Any graduates feel they'll be left behind in life? Read on...

Hi,

Does anyone else feel that due to this recession they will be left behind? I've had a pretty crap two years and i'm starting to feel that i'm never going to get on the career ladder :frown:

. So worried I've decided to use my savings from the temp job to do a masters for a year, hoping it'll give me some vital work experience and hopefully land that elusive job! Not counting on it though!

Post your stories/views of if you think your life will ever pan out!

(edited 1 year ago)

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Reply 1

Dog4444

Just curious, what was you degree? Geography?

Reply 2

mistermeowingtons

How would a masters give you vital work experience?

Reply 3

wanderlust.xx

I only just graduated in July and I'm already feeling it. Maybe it's because I just got left behind when it came to graduate schemes. In any case, I've been applying for finance & insurance roles for a while now but I'm not getting anywhere. Most places claim to be "filled up", but in reality they probably just didn't like my application. A steady stream of rejection is seeping through...

Maybe I'm just impatient. I'm sure that me waiting 2 months for an opportunity and you waiting 2 years is a little different! Very sorry if I've offended, but I do see that it's much harder than I ever anticipated. Companies are even rejecting free working grads!

Reply 4

kka25

What do you mean left behind? I went to work for a big company before and I realized companies like that is not for me. Did you do any internship/attachment before?

Reply 5

Herr

Original post by kka25

What do you mean left behind? I went to work for a big company before and I realized companies like that is not for me. Did you do any internship/attachment before?

What industry was this and why didn't you like working for a big company?

Have you gone on to work for a SME then? Are you liking it better?

Reply 6

thegaffer91

Original post by wanderlust.xx

They probably are full up I'm afraid, most finance and insurance companies hire October to March. The very early applications are open for 2013 starts, with most opening in September.

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9300

Reply 7

jonnythemoose

I can understand how you feel, although in my case I think I'm sort of choosing to be 'left behind'. I've just graduated (three days ago!) and a lot of my friends are moving into full-time work or doing Master's degrees.

I know that one day I want to do a Master's too, as I want to pursue a career in interpreting and/or translation; however, I am ready for a break from the world of academia, and there are so many things I want to see and do now, whilst I have no responsibilities or ties to home. So this year I'll be going to France to work for a year; and the following year I'm hoping to go to Colombia. At some point I'd like to spend some time in Asia, and also in Brazil.

At this rate, I can't see myself having the money or the desire to do the Master's for another five years or so, which is absolutely fine by me...I can't get into my chosen career path without a Master's, and by spending time abroad I am improving my languages skills, so it's not like I'm dossing about. Nevertheless I know that in a couple of years time, I'll probably feel a little bit left behind, too. Try not to worry about it, OP. We are in a difficult time economically, and there's no rush to get into the serious world of work. After all; you'll be working until you're 65...why does it matter if you start at 21, 22, 26, 29...? :smile:

Reply 8

kka25

Original post by Herr

What industry was this and why didn't you like working for a big company?

Have you gone on to work for a SME then? Are you liking it better?

The segregation is one of them. But there are others that I won't list here lol. SME... I think I did; and I enjoyed it (less segregation), but I need something that could be invested in the long run as well.

Reply 9

kka25

I know what you mean :/

Reply 10

dusk

Ok, first off, there are LOTS OF JOBS IN GEOPHYSICS! If you're saving for the Imperial course, I suggest you apply NOW because they also offer a lot of scholarships. I did the geophysics masters last year, applied in July, and was offered a full scholarship plus living allowance. If you're not up for an MSc straight away, I suggest you get on to applying to survey/processing service companies. Bigger companies include PGS, CGG Veritas, Fugro and WesternGeco, and, unlike the oil and gas majors, don't require/'prefer' an MSc. I used to work offshore for a survey contractor, and post MSc I work in gas exploration. You are correct about the MSc making a big difference though - the Imperial and Leeds courses are very industry focussed, and get a lot of attention/money from the bigger companies (not just oil and gas majors, but consultancies and service companies too). If you want to message me for any more geophysics spiel, please feel free!

Reply 11

Llamageddon

Original post by mistermeowingtons

How would a masters give you vital work experience?

You get lengthy placements in industry in many of them.

Reply 12

dusk

The course is interesting, with some great lecturers, but intense - abandon any ideas of leisurely weekends! We stick it for a year cos it is only a year and it is worth it!

Reply 13

sputum

It's not so bad :wink:

Reply 14

cgraham15

I'm in Spain at the moment and it's much worse here. 50% youth unemployment. I hope the recession won't last forever.

Also, I have a question. When the recession goes and there is an economic boom, will University degrees be as desired as they are now?

Reply 15

wanderlust.xx

Original post by thegaffer91

They probably are full up I'm afraid, most finance and insurance companies hire October to March. The very early applications are open for 2013 starts, with most opening in September.

I find it extremely frustrating. I know that it's a little too late to examine what went wrong or to point the finger at others, but even though my careers service hinted at the prospect of a graduate scheme, none actually told us, "If you don't apply now, you'll be unemployed come September". I don't think it hit anyone while we were in our final year - exams were the priority, when it should have been grad schemes.

Everyone had the wrong end of the stick. "Get a first and you'll get a job" was a sentence that was so overused that I can't believe how so many of us managed to fall for it.

There really should be far more done to a) allow graduates into work without this yearly recruitment drive and b) to get them to understand that academic grades count for little to squat in the real world! Many still don't understand and it really does destroy lives.

/rant

Reply 16

cgraham15

Well, I see more people want to go to University as they believe it will help them get a job, whether or not they are desired :P maybe after the recession people won't see the need to go to University.

Reply 17

thegaffer91

Original post by wanderlust.xx

Can I just ask what university you were at? The obvious answer to your rant is that the onus should be on you to find out about careers, the roles available and when you need to apply. Surely there were careers fairs and whatnot that suggested you may need to apply early?

Everyone at your university may have thought that, but this was not the case at most of the top universities.

Of your points in the last paragraph, I 100% disagree with the first point, and 100% agree with the second.

How would you propose to " allow graduates into work without this yearly recruitment drive"? You can't force companies to employ people, many of them already hire tens if not hundreds of graduates. But there needs to be a lot more done by careers services to prepare people for employment. The vast majority of the information I and others gained about employment came from my own personal research or from the relevant societies.

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9300

Reply 18

cgraham15

Think the best bet is to just leave the country :smile:

that's what I plan to do. Spain or South America

Reply 19

Mr Student

I graduated in 2009 and have had many menial and low paid jobs. I was fortunate enough to get a non-graduate job that pays 19K as an engineer but I had to move hell and earth to get it. I had interviews in Scotland, Wales and 3 different cities in England till I finally landed one in my home town. I'm now considering doing a funded BSc as I love this job but it comes at a cost: working weekends and nights and the workload is simply unmanageable at times, even for seasoned engineers who have been in the factory for over 20 years.

Chucking away 19K to take a punt on studying is a massive reservation for me but I've signed up for Sept. Maybe I should reconsider and resign myself to the fact that education is quite simply not preparing people for meaningful work ... what little of that exists.