To be frustrated that DD is struggling to find a job in her desired field while her friends on skilled worker visas aren’t

[Andiessock]

My DD is in her mid 20s, she graduated with a masters in philosophy over 2 years ago now from a top university in London, she has a BA from a top university as well. Her two closest friends during her masters weren’t British.
DD struggled to find a job directly related to philosophy or even culture in general, she did manage to get a job in the civil service but she doesn’t enjoy it at all.
Her two friends both managed to get jobs in the field they desired originally on graduate visas, now both are sponsored on skilled worker visas.
One works at cultural institute associated with her home country in programme coordination so planning and running events that promote her countries culture etc. specifically in literature and philosophy.
The other works at a non-profit cultural institution in a similar role to her other friend but a little more research heavy less events centred.

First of all I’m not entirely sure how either of these roles fall under “skilled workers”, they must be making around 40k to even qualify and whilst I understand the first friend being preferred over a British national since it’s a cultural institution, I don’t understand why non-Brits are being given roles in an industry Brits are struggling to get a foot in the door at.

Im all for migrants for what it’s worth, this is not intended to be slanderous to migrants, especially in industries which need the talent from abroad; but I don’t see how that applies here and in this case it does feel like “foreigners are stealing British jobs” (not a sentiment I typically agree with or would use any other time). That’s not to mention that I’m not even sure how these roles qualify as skilled workers in the first place.

AIBU to find this incredibly frustrating?

Maybe they are just better all round candidates?

Companies hate the hassle of sponsoring non Brit nationals - it’s tedious, lengthy and expensive. So yes your DD’s friends got their jobs because they’re highly qualified and best suited for the jobs.

Your post is full of jealousy and xenophobia, OP. Focus more on helping your DD find her niche.

Well she studied philosophy which is hardly known for its job prospects. And I say that as someone that also studied philosophy at a top London university. Most of us were realistic about our careers and knew we’d end up working in other fields.

Gosh what a lot of xenophobia in one post.

Did your daughter even apply for the posts her friends got? It’s very difficult to suggest they got jobs over a British person when you don’t know who actually applied for the jobs.

This.
And philosophy usually doesn't offer a lot of practical jobs with good earnings.
More of an expensive hobby.

This is a mad path to go down. You do not know what set her friend apart in this field that she was exceptional enough for the role. She could have specialist language skills, or some amazing experience that’s unusual for her age, or maybe her mum knows someone who knows someone who twisted an arm. It’s really irrelevant. I work in academia and plenty of people from overseas are employed in jobs a Brit ‘could’ do - but in certain fields international candidates bring genuine experience others don’t have. Some things come down to luck. You will never get answers so it’s pointless speculating.

If your DD is unhappy in her role then she needs to think about what would make her happy long term, and start working towards that. I was a similar agar with a BA and MA in a public sector role when I realised that a PhD and pathway into academia was what I wanted and so I laser focused until I got there. What categorically will not help your daughter is resenting her ‘foreign’ friends who have had a bit more ‘luck’ in work than she has.

This is what I was wondering too?

I work with students and the majority of international students seem to be planning on staying here after their undergrad or masters/phd. Seeing as all the graduate job opportunities have been greatly reduced due to AI and other factors it does seem like a lot of additional competition for British graduates that as a mum of uni students myself I can’t help being aware of in a way that i wouldn’t have thought about previously.

But if international students do manage get sponsored roles here they will absolutely be deserving of them.

I don't know why you are getting so much trouble, OP.

There is not a lack of graduates in the humanities for these sorts of jobs, on the contrary, they are like hen's teeth.

They shouldn't be giving work permits to non-citizens for them. It makes no sense. And lots of those other countries wouldn't do so either.

It works both ways. There are plenty of British people abroad talking jobs from the locals. And worse still most of them don’t even bother to speak the local language and everyone around them needs to speak English. At least your daughter’s friends are fluent in English presumably!

I just showed this to DD (she still lives at home) and she was quite interested!
Maybe this statement sums it up. Its not like she didn't have the option to apply to the jobs. The friends didn't get the visa and then the job. They find the role, applied for them, impressed the recruiter above over candidates to such e tent they saw it an investment to pay for the visa.

