To be gutted and annoyed that DD did a degree and now works in Tesco?

[whitman]

DD is 21 and also pretty miserable. She has just had to up her hours at Tesco. She worked there part time while being a student and absolutely loved it for a part time job (only working 1 6 hour shift a week). She is in her 3rd full time week and hates it. She is really upset, to the point of tears. We all told her that she would be better doing a vocational degree (one that actually let to a job).

She applied for lots and lots of jobs that didn't even require a degree but definitely matched the sort of thing she studied.

She then applied to be an RSPCA officer, but unfortunately struggled at interview.

She did Biology with Animal Behaviour.

She doesn't have much work experience honestly.

It's just a shame that she spent all them years and money to end up doing the job she was doing before the degree.

She's very upset and is pretty miserable all the time. Is there hope for the future?

A lot of people want to work with animals and I can see why they would prefer someone with practical experience. Sounds like she's experienced a bit of a sneery attitude to people with degrees too which can happen unfortunately. I'm not surprised she's feeling down.

Further training might help but it needs to be focused. I feel she may get a better response if she sets her sights slightly higher than jobs that definitely don't need a degree to be honest.

Just a thought, what about veterinary nursing? I know it doesn't pay well but it's a foot on the ladder and at least it's on the field of what she wants to do and will give her experience.

Did she not get any careers advice at university? My department’s careers consultant drills into our students from week one of the course the importance of volunteering or relevant work experience, and provides help in applying for internships.

Most universities provide careers support in the year or so after you graduate. It would be worth going back to them and seeing what help they can provide.

Same here, NameChanged. On our degree students have it drilled into them from day one that the degree is only one piece of their career jigsaw. We encourage students to do placements, work on live briefs, become volunteers, shadow professionals in their field, make contacts on LinkedIn, take part in competitions or challenges, etc. and we support them to do this. Your daughter can still do this, but she will need to be far more proactive. Her university careers service will also be able to help - they usually support student for a few years after graduation - but she needs to start actively looking for opportunities or creating her own.

There are loads of animal charities needing willing volunteers, she may spend her free time cleaning out kennels or mucking out horses but she will get some experience at the sharp end of animal welfare. If she reaches out into the area that she wants to specialize in, then opportunities will present themselves.
Unfortunately experience has taught me that loads of young graduates exit university with an air of expectation which is unrealistic. She needs to plan out what she wants to do and get started in gaining the necessary experience to make her CV stand out, the more experience she gets, the better she will perform at interview as she will have real life examples to speak about.
However if she is interested in forging a great career, with a superb salary and excellent opportunities, then Tesco is a damn good place to start. She needs to stop moping about and get on with it.

If she is happy with a career that is not with animals, I would encourage that OP.
If she stands to get an inheritance that will make her financially secure then a career with animals might just about be OK but she will never earn enough money to live on comfortably unless she can train as a vet. It is an amazingly competitive field as so many want to work with animals as lay staff. Vet nursing pays better than it has ever done but it is still a low wage and the number of training practices is low compared to years ago. It is also an emotionally hard job.

Working with animals is extremely difficult to get into, even internships in zoos and vets are difficult to get. If she's serious about this career she needs to spend several years committed to volunteering at least part time, preferably full time supporting herself with evening work. If she's not committed to doing that it might be worth taking a step back and looking at what kind of jobs are out there, uni careers service can help.

Does she live with you?

The reason I ask, is that I’m wondering if it’s necessary that she works full time at Tesco?

Can she not quit, or go back to part time, and put all of her efforts into job hunting and applications, and possibly some relevant volunteering work too?

It really saddens me when I hear of cases like your Daughter’s. I hope she gets the career she has worked very hard for, and should have, very soon.

As others have said, volunteer volunteer volunteer. I'm guessing that you're close enough to colchester if she tried to volunteer at the zoo so it may be worth trying Abberton as I think that they do education type things for various age groups which it may be worth her trying to do some volunteering in if she interested in ecology too, there are a few more rspb and wildlife trust places around depending on which area you're in but I know that those two charities particularly are in need of volunteers around here in various roles (I'm North Essex and was considering starting volunteering earlier this year). Has she tried the local animal rescues for volunteer opportunities, they often struggle to find people and there are quite a few about, Mistley has a rescue park place, Thorrington has a horse rescue and there are a couple of bird rescues about too. There's a rodent rescue towards Southend way too, all of them are small local charities so you may not find them without either accidentally stumbling across them or directly searching for them. She'd likely have more luck there than with the bigger charities.
It might be worth her trying a couple of different types of roles too if she can get them, so maybe something with animals, something to do with logging scientific data or working with educational groups, etc. it'll give her a better idea of what she will enjoy and then she can look at further education within that area.

It's bloody hard not knowing what you want to do though. But she had plenty of time to find something she enjoys, tesco pays decently so she can just look at it as a temporary measure whilst she works out what comes next. Shit life lesson but we all have to do jobs we don't enjoy for a while to get to where we want to be!

I have a friend that worked for Tesco 20 years ago whilst looking for a 'proper' job, the benefits become too good to leave, they trained and developed him - 20 years later he is a senior manager on a very good salary - don't write Tescos off, they also have a good grad scheme.

