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I've got a degree, I shouldn't be stacking shelves

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/23686814

This kind of thing annoys me personally, as some people seem to think getting a degree should automatically give them an amazing job and they will therefore reject any job that they do not deem worthy of themselves.

I also find it hilariously ironic that one of the people in the article has just completed a degree in photography and yet is moaning about wasted talent.

Yeah, sad truth, a degree on its own doesn't cut it anymore, you have to shine above the rest, and this involves taking what you can find to begin with, if you can't you're stuffed.

However in defence of those qualified but unemployed: I currently have good A-levels and I'm halfway through a degree. I WANT a basic job. I've applied for countless jobs to be a cleaner, work at McDonalds, you name it, all those things we apparently think we're 'above'. I've been rejected from every single one and told multiple times that I'm 'overqualified'. A lot of the time these kinds of employers want a rough diamond which they can train up and who will stick with them, which is fine but I will just point out that it does leave some people in a bit of a halfway house, where you're overqualified for a non-grad job, under qualified for a grad job. I know this isn't always the case as I have friends who work in retail etc, but it seems to have been a factor in my failure to find any basic part time work.

Reply 101

scrotgrot

16

Original post by Ripper-Roo

I agreed with you until you said 'management position in a faceless corporation' :eyeball:

A cosy government job would've been better.

The public/private-sector dichotomy is complete rot. Either would do.

Reply 102

FriarLawrenceIII

6

I don't think this is the case for a lot of people. At my old job at a DIY store, around half of the shop floor had a degree of some sort. One even had a masters!

Reply 103

punani

14

This year 401,000 applications have been accepted by Colleges and Universities according to UCAS. Yet there are only 17,217 graduate level jobs available this September.

This is only going to get worse.

Reply 104

blue n white army

16

hate the attitude
I've just finished my final year on an accounting degree and me n my mates were all struggling to find a job in the field. We were applying and applying and even though we knew there was a strong chance we wouldn't get an accounting job none of us said "this time next year i'm going to be on benefits" we all accepted that after we graduated we might be working in a shop or stacking shelves or washing pots etc.

after i graduated i went back to my holiday job except they made me a trainee chef for no apparent reason. I did a job i hated on crap hours for crap money, nothing ever gets me down like working as a chef but i stuck at it until i landed an internship in a non-accounting role (which i don't mind doing because it builds the CV). I feel by doing these jobs that i either hate or are unrelated to my degree i am showing that I have a strong work ethic and showing that i am willing to build my CV and gain experience. I don't get how some people don't realise that there's more to job hunting than just having a degree.

Reply 105

Goods

16

If he's a so called talented photography graduate why doesn't he become a freelance photographer and sell his 'talent'

Reply 106

HmMusic

9

Original post by Goods

If he's a so called talented photography graduate why doesn't he become a freelance photographer and sell his 'talent'

Exactly this. Seems to me that a degree such as photography would lend itself to freelance work rather than being employed by someone. I know so many photographers without degrees that have set up their businesses just fine, my brother included. Surely someone with a degree would be able to do that just the same if not better? They can highlight the fact they have a degree and potentially be able to charge, and earn, more.

On a similar note, I'm studying a popular music degree as a mature student, with the view to freelancing as a tutor and choir MD. I am already running my choir alongside my course and tutoring to gain experience so that I'm able to continue, highlighting my skills, after I have earned my qualification. Although my degree isn't academic - some would even call it "easy" - I thought long and hard before taking it and made sure to back up my education with experience in the area. Unfortunately so many people on my course ARE using the course as an easy option and are expecting to be rock stars at the end, having come straight out of school without much thought. It seems to me that if someone were to study a creative degree such as photography or music they should think hard and realistically about their post grad options.

Reply 107

Hopple

18

Original post by Ripper-Roo

Anyone who looks up to the government is asking for trouble

You're talking about kids here, taught/brainwashed to respect all kinds of authority. Don't tell me you were jaded all the way back when you started high school?

Reply 108

Ripper-Roo

Original post by Hopple

You're talking about kids here, taught/brainwashed to respect all kinds of authority. Don't tell me you were jaded all the way back when you started high school?

Until the age of 10 I thought the government was just one person :teehee:

I can't say they have had much of an impact on my early life, it was mainly my parents and other family members. In high school it was different because it becomes more of a state machine with education and meeting schools' targets. Also, my dad is not the type to defer to authority, so we were never told that we need to respect the government etc.

Reply 109

BAD AT MATHS

12

Original post by WeeGuy

People are too proud.

Proud and entitled!

I over heard a conversation in my uni library about two girls studying social sciences, they were discussing how much they want to earn as a graduate and one claimed she would not be happy with anything less the £36k starting! I mean seriously what graduate entry jobs does she expect to pay £36k starting with a social sciences degree. I'm not putting the degree down, it's a good degree and can get you far in life, but she's in for a big shock when she realises that not many companies will be prepared to pay her £36k off the bat.

Reply 110

shahidk1

What it bubbles down is that the job market/employers do not really look at education but the first thing on their mind is ehat experience have you got. I overhear constantly people talking about how they would expect a salary no less then £40k for example and they come to the shock that they are earning less then what they expected. Although the current economic state does not help the situation anyway.

Reply 111

uktotalgamer

13

Simple answer. Don't do a ****ing **** degree.

Reply 112

Lord Hysteria

18

Did anyone watch the guy in the clip on the BBC website?

Lol. Photography degree !! :rofl:

Reply 113

ladyjane9

Can't be picky in this grad job market.

Original post by punani

Yet there are only 17,217 graduate level jobs available this September.

From where did you find that statistic, and also what is the actual definition of a "graduate level" job?

Reply 115

User1248243

14

He should work until he finds a job or applies himself elsewhere, eg freelance.

Reply 116

MatureStudent36

5

Original post by Goods

If he's a so called talented photography graduate why doesn't he become a freelance photographer and sell his 'talent'

So you need a degree to become a photographer now? I'll let the girlfriends Dad know so he can rush out and do a degree in it and put his photography business on hold.

He can't get a job as we've dumbed down degrees to such an extent that we're now offering degrees in what should've been a vocational course.

It's going on everywhere. It's like degrees in child care. Do you really need a degree to change a nappy whilst you're working at a nursery?

Reply 117

Goods

16

Original post by MatureStudent36

So you need a degree to become a photographer now? I'll let the girlfriends Dad know so he can rush out and do a degree in it and put his photography business on hold.

He can't get a job as we've dumbed down degrees to such an extent that we're now offering degrees in what should've been a vocational course.

It's going on everywhere. It's like degrees in child care. Do you really need a degree to change a nappy whilst you're working at a nursery?

I didn't say that?

I said if he has a photography degree and he claims he's talented at photography then he should become a photographer? I never said anything about needing a photography degree

Reply 118

MatureStudent36

5

Original post by Goods

I didn't say that?

I said if he has a photography degree and he claims he's talented at photography then he should become a photographer? I never said anything about needing a photography degree

Ok. I wasn't actually commenting on your post. Merely following on from it.

Reply 119

CherryCherryBoomBoom

21

Another sad thing is that the guy in the article just quit a part time marketing job - something many people would kill for! Why not just stick to that instead of settling for JSA? At least it's another creative field that I'm guessing could have maybe given him some contacts or opportunities for developing his photography.

I've got a degree, I shouldn't be stacking shelves

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