Graduate (un)employment

[scotchbroth1]

Though my own DC are a long way off employment age, I can see this through myself, siblings, cousins and some friends. Yes it is a tough time for graduates to get work in the fields they have studied at university, but I find a lot are too proud to just take anything until this happens, be it bar, cleaning, hotels, retail or admin work etc. because they are 'too bright' for it. Huh, I have a postgrad and am a cleaner on minimum wage. Others of my aquaintance just claim benefits and refuse to take any of the easier jobs mentioned. Some 'universities' are truly worth going to and give you valuable skills. Others are just glorified colleges that serve to keep you sheltered for 3 or 4 years (and make money for the institutions) then people wonder why they can't get employment.

Is this a common trend?

ps, this is not meant as a benefit bash thread but more attitudes of graduates to their true self worth.

It will never improve. If I wasn't pregnant right now I suspect I would kill myself I actually feel so bad and hate myself that much.

YABVU.

I work in an arts/media environment. We recently signed up to an East London community programme to offer 8 weeks internships to unemployed young people in the Olympic Host Boroughs.

We offered two unpaid roles, through the local job centre, expecting applications from disadvantaged school leavers keen to gain any kind of work experience. In the past this is exactly what we've got.

But this year what we got were amazing applications from highly intelligent graduates desperate to get a foot in the door and willing to work for nothing to do so. They were all the kind of graduates who, 20 or so years ago, would have walked out of university and into the career of their choice. Like I did because I was lucky.

It's a shitty time for everyone. Don't knock graduates. They are right to go and study and most of them are still willing to do what it takes to get into their chosen career.

I think the mistake I made with my degree was not choosing a profession. I took a Science based course that covered bits of everything. I think if you study a profession, such as accountancy or pharmacy or even something like hairdressing there is more chance of you getting a job. Even with top class universities like Oxford or Cambridge, I have friends who can't get a job because the subject they studied was too broad, such as Biology, and so employers don't favour you over someone who has experience or a phd in the job area. On the other hand, I have friends who studied Pharmacy, Medicine and Accountancy, and they all got jobs immediately. I was actually warned by my brother not to do the course I did at uni, because I would not have a good job outcome at the end, and unfortunately he was right.

I ended up getting a job in a private lab and had to work my way up from the bottom, which was pretty hard work. I left and started an MSc in a profession, from which I am already part-qualified, and job prospects are much higher.

I would never force my daughter to go to uni, as I think education isn't everything - but if she did go, I would tell her to choose a profession. It may be more expensive, but the job prospect would be higher.

Xstitch, I was thinking about your situation, and it occurred to me that if you've applied for that many jobs to no avail, then you're probably being a bit scattergun in your approach. Can you get some proper career counselling near you?

And please don't talk of killing yourself. You are too precious for that. And at the end of the day, it's only work (as one of my wiser colleagues points out regularly).

xstitch - no wonder you feel depressed. That is a lot of applications. Don't want to completely hijack this thread but feel free to PM if I can help at all - even by just giving an objective look over your cv or something? Things really will improve.

EmmalinaC - I think its a bit misleading to say 20 years ago a graduate could have walked out of uni into a job of their choice. I originally graduated with a 2.1/ borderline First from a good uni in 1992 in the middle of the recession and I couldn't get a graduate job then either. Worked as a nanny and then temped before doing vocational post-grad - and then finally getting a graduate level job.

I asked for careers advice at the job centre but their advice was try harder and be more flexible then proceeded to try and convince me to apply for a minimum wage job in Essex which is 500miles away.

Its not only work, its a roof over your head and food on the table. I am losing my top up benefits in a couple of weeks so will get CB only so will end up homeless and lose my children.

When I lost my job at first I applied only for similar jobs. Then I got desperate and applied for anything I was remotely qualified or over qualified for. Absolutely nothing and the longer it goes on the worse I look so the worse it gets.

BoffinMum - its not just work, its money. You need money for everything these days, not having it seriously limits life.

OP YABU, so U that it deserves a swear word! Wohoo! Fuck off OP!!

This is my favourite quote from the thread:

"I find it a distressingly common trend for people who don't know what they are talking about to go ahead and do it anyway.

I'm not the only one, a lot of my family and friends agree with me."

xstitch - what field were you working in before? And how come you will lose your benefits? I would really like to try and help you - even though I'm not employed myself at the moment!

