To be panicking about DC’s employability post uni?

[NeedXanaxPlease]

DD is going into the final year of an Anthropology degree (might get a first but probably a 2:1) from a top RG uni. Has done a Fine Art foundation year. Always worked part time since finishing A-levels (Maths, English Lit, Art), first as a barista/front of house/waitressing, then as an after-school nanny during uni.
She loves working, is highly responsible, great people skills (and people judgement) and quite numerate/commercially savvy. She is a great kid and would be an asset to any team. But… she hasn’t had a single internship so no “relevant” work experience (didn’t get her act together after first year and a long recovery post an operation for a sporting injury after second year) nor does she really know what she wants to do after graduation. She is definitely not pursuing the classic investment banking, Bain/BCG/McKinsey, accountancy, law routes.
I am now feeling highly anxious and helpless as I don’t know how to support/guide her. I did the classic Tier 1 strategy consulting, MBA, corporate M&A so I am spending hours each week helping my friends’ kids who want to pursue this path (mock case studies, mock interviews, CV reviews) but am at a complete loss re how to help my own. I feel that I am spiralling. This is not helped by my being involved in graduate recruitment at my work – CVs I see are all full of Economics/Management/Sciences degrees, multiple internships/work experiences/summer schools – they are highly structured and tick all the boxes (to an extent where I can’t differentiate between them). My DD wouldn’t stand a chance on paper.
Sage mumsnetters, please reassure me that she can get a job without internships and with a “soft” degree? Does she stand a chance with graduate schemes? Should she even bother applying? What potential career routes she could explore?

So long as your daughter can show that she's worked (as she can) with a good work ethic, coupled with a degree, it can open a number of doors to her. For example, I'm in publishing - we have a massive recruitment drive for grads each year, and there are huge opportunities for development within the company. Some may leave after building up experience with us to work in other fields and others stay, but we do find their employability soars once they've had experience with us. There are lots of other companies that offer similar opportunities - try not to worry.

An early poster highlighted the prospects.ac.uk website. Specifically you might want to look at the page that analyses the stats on where anthropology grads typically end up (link below). Hope that helps you and, potentially, your DD.
www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/anthropology

Such a huge generalisation! full of presumption. Why it is on MN if a person is doing works in a high earning sector it's never the result of hard work they got there it's all because of privilege! you know nothing about these people. My DC is amongst these sorts and has more than one disability that he has struggled with throughout his school life and he has the sort of CV OP is talking about.
I'm not saying its easy to break into those industries mentioned by @OP or that it's easy to get internships/work experience (they're bloody hard!), but there's no need to cast aspersions on the achievements of those who have managed it.

@OP it's really tough out there as you can tell and it can't be easy being a graduate recruiter because of course you'll be comparing all day. What i will say is, those sectors you mentioned are just a few. There are loads of places your dc can apply to, they don't even necessarily have to apply for a graduate scheme! they can just apply for a job targeted at entry-level graduates.

Pharmaceuticals, education, retail, NHS to name a few so many avenues to getting one's foot on the ladder. All the ones mentioned recruit people with all kinds of degrees. If your dc can't say what they like do you know what they don't/wouldn't like as a job/career? sometimes you have to just do something you're mildly interested in and that's available in order to find what you truly enjoy.

Let your DD work it all out for herself. She’s an adult after all. All this talk of her doing a « soft » degree isn’t particularly supportive either. Step away.

Why it is on MN if a person is doing works in a high earning sector it's never the result of hard work they got there it's all because of privilege!
Except I didn't say that.
OP said that DD missed out on internships because of "a long recovery post an operation for a sporting injury" and I was pointing out that she is not the only one who has had bumps in the road, there will be many other people with non-perfect CVs.

What i will say is, those sectors you mentioned are just a few. There are loads of places your dc can apply to
This time, it is approximately what I said. I can't see that you added anything to the argument.

The two people I know with anthropology degrees ended up in academia and the charity sector.

I understand your concerns op if you have a dc who seems to lack direction at the moment. But you are obviously successful in a highly competitive sector you have not found particularly pleasant to work in. Maybe your dd wants something different from her working life.

I agree with pp that is she’s interested in law that would we worth her looking into. Most legal jobs don’t have magic circle hours, or indeed salaries!

I think what I lacked at your child's. age was a full appreciation of the competitive financial nature of life. Pensions, investments, property prices, mortgages etc. we're absolutely not on my radar in my early twenties and I think there is advice to be passed onto children without being in any way controlling or intrusive.

By floating around careers you are missing out on pernsion starting and getting a first on the housing ladder. While these things seem unimportant as a youth it becomes plain in your early 50s how much of your wealth and future security is tied up in these things. You and your children's lifestyles are impacted by these important career choices in youth.

I am certainly not saying a renumerative career is the be all and end all but it has to be a consideration in weighing up your life or there is an element of niavity about all this.

@NeedXanaxPlease With all due respect, you seriously need to get a grip.There's a difference between working to afford basic security, Vs luxury.

You chose the latter. Nobody forced you to work 100 hour weeks in a erm 'soul destroying zero impact' job so that you could pay for private school, ski trips and expensive sports.

It's not a race to the bottom but so many others work much harder, in worse conditions yet can't afford any treats. If a 'lack of impact' bothers you so much why don't you become a carer or nurse... Work long hours on your feet, get paid peanuts.

Others like myself worked intensely in our youth then got out. Saved for important things like uni fees and a house deposit instead. If you really wanted your daughter to have a soft easy life, THIS is really what you should have spent your money on.

Anyway, I think the girl will be fine, even if she earns 30K and lives at home for 6 years rent/bills free she'll have close to 60K as a deposit, enough to buy a flat with a reasonable mortgage and bills.

