjoy even though the wage isn't brilliant.
Graduate schemes aren't the be all and end all.

With an anthropology degree has she considered the police.

I eventually decided to leave the country - went to work abroad and had a great time

and thanks to Brexit, that is no longer an option for most young people. And they are unlikely to qualify to go to Australia or Canada or wherever either.

The youth mobility scheme that the EU has mooted could be really helpful but query if this Labour government will be brave enough to agree to it

And all of those schemes will expect you to have relevant work experience, have done at least one internship and have evidence to show "passion" for the sector concerned.

No they won't. As I said earlier in the thread dc has landed a very competitive one with the sum total of zero work experience and internships.

And all of those schemes will expect you to have relevant work experience, have done at least one internship and have evidence to show "passion" for the sector concerned.

Smaller companies that employ graduates generally won't take them without some sort of relevant experience.

UK employers are awful at training people and want someone else to have done it for them.

People on this thread have no idea how hard it has got!

I try to reassure myself that there aren't a load of unemployed 30 year old graduates, and that they've all found work they can live with eventually, but I don't think the job market was this bad about 8 years ago (hmm I wonder what happened 8 years ago but we'll leave that topic alone).

My pet theory, which DS refuses to embrace, is that if you want security you go self-employed into an industry where AI can't readily make you redundant eg plumber

Absolutely true. You need the skills for that though. There's no way I would be able to do an electrician or plumber job, I just don't have the manual skills. I could learn the theory but actually getting awkward pipework done would be beyond me! It was a very good thing that I could get an academic job because my practical "bent" is non-existent!

OP I feel the same about my son. He has recently graduated and is going to do a Masters as he doesn't know what to do. He did have a mini internship set up for this month but sadly it's fallen through/been postponed, we're hoping he might be able to do it in the semester break early next year instead.

I've suggested he looks at the Forage work simulations which give you something to put on your CV and talk about at interview. There are lots of them and they might well spark something.

It is really hard at the moment, you seem to need an internship to get an internship and most internships I've seen advertised are aimed at people from socially mobile backgrounds, my son is white, (male, obvs) and we live in an affluent postcode, so he isn't eligible to apply.

Also if you have contacts, use them! That was how my son was offered the mini internship in the first place.

A lot of MNers suggest the Civil Service but that is super-hard to get into!

Ed Psych would require another 4 years training/(study plus a year of direct work with children before starting the training.
https://www.aep.org.uk/EPFT#entry

What kinds of careers can the civil service lead to afterwards if someone gets fed up of it? Sorry to hijack your thread but OP but would be interested in people’s experiences!

Bloody hell, that is impressive. With an attitude like that I'd be tempted to suggest a law conversion course if she is interested, heading towards becoming a barrister, not a solicitor.

I think your key issue OP is that your background is in a very organised track of recruitment and hers isn't. So her method of finding a job is likely to be down to luck, contacts and tenacity.

She needs to start by getting some experience in a field that interests her. Ask to shadow someone for a week, volunteer for a month, intern for six months, do PT work etc - to build up her CV. Any self-starter stuff she can do will help build up her CV, from writing a blog/substack/articles forspecialist journals, creating videos relevant to her field of interest and expertise, tutoring in related subjects at A level

She could investigate small firms and charities that interest her and approach them for internships, voluntary roles or to see if they have any entry level vacancies coming up. DS and other grads I know got their breaks by writing on spec when companies weren't advertising but did need someone. That way her CV is not landing in a heap of hundreds of others, but stands out for her initiative. But she'll need a bit of related experience first, so if she has to volunteer at first by day and earn a living waitressing at night for a year, that's a start.

A long way back from where you are now. You're there to support and give advice when she asks - nothing more. She's probably going to be working til she's 70. Let her have fun and find her own way.

Sorry but it's nothing to do with you. It's good she's working. I have a "soft" degree and no internships, but I worked since I was 15 and during uni. I never had plans for career, still don't in my mid-30s, but I've tried different jobs, travelled, did a Masters, and now work at a university in a good job. Thank god, my parents have had zero input. They let me get on with my life as an adult - as you should for your DD. You sound very pushy and overly invested.

The employment world is changing so fast. Dd is doing a job which she started immediately after uni) that didn’t exist when she started uni.
like the old quote “ plan are useless, planning is everything”.
I think our role as parents is to support, encourage, maybe research a bit, act as a sounding board- and a safely net, and let them find their own ways. She is not you. Your path is no longer relevant. Encouraging skills development, taking risks, finding out…. And spot opportunities.
the uni careers service should have access to paid for psychometric /personality tests etc which she may find helpful- the sort of ones employers use.

Anything non standard??? There are more than four job options out there. What does she want, has she shown any kind of interest in obtaining the types of jobs you are terrified she isn't qualified for? Given the advent of AI I think anthropology and being versed in that sort of knowledge base will serve her well as there is less likelihood of that kind of nuanced understand being churned out by AI, many of the analytical, numerical jobs you refer to may not exist within her career span.

Her analytical and problem solving skills will be very good. Had she tried many online career quiz suggestions that match your personality traits and the things you enjoy doing to career suggestions?

Because her degree will give her awareness and understanding of ethnic and cultural differences, so many big firms will need someone like her to solve problems. eg like a job of a problem solver.

Sorry but you do sound very pushy.
My mother was and is the same and it has really had a massively negative impact on me.
Your daughter sounds like a very sorted kind of person. She will be fine. Please stop projecting your fears onto her as trust me, she will not thank you for it.