Milkyways, I think you mean accredited courses rather than simply a profession. These do indeed have good employment rates but partly because there is a link between the number of places available and the number of jobs out there at the end.

xstitch, do you have any qualifications?

xstitch I completely empathise.

Graduates are not the problem. I noticed a company offering unpaid internships. They asked for a high level of skills and qualifications, but were unwilling to pay the highly qualified person a single penny. The position was for a job that had previously been a paid role. The company had made profits of £150 Million the year before. This is financial abuse.

Those earnings are money that would help support the employees family, home and local community. All that is lost and the employee is forced to rely on state handouts. Its a national disgrace.

Yes boffin a degree and post grad qualifications. Plus school ones obviously but they are not really relevant any more.

xstitch I am more than happy to discuss this via PM and try to help in a more focused way if you would like me to.

Thank you boffin have PMd you.

Oh yes - unpaid internships - otherwise known as slave labour. Exactly how long are the graduates supposed to work for nothing, and on what and where are they supposed to live while doing this highly skilled, unpaid work?

Having had personal experience of this in the House of Commons, I can tell you it is extremely hard work, very long hours, and they don't even get travel expenses. It is exploitation, no more, no less.

If you are working full time in an internship you are are exempt from benefits aren't you. So where do you live, what do you eat and how do you get there? Its not laziness to want to eat occasionally.

3littlefrogs - yep, exploitation it is, unless, of course, you have an unearned income, in which case, of course, it's 'invaluable experience'.

YAB slightly U.

I have a good social sciences degree from a decent enough university and was unable to find employment in the field I was interested in - so I ended up taking a job at a hotel.

DH and I both worked as hotel duty managers (at different properties, mind you). I loved the job in many respects but increasingly resented that I was working tirelessly, shouldered a great amount of responsibility (fire safety for a 500+ room building, anyone?) and was basically paid peanuts. I found that I was at work at least 12 hours a day on average (and paid for only eight of them) - which was just as well as my salary just about covered my rent and food.

In the end I went back to uni and took a BEng in an area that offers better job prospects. I'm currently taking a post-grad qualification in this field.

If I had intended to work in a minimum wage job for the rest of my life, I most certainly would not have bothered with a degree the main outcome of which to date has been the fact that I have debts. So happy the prospects in my new area of expertise are way brighter!

I empathise with anyone looking for work right now, it's not easy and I don't believe it will get better sooner.

I know people who have had to focus on looking for work in other countries, and this gives me a lot of hope.

I have family in Australia, and I cannot count how many times they have encouraged me to move over there, due to there being plenty of jobs in my sector.
It's not easy to uproot oneself, but has anyone else considered moving to another county/country for work? This could be one solution if things get too desperate.

tenacity I would love to but I am not even allowed to cross the county border to live. I have considered it. I have even looked at what is available elsewhere just not allowed. Well I am but would have to agree to never seeing dd again, not really an option AFAIC, call me lazy if you want.

I have certainly considered leaving the country - I am simply aghast at what this idiot government is doing!

I went to Uni as a mature student. I had a fairly well paid job but when I was on mat leave with my third child I thought now or never. I graduated two years ago with a 2.1 BSc and have been unable to find perm work. I was fussy when I first started applying but then after six months applied for anything and everything including the kind of job I had before Uni.

I am currently doing care work for an agency. I really regret doing my degree it was a waste of time and money.

At least everyone kniows now going to uni will not guarentee them their dream job. People used to go under the illusion that it would and find they were screwed at the other side.

Does anyone have any figures as to the relative numbers of graduates per year and how many universities there are now as opposed to, say, thirty or forty years ago when (so some have said) graduate jobs were easier to find?

I graduated as a mature student last year and nearly all of my cohort (mostly aged 21-23) have jobs now. A lot of them are working in low-wage jobs, but they've all been keen to start earning as soon as they could (as the university is in London and they simply couldn't afford to just go on benefits, plus it's actually quite hard and unpleasant to claim JSA). Most of them still expect to get a better job eventually, I think they're all very hard-working and dedicated. I personally haven't worked at all since I graduated though since I got pg with dd and DH is happy to support us.

I think the doing the degree was a fantastic learning experience for me and for everyone on the course, both in terms of formal learning and the whole social aspect. So I don't agree that HE should be limited to just a few, I think everyone should have the chance to go if they're offered a place.