Of course unemployed graduates is on the increase with crap degrees in crap subjects.
Such as media studies or criminology at somewhere laughable like Lincoln.
EDIT: The average college in Burton upon trent (in staffordshire) is now a University - None of the graduates will get any sort of graduate job.
Just what my sister did, after 3 years she's on £30k, just goes to show even with carp degree if you have some aptitude you can go reasonably far. I agree though in general it's pointless.
The whole idea of tertiary education for all is a joke. The whole point of a degree/PhD was that the top 5-10% intelligent people could study specialised, intellecutally demanding subjects and were then employed, for example, in scientific discovery or in the design of complex engineering.
Nowadays armies of graduates are finding their degrees in media studies are pretty much worthless...less than worthless in fact as they've paid for the privelage in course fees and student loans, only to end up in a call centre or macdonalds on minimum wage. It has kept them out of the unemployment numbers for 3 years though which suits Labour just fine.
Pretty disgraceful of Labour really, and the only solution I can see is for the govt to publish lists of "required skills with a current shortage of graduates" and allow undergraduates fee-free study and even cash payments to study those degrees. This would be paid by even higher fees in non-required positions - the ones students seem to want to take these days, but that business or society actually has no need of in such numbers.
hopefully that would dissuade people doing interior design degrees and encourage more engineering etc.
While all very well that will hinder people who actually want to do those degrees instead of just do them for the money. People who do a (proper) science/engineering degree generally end up working in that area. If you gave loads of incentives to do it you would end up with courses full of mediocre people who are only there for the money.
I graduate this summer and am starting to send out applications. At the moment my sector is a bit of an unknown, the engineering side of it is almost certainly going to struggle but the main ndustry (oil) is a big question, there could be some struggle or it could be just virtually same as previous years.
I hope I am in reasonably good shape to go straight into a job, I am on track for a first at a reasonable university and although I have a carp UCAS total (not that many companies seem to care that i've spoken to) I did an internship in the summer which means I have a bit of experience. That also hopefully means i'll be near the top of the list with the company I did it with if I decide to go for that job.
If all else fails i'll carry on with my degree for another year and complete an undergrad or full grad masters.
Time will tell...
