Graduates, what now?

[sandy1234]

Hello all,

 

I'm here to put some focus on the troubles faced by graduates these days but I think they are just another category affected by the fall out of a bitter recession. However, this does nothing to ease the grief of leaving full-time university education and there's no where for you to go, apart from back into it for another two years in the hope you'll have a better chance of getting a job. What really stings me is that years ago you could pretty much ask for what you wanted re employment and wages following and MSc in some of the top areas like the sciences and engineering. Now, there's absolutely nito opportunity and it really is disgusting! However I feel worse for those leaving school who'll have the most energy and enthusiasm for life that they'll ever have and there's no where for this to be channeled. Instead they'll most likely grow angry and resentful of the country which does not reward anyone by providing opportunity and direction, or their hard work and achievements.

 

People are responsible for this - the tories throughout their existence for one because the rot started with Thatcher for sure. However only God knows why they were voted in during the 90's to carry on ruining the country. These people do not represent the ordinary working person of this country like myself and my ancestors of whom all were working class. The do not represent me because they took away all that the working classes created, a first class rail network which now costs more to run than they expected to save by fu*king it up in the 60's. Not to mention the loss of ship building, engineering and many other areas which would have provided much more than revenue alone, opportunities for the younger generations of whom would inevitably grow up and need to work. Now some young people grow up to be problems for society, or they leave with 18K plus debt like me and no way of shifting it anytime soon. People really need to have a good think, preferably beyond the end of their nose and apart from what they're told by the media, before they go to the voting booths. Yes labour didn't do that great after Blair left but how will a set of banker politicians help the situation? Also we have at least one bank under state ownership, all the others should be too, considering the majority of the uk population aren't millionaires, so this may benefit us.

Edited March 11, 2013 by sandy1234

[honeybee13]

Thread moved to the Bear Garden.

 

HB

[Horsen]

Hi Sandy1234.

Don't forget that the graduates in 2 years time will be leaving with even more debt after the fees went up. As a mature student leaving this year I can remember the "Thatcher Years" only too well. I also remember the early 70's under Heath, Wilson and Callaghan and it wasn't all sweetness and light then. The important thing though is what is happening now and compared to the " Good old days" things don't look too good. I don't know where all the old style engineering workers went to or where todays school leavers will end up. If we are a nation mainly employed within the service industry then what are we servicing? All I know is that when (if) I get my degree in a couple of months I will still be stacking shelves and counting beans in supermarkets. Good luck in your future career.

[renegadeimp]

Talking about graduates stacking beans....

 

 

In my local morrisons, there is a manager there who is a fully qualified molecular chemist and microbiologist. He has no choice but to work there because its the only job around for miles. Every company that he could apply for, he gets turned away as he doesnt have the experience needed. This is after he has spent the better part of ten years in Uni learning his career.

[sandy1234]

Hi Sandy1234.

Don't forget that the graduates in 2 years time will be leaving with even more debt after the fees went up. As a mature student leaving this year I can remember the "Thatcher Years" only too well. I also remember the early 70's under Heath, Wilson and Callaghan and it wasn't all sweetness and light then. The important thing though is what is happening now and compared to the " Good old days" things don't look too good. I don't know where all the old style engineering workers went to or where todays school leavers will end up. If we are a nation mainly employed within the service industry then what are we servicing? All I know is that when (if) I get my degree in a couple of months I will still be stacking shelves and counting beans in supermarkets. Good luck in your future career.

 

You too and thanks for your message, and yes I'll probably still be working in care but at least we tried x

[caro]

I applaud anyone who works to give themselves the best chance to make a future for themselves through further education, but with so many taking degrees there can't really be enough jobs for all of them.

 

I was shocked when my friends son left school at 16 with brilliant GCSE results and chose not to even take A levels, but he was lucky enough to get an apprenticeship. Having finished that he has gone from strength to strength and now earns more than any I know of the same age as a maintenance engineer.

 

I realise that apprenticeships are few and far between, but at the same time there needs to be shelf stackers and bean counters, and it's regrettable that so many with degrees are not able to find work at a level that reflects their qualifications.

 

Depending on where you are based, or willing to move to, Jaguar Land Rover are doing a lot of recruitment in the Midlands so it may be worth any expecting to graduate in the next few months taking a look at their website for vacancies.

 

I'm near to Coventry and this area has changed beyond all recognition with the loss of so much car manufacturing, and although JLR is no longer British, it is nice to see some investment in the area when virtually everything has gone over the last 30 years and so many skills lost or wasted as those in the industry struggle to get basic contract work at lower wages, and less money to spend in local businesses so the whole economy in the area has plummeted, as it has all over the country.