But you need to stop projecting the consequences of your choices onto her. And stop thinking of yourself as hard done by. You've been very privileged, so has she (with that kind of money and time to do competitive sport she's hardly been disadvantaged by her disabled sibling although her life might be slightly harder).

i.e. are the CVs of privilege - no caring responsibilities nor disabilities, to name just two barriers.
@senua Heavily implied from this barbed comment so at least be honest, as for the rest of your post, @NeedXanaxPlease wasn't asking for an 'argument', they were asking for opinions/advice which I gave along with everyone else, that's usually how comments flow. Sorry yours weren't as unique as you hoped it to be.

This masters might be of interest

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/taught-degrees/digital-anthropology-msc

I don't think a masters is vital but it sounds like you have the resources to fund tuition and she can live at home in London.

She could start in Sept

OP how absolutely civil service fast stream? She won't get rich on it but it pays ok and offers fascinating work.

*how about

My degree is literally in songwriting. I became a music and drama teacher, Head of House at my school, looking into leadership roles. I also work making top lines for electronic artists all over the world. My parents wanted me to do a real degree and biopharmaceuticals but instead of something I hate, I live a life I LOVE sooooo much. She’ll be fine. more than fine. Just gotta let her decide what she wants and support her.

Project management?

Got to be honest about my ignorance, i didnt have a clue what an Anthropologist actually was, so i googled it.
According to the Bureau of Labour there has been a 4.2% growth in employment for this skill, the higher they qualify the better chance of work.
Does she have any idea in what area of work she intends to use her degree, healthcare, social work, public relations, archaeology, museums?

Lots of the smaller boutique corporate comms firms take graduates with humanities degrees - ds did a short internship with one the other week and the majority of the staff were under 25, a couple had done anthropology.

His impression was while not as ‘prestigious’ necessarily, they had far more responsibility than at bigger firms and it gave them a really good trajectory within the industry.

Dd is about to finish an anthropology MA from SOAS after a first degree in MFL, she’s had offers from several companies for research posts but is instead going to follow her absolute passion and move into costume design for film and tv.

As a London-based grad, there are plenty of opportunities for your dd, looking away from
the conventional routes might be more challenging for you but it could be the right path for her.

Lots of the smaller boutique corporate comms firms take graduates with humanities degrees - ds did a short internship with one the other week and the majority of the staff were under 25, a couple had done anthropology.

This is what my DD is doing. She's good at it too and enjoys it.

the conventional routes might be more challenging for you but it could be the right path for her

I am totally fine with it - just have less personal insight into these.

Are corporate comms same as PR? E.g., would Prosek, Brunswick, Fleishman Hillard qualify as corporate comms/boutiqe?

Corporate comms sounds great, it also made me think of of IR but I don't think IR is graduate level job.

This thread has been a treasure trove of ideas.

I have calmed down a lot in the last few days. I think I am getting my head around the fact that it's all about trade-offs - she needs to figure out what hers might be. And it's an ongoing exercise. You start with a hypothesis on paper and iterate in real life as you go along (and if needed switch jobs/re-evaluate careers etc.). I hate the uncertaintly that comes with it, but it is what it is.

I actually made a note from years ago where a Mumsnetter recommended a career service run by occupational psychologists that helps you figure out your motivations, values, abilities, etc and what careers might tie with the above. Might give this a go.

But solution space has to have some boundary conditions and some might be mutually exclusive. Impact, hours, pay, type of work, job satisfaction, culture, values, aspired property, etc go into a pot and if she gets a circular reference back, she'll need to decide what gives.

The ones I’m thinking of are much smaller - they tend to be spin-offs from bigger agencies. I’ll DM you a couple of names if you like.

LinkedIn tends to be the main recruitment route for vacancies from what I’ve seen.

I think I am getting my head around the fact that it's all about trade-offs - she needs to figure out what hers might be. And it's an ongoing exercise. You start with a hypothesis on paper and iterate in real life as you go along (and if needed switch jobs/re-evaluate careers etc.). I hate the uncertaintly that comes with it, but it is what it is.

Those are good things though - you need to reframe your thinking. Uncertainty means flexibility, it means not being stuck pigeon holed. It means open to a variety of options.

You've said you don't like the cut throat of your job, the inherent sexism, the long hours etc. But that now you have the expensive lifestyle you can't quit. Wouldn't it have been a happier life if you'd been able to try out and few things when you were younger, before youd got used to the expensive lifestyle and responsibilities?

@Pharos
The ones I’m thinking of are much smaller - they tend to be spin-offs from bigger agencies. I’ll DM you a couple of names if you like.

Please do - I just Googled - would be great to have a datapoint

@titchy

You've said you don't like the cut throat of your job, the inherent sexism, the long hours etc. But that now you have the expensive lifestyle you can't quit. Wouldn't it have been a happier life if you'd been able to try out and few things when you were younger, before youd got used to the expensive lifestyle and responsibilities?

100%. Intellectually, I am with you 100%. Emotionally, it's tough to internalize this thesis.

But also, thinking back, I might have made better choices if I had some career/life guidance which I didn't (nor did I seek it to be fair - was just chasing the money). That's why I so desperately want to be helpful to DD which I realize might veer into pushy/overinvested/suffocating territory defeating the whole purpose of the exercise. I do have some self-awareness...

You start with a hypothesis on paper and iterate in real life as you go along (and if needed switch jobs/re-evaluate careers etc.). I hate the uncertaintly that comes with it, but it is what it is.
Loving the pragmatism. Uncertainty and change are going to feature prominently in the career paths of our young people, however qualified/skilled/personable they are. 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.

@NeedXanaxPlease would you mind sharing details of the career service run by occupational psychologists please? My youngest has no idea what he wants to do for a career and this could be useful to him.