The relrvant queation is did your daughter apply for the same job and got interviews?

Getting a good job in you chosen field takes more than a masters from a top uni. If she is failing to do the required research to find, apply and impress, then blaming government policies is diverting the blame.

This is often a problem some kids who rely too much on their parents face in adulthood. They lack the self-independent mindset to make themselves market competitive.

Presumably the Scandinavian friend’s dissertation/ research subject was a specialised niche subject that better fitted the job description than your DD’s C.V.

What I don’t understand is her other friend is from a Scandinavian country, works at a British cultural/intellectual institution (think like the Royal Society of Arts or Institute of Arts and Ideas), what specialist knowledge would she have that would be useful to them over a Brit?

So why didn’t your DD apply for that job? What is she doing to develop the interests and skills that her friends have?

And also, your DD’s friends will have aid higher fees, thus subsidising your DD’s degree.

What I don’t understand is her other friend is from a Scandinavian country, works at a British cultural/intellectual institution (think like the Royal Society of Arts or Institute of Arts and Ideas), what specialist knowledge would she have that would be useful to them over a Brit?

Maybe it had nothing to do with nationality, perhaps her Scandinavian friend was a better fit for the job than your daughter.

Too busy getting her mum to do her research for her on Mumsnet.

If I was an employer, with a choice between a European candidate who's bilingual (at the very least), who had the gumption to leave her home country to pursue a masters overseas, who lives independently away from her family, or a monolingual Brit who lives at home and complains about her lot whilst doing nothing to improve it, I'd know who I'd choose.

I’m sorry to say not nobody gets a degree or masters in photostat and actually expects to walk into a related role. Is just not done unless you teach?

And to be perfectly honest, your daughter has a much better chance at progressing into a better paid career than either of her counterparts. She’s clearly intelligent and is very common to progress through the civil services rather quickly if you put your mind to it. I’d prefer to be in her shoes than her friends. If she’s unhappy in her current position she can always see about moving into another department or just getting through it until she can go for promotion

I find this quite an odd post. You don’t mention your DD actually applying for either of the jobs you mention. If she didn’t then they weren’t taken from her by the two foreigners so what relevance do they even have to her situation?

Even if she did apply for them, she may just not have been the best candidate for any number of reasons.

Finally philosophy isn’t the kind of degree that you study for its career path. Unless you plan on going into academia you pretty much expect to end up working in another field. As your DD has. She’s been lucky to get a good job which many graduates don’t.

This whole post just feels xenophobic.

To get a job ‘in philosophy’ you’d do a phd and pursue an academic career. You’d have to be exceptionally talented to secure a funded phd place.

Most philosophy graduates at BA and MA will go into standard graduate fields like law, teaching, accounting, marketing.

Philosophy is not a vocational course like law or engineering. It’s one of the most self-indulgent, least employment-related MAs you could choose. That’s not an argument against doing it if you enjoy it and you may find relevance in your working life but is one for recognising that enjoyment rather than employability is your motivation.

To become employable you’d need something else, work experience, other skills etc.

If your dd has secured a job in the civil service - in the narrow, national government sense, rather than the any old admin job sense - she’s doing incredibly well. If in the admin sense that’s great, she has a job and can progress.

MAs are fun but do not generally qualify you for a job. You’re just a graduate with more debt. You need skills and experience to impress employers.

Is it a public facing role? Is the friend an extrovert that gets on with everyone? Does she speak several languages, good at public speaking, have a particular interest in art (if it is an arts based position), etc, etc, it's not just about qualifications at that level everyone that applies has the qualifications. Did your DD actually apply for this role? If not she may have got it if she had.

I agree, I’m really surprised that a role at the UK cultural institution the Scandi friend got was eligible for recruitment under skilled worker visa. There are tens of thousands of UK citizens with masters in arts subjects, I would have though there are would be thousands of suitable home candidates.

Did you DD actually apply to either of the jobs her friends got?

Philosophy degree?

Wot dat?

There's a massive shortage of graduate jobs even for useful subjects right now. Your daughter has secured a relatively presitigious job and you're still moaning about Johnny Foreigner. Wind your neck in.

It is better not to compare to others; if she is not happy she just have to keep trying for a better role while holding the one she already has. She is fortunate to have a job.