 

I just don't understand the short-sightedness of this government who don't want to invest in getting this country back on it's feet, except of course that under the Tories the rich have always got richer, while the poor get poorer.

 

Good on the new Archbishop of Canterbury for making a stand!

[sandy1234]

I applaud anyone who works to give themselves the best chance to make a future for themselves through further education, but with so many taking degrees there can't really be enough jobs for all of them.

 

I was shocked when my friends son left school at 16 with brilliant GCSE results and chose not to even take A levels, but he was lucky enough to get an apprenticeship. Having finished that he has gone from strength to strength and now earns more than any I know of the same age as a maintenance engineer.

 

I realise that apprenticeships are few and far between, but at the same time there needs to be shelf stackers and bean counters, and it's regrettable that so many with degrees are not able to find work at a level that reflects their qualifications.

 

Depending on where you are based, or willing to move to, Jaguar Land Rover are doing a lot of recruitment in the Midlands so it may be worth any expecting to graduate in the next few months taking a look at their website for vacancies.

 

I'm near to Coventry and this area has changed beyond all recognition with the loss of so much car manufacturing, and although JLR is no longer British, it is nice to see some investment in the area when virtually everything has gone over the last 30 years and so many skills lost or wasted as those in the industry struggle to get basic contract work at lower wages, and less money to spend in local businesses so the whole economy in the area has plummeted, as it has all over the country.

 

I just don't understand the short-sightedness of this government who don't want to invest in getting this country back on it's feet, except of course that under the Tories the rich have always got richer, while the poor get poorer.

 

Good on the new Archbishop of Canterbury for making a stand!

 

Yes we do need shelf stackers and bean counters, also maintenance engineers. However, we also still need qualified people who are prepared to go through the process and expense of higher education so that we have a skilled work force. If we all settled for what was immediately attainable we would get no where and someone has to keep doing the jobs others retire from. Also I won't be moving to Coventry but your comments have been well received.

[caro]

I don't think I made my point very well. Higher education does not have to be at university. Vocational qualifications and experience are as important, if not more important for a skilled work force. My son graduated in 2010 but due to lack of experience in work other than retail or bars, his first job was not what he might have hoped for with a pretty poor company, but it was a job, and one he worked hard at and made a difference there. It didn't take him long to get something better and with better prospects with a company in the FTSE 100, a job he may not have got without that initial experience, and now he's quite quickly progressing. No doubt his education helped, although his degree in geography is irrelevant to the job that he does. I understand that it's about the level of thinking, and not the subject of the degree that matters.

 

My point about my friends son is that he didn't follow the crowds to university or settle for what was immediately attainable. He learned on the job, he went to night school to study and got his qualifications that way. No, he didn't have to pay thousands for his education, although he was on a low wage, but he is now an extremely skilled member of the work force, who was also savvy enough to avoid having to get into huge debt so he's now in a position where he's just been able to buy his first house. He made a considered choice to go down that route and not study for A'levels or go to university.

 

I'm not knocking academic qualifications at all, but I strongly believe in vocational training and qualifications too. I also believe that there are more young people graduating than there can be jobs at the level that they're qualified to work at, and are saddled with debt for years to come, maybe even preventing them from taking the first steps on the property ladder, if that's the route they want to take.

 

I just don't think university is the be all and end all, and I wish that educators would encourage school leavers to consider other options too. Even the universities are making it harder to get places on some courses to make sure that they only get the pick of the crop, because they don't want/need all those that qualify. One of my son's housemates got her degree sponsored by the NHS, but the job that she qualified for had something like 120 newly qualified applicants per job. What is the point in educating so many more people for a job that only the very best will get. It's a waste of their time, NHS money and sets them up for a fall and demoralises them. At least in that case they aren't saddled with the debt, but what a waste of NHS resources that could be better spent elsewhere.

[assisted blonde]

i think that in some ways degrees have been dumbed down, nowdays students are pushed into higher education and an awful lot of them are not really into formal learning so they opt for what are commonly called micky mouse degrees. this results in a load of people having degrees which actually dont maen a lot to a prospective employer, at one time a person with a degree was not the norm and were considered by employers to be very employable , sadly a number of people these days have a degree on paper but not in a subject that is going to get them very far in any occupation other than that which uses their specialised skill. The old fashioned degrees such as english, rk, history, law, maths, biology etc show that a person has transferrable skills into the workplace, so my argument is that there should be less degree courses on offer, less universities, more technical colleges and more emphsis on students working and learning at work rather than continuing education.

[ifhthsbdw]

"Yes labour didn't do that great after Blair left" Bit of an understatement that sunshine. They wrecked the economy. Completely. It will take at least 10 years of austerity to put right the damage done to this country by the Brown/Blair governments. Private pensions wrecked, the country saddled with a PFI bill to last a generation, all the gold sold, the country sold down the river to the EU dictatorship, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed in Blair's illegal war and "Sorry, there's no money left" (Liam Byrne).