My dp spent 5 years doing a degree (3 years we were together) and now works 2 jobs to make a decent living, neither of them have anything to do with his degree. It's scunnering.

Yes I is quite a good place to work for, you can work your way up pretty quickly, I know a few people who work for them.

*Tesco, not yes I

As others have said, she's 21 and has so much time ahead of her. Look to the positives; a job, not zero hours, regular income. WRT volunteering, could she drop one work shift to do a regular volunteer role when she finds one (guilty of not rtft so apologies if this has been covered).

I left university with A LOT of voluntary experience in my field, had my pick of two jobs, lasted 18 (increasingly miserable) months then went back to do an MA. After that I worked FT in retail for seven years as the recession meant no relevant jobs for me. I'm now a TA and loving it. Nothing related at all to my qualifications and it's taken 10years to get here.

Wishing your daughter lots of luck in finding something.

I have my dream job.

For three years after university I worked in the card department at a big WH Smith.

I loved that as well. I've been fortunate enough to love every job I've had, but this one, my dream one, I only started by accident, when I was 27. Prior to that, after university, I was a BT (switchboard operator) the WHS assistant, and then a civil servant.

She's young, and working anywhere will still look better both on paper and at interview, than not working at all.

I now have a hand in recruiting teachers- believe me, the ones who've worked in bars, or shops go into the "maybe" pile a hell of a lot more than the ones who've done nothing since finishing their training.

I have a degree in a subject that's nothing to do with my work. I graduated and went full time at my job in a cinema that I had while I was at uni. Then spent 4 years working in a bank. I now finally have a job that I enjoy.

How about a gap year? If she puts money away from her job each week in 12 months she might have enough to either take a gap year or at least a couple of months she could spend volunteering.

That way her job is funding something she wants to do.

This is normal. Lots of people are unemployed for 6 months after uni so at least she has a job. It can take time to get into your own field.
Start worrying when she's been at Tesco for a couple of years.

Hi,
I had to come on here even though I'm not a mum.
I was in the exact same position as your daughter three years ago.
I did a degree in Biology with a lot of emphasis on animal behaviour and evolution from a good University and couldn't find a job despite having done conservation volunteering and zoo work.
I worked in Asda for two years, did more volunteering and got an interview coach through a scheme at the job centre.
Eventually, last year I secured a job as a lab tech with a decent company where I'll work my way up.

Maybe she should do sone sensible vocational training? The market is over saturated with people who want to work with animals. She could become a teacher for example. Being a teacher is an awful lot like working with animals anyway.

Don't panic and tell her she shouldn't either. She's 21 and has buckets of time. Is it possible for her to do a Masters?

I've got an undergraduate degree (2:1) and a masters degree (distinction) and then I did a year at Sainsbury's because like your daughter, I struggled to find a job and it got to the point whereby I just had to pay bills. My Dad was frustrated with me because "i'd got all those qualifications" and at 26 I was working at a supermarket. Now however, I've just landed myself a Children's Social Worker position and everything is slotting into place.

Tell your daughter to have faith and look for ways to build on her knowledge and skills. Also, tell her to research job interviews and questions that are likely to be asked relating to her field.

Lay off her, she’s only 21. She’s gaining valuable work experience at the moment and that will look good on her cv showing resilience and willing to get stuck in to an unglamorous job.
You’re wrong about ‘vocational’ degrees only leading to jobs- many graduate employers are looking for STEM subjected these days. She has a science degree! Get her to register with a specialist graduate recruitment bureau online and start looking at grad schemes/ jobs, there are still lots around. Doesn’t have to be specifically based on animal behaviour.

Agree wholeheartedly with Willowpeach! Tell her not to give up. My nephew spent two and a half years working in crappy jobs after university and finally got his dream job three months ago. It took many applications and interviews and rejections before he got there though! Good luck to her!

20 years ago I got a job in McDonald's. I thought I was above everyone else because I had a degree. Then I realised literally everyone else either had one or was working towards getting one. There is nothing wrong with working for a big company. They have great progression routes. And if it's not what she wants she can do it while working to get something else. You are being s snob

Your dd will feel better if she has a plan. Talking to a career adviser (possibly available through her Uni?) may help. It sounds like she liked her job at Tesco, but wants a career that makes use of her qualifications. So if she has a good plan in place and something to work towards she will probably start enjoying her present work at Tesco again.

She's 21. This experience will be the making of her believe me!

I failed to get jobs I applied for straight out of uni and did a bunch of temping jobs while living in London. I struggled but had the time of my life. I met my now best friend at my second temping job. I learned a lot about life and how to deal with people, complaints and how to be proactive.

I then got a random permanent job not related to the area I'd wanted to work in and worked there for many years meeting a load more friends and my DP. From that I ended up in the job I do now which pays me very well, I am an expert in a field I never thought possible and has allowed me to travel the world.

Make sure she is looking for opportunities all the time and, I'll be harsh here, living at home not the job will be the thing that holds her back. Encourage her to move in with a friend or move city. Maybe a temp job to get office experience?