Does your Graduate child have a job?

[Karma2023]

The volume of advertised jobs for Graduates is apparentely at a historical low which is obviously worrying for students and their parents.

Just interested in sharing experience and perhaps offering assistance to those going through the job hunting process.

Has your young person secured a job? If so what subject did they do and how did they find the role?

I have a dc who secured an internship this summer, he is studying STEM and found the job directly from the company site. He is hoping to get a return job offer however he hasn't loved the job so will be looking for other opportunities. He may take a year out and improve his language skills as it might add to his CV.

Yes, graduate in graphics design and communications from Leeds and starts at a growing recruitment consultancy specialising in tech and chemical manufacturing, life sciences and AI (what else !) He’s had jobs since he was 15- hospitality, Covid testing lab, Deliveroo gig, building work, and for the last couple of years signed up with agencies that got him gig work for marketing events for different brands, and on the betting booths at Ascot and othe racing events. He had four different CVs and covering letters, got lots of interviews and call-backs, and and so when the right opportunity came he was well practised in interview techniques and was able to click. He’ll be starting with 11 other graduates and the firm wins awards for its training scheme. So there’s relief and cheer all round, because it’s not an easy market. But professional services are bucking the trend and having good growth relative to other sectors and rôles at present, so fingers crossed he can surf that particular wave. It’s not easy, and it seems to me that job seekers are having to develop a lot of the skills just in the search that my generation could pick up much later, once in work.

I have a german sil and she says that in germany many young people don't want to work nowadays and that employers can't find staff, so easy to get occasional jobs or even full time jobs and even apprenticeships. Does anyone know why such a difference between germany and the uk? What is the situation like in other european countries?

@SulkingInTheCatio It is last century now for me (!) but when I was applying for part 1 / part 2 architecture jobs, it wasn’t really job adverts, it was more identifying suitable practices then sending in a CV and covering letter, even if no jobs are advertised. And yes, a lot of teaching in architecture courses is done using visiting tutors, who tend to have their own practices / work in practice for others, so making strong links with anyone and everyone while doing the masters, and not being afraid to utilise networks / ask people if there are opportunities coming up, will also help. Willingness to be flexible / do ad hoc work will also help to get feet in the door of a practice. There are also lots of other careers associated with architecture - I knew quite a few who then went on to planning / urban design / built environment research / policy / regeneration etc etc. Networking events etc with the local RIBA branch could also be useful..

@FeelingOldOldOld thank you. Yes I keep telling her this but she has a tendency not to listen. I told her to email local companies before the summer to offer assistance (even for free) but she went off travelling. I keep trying to leave her to it to be honest but it makes me anxious. She has a tendency to fall on her feet, she’s very personable so hopefully will be ok.

😮

@SulkingInTheCatio You are absolutely NOT a qualified professional engineer after an engineering degree. Far from it. You are a graduate engineer and nothing more. Maybe you haven’t seen the term CEng? It means Chartered Engineer, like a Chartered Architect and you need a Master’s to get it plus often at least 3 years of suitable work and mentoring post masters. So virtuality no different to Architecture but can take some grads longer than architects to qualify in some areas of engineering. Just shows how poor engineering is at informing anyone of the professional status of the role.

Ah sorry, my mistake. I probably should know as dh is a chartered engineer 🙈😀. Did not realise he had a masters. In fact I’d fairly confidently say he hasn’t! 🤷‍♀️

plus you can work as an engineer without being chartered can’t you? I used to work for a water company with a load of civil engineers and lots weren’t chartered. Maybe the odd manager? But dh did always used to mutter that it wasn’t right that they were called engineers.

Dh did his degree in the 70s so maybe it was different then.

This is interesting to me as my dd is just commencing her Arch & Anth course and i know has some worries/uncertainties about what opportunities there might be afterwards. Do you know how other graduates from her course fared?

@SulkingInTheCatio My DH hasn’t either but for the “fast route” CEng you need an integrated masters or stand alone masters now. Most grads take around 3 years after leaving university but some take much longer. A BEng is Incorporated Engineer now, IEng. CEng is the higher qualification.

Yes, she has a job. DD studied Medicine.

It depends on the field of engineering. My dd is several years into her career as an electronics design engineer after her MEng, it seems they don’t really need it.

Big mix - some have gone overseas to stay in the field, some gone on to further study but most have moved out the subject.

My DD advise is to say yes to everything - volunteering at open events, helping clean up rusty nails, go to PhD students thesis presentations (they were advertised to all so she went along) year rep etc… Just got her name and face known helped with opportunities and got her on her first dig - which then led to more digs.

That and being nerdy about digital stuff, so she got her drone license and could take GPS points, could do photogrammetry of finds.

@ErrolTheDragon Yrs that’s the latest attitude. However if you want to design something that matters for public safety, eg a high rise building, you really must be a Chartered Engineer. You are not a professional structural engineer without it. Others cannot be bothered of course and employers cannot be bothered either in some engineering fields. In the traditional fields it still matters because they are a profession. Engineers are their own worst enemies in dumbing down their profession and thinking lower standards are ok. Thankfully doctors don’t think like this.

DS started his software engineering role this week after graduating with a First in Computer Science this year. He received a job offer towards the end of his industrial placement with a large defence company. He managed to secure a 3 mth paid internship for a small software company doing tech support in the summer after YR1. This was pivotal in helping him gain his 12 mth industrial placement between YR2 & YR3 of his degree. He is one of 3 "new" graduates in his department and the other 2 are older postgraduates in their mid 20's with relevant work experience.

I am curious as to whether humanities graduates are still getting grad scheme type jobs not just engineers, maths, business and economics grads.

@Perfectnightssleep Well obviously some do or we would have mass grad unemployment - and we don’t. However sometimes earnings won’t be high though. As with any other grad, having some idea about a career is vital. Then getting at least some work or volunteering pays dividends too. The top 100 ftse companies don’t just employ scientists. They have HR, marketing, sales, and many other aspects of running a business. So always look at what dc might be interested in because grad vacancies are not just taken by stem grads. Even accountants are not all stem grads!

DS is very political. He refused to apply for any large multi national company or any involved in defense or weapons. Annoying as they are the ones paying good money for cyber security, computer and electronics skills.
He's found a largish British company to work for on a graduate scheme. It's paying low £30k currently, which is £10k less than his mate that just joined the navy without doing Uni.

That’s what a leading rating earns and that’s a promotion. Not sure that’s available to “just started” recruits. However if dc won’t apply for better paid jobs, the bank of mum and dad needs to be bigger!

The armed Services seem to be largely ignored now however the skills opportunity can be positive. A friends son is getting an amazing engineering apprenceship and he's very unlikely to see active service. He could leave in 4 years with no debt, a decent education and savings from a fairly well paid role, with minimal expenses as accommodation provided.

How long does he have to spend in the army after he’s finished his degree - 4 years? That’s quite a big sacrifice!