[renegadeimp]

And you think the condems will fair better? Current happenings says not a chance. We almost hit a triple dip recession until the BoE forced the economy into overdrive to stave it off.

[ifhthsbdw]

And you think the condems will fair better? Current happenings says not a chance. We almost hit a triple dip recession until the BoE forced the economy into overdrive to stave it off.

 

I didn't say they would fare any better, but they have a bad starting point - an economy ruined by Blair, Brown and the Labour Party. They've come into bat with the innings already 14 for 8. They had a better start but ruined it and ruined this country, possible forever. They should never be entrusted with the governance of this country again. Labour governments ruin the economy with the same certainty that bears ***t in the woods.

[renegadeimp]

The conservatives are the worst of a bad bunch. I say conservatives, because in reality the lib dems dont have any say in the goings on. They have a history of bankrupting the country whilst giving themselves huge payouts, or selling off public services to private companies. Private companies that they have shares in or become directors of when they leave the government.

[ifhthsbdw]

The conservatives are the worst of a bad bunch. I say conservatives, because in reality the lib dems dont have any say in the goings on. They have a history of bankrupting the country whilst giving themselves huge payouts, or selling off public services to private companies. Private companies that they have shares in or become directors of when they leave the government.

 

Just remind me again about how well the economy was performing when Labour left office after 13 years in government.

[renegadeimp]

You mean how well it was performing in the middle of one of the biggest global recessions in recent history? I think the problem was that an inept politician left that childish message and everyone has picked up on it.

[renegadeimp]

The biggest problem with the Labour Party was Gordon Brown. he was excellent as a chancellor, but terrible as a PM.

[ifhthsbdw]

You mean how well it was performing in the middle of one of the biggest global recessions in recent history? I think the problem was that an inept politician left that childish message and everyone has picked up on it.

 

Ah - didn't realise that we'd all been fooled by the fact that a Treasury Minister had stated that there was no money left. Silly me for thinking that there really was no money left and that the economy that had been managed for 13 years by Brown and the Labour party was in a robust state. The fact is that the last government inherited a healthy economy and left it wrecked. That's Labour for you.

[renegadeimp]

No. We all know why. Sure, there was some inept spending, but the main reason was due to the global recession. As i said, the politician thought it would be funny to leave that letter, thinking nobody would know about it and his replacement would see it as light humour. And if you think the economy wasnt good for most of New labours terms, compared to The conservatives, then i just dont know what to say.

 

i think we should simply agree to disagree. Each party has its own failings, its just a certain one has a very bad history of destroying the country.

[ifhthsbdw]

Each party has its own failings, its just a certain one has a very bad history of destroying the country.

 

How very right you are. Labour 1979 - wrecked economy. Labour 2010 - wrecked economy.

[Horsen]

The biggest problem with the Labour Party was Gordon Brown. he was excellent as a chancellor, but terrible as a PM.

 

Is the same man who sold the gold reserve at an all time low for gold prices and took how much out of pension funds. Can't wait to get my degree and give this lot a run for their money( our money?). To me it seems that it doesn't matter who is in government, the majority seem to end up no better off.

[renegadeimp]

Politicans have always been in it for themselves. Well, not all, but even if a well meaning person got into the PM seat, it would still be the same as the PM is just a spokesperson for the real decision makers.

[ScarletPimpernel]

The biggest problem with the Labour Party was Gordon Brown. he was excellent as a chancellor, but terrible as a PM.

 

He was a dire Chancellor, and a worse PM.

 

The Conservatives may not be perfect, but the current Labour front bench has nothing whatsoever to offer - a gang of champagne socialists with no realistic policies.

 

Miliband is a risible clown, his strings pulled by the swivel-eyed lunatic Ed 'Talking' Balls. The rest are just the same old failures from Bliar and Broon's days.

[Horsen]

And soon there will be thousands more graduates on the job market. Mainly over qualified for most of the jobs available, with student loan repayments to look forward to, and even more students going to Uni in Sept. Mind you I have seen a job thats suitable for students on my course in Cyprus.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Perhaps those considering university should also consider their future job prospects, and the attractiveness of having to repay their debts. University used to be for the few who excelled academically; now almost anyone can get a degree - and it shows.

 

The effect is that whilst more people have degrees, the value of some degrees has been diluted. Further, there are more people with degrees than there are graduate jobs, and more young people with unrealistic expectations.

 

There are, of course, schemes such as those operated by the armed forces, whereby tuition fees are paid in return for service after university. Media studies students need not apply.