400,000 graduate jobs

Im thinking 90% of degrees are pointless, or maybe people who study to degree level have unrealistic targets when it comesto finding a graduate job.

I really can't wait to get out in the career world and start working my way up, I don't expect to jump in near the top of anything
 
You could have attended a great school and then attended a couple of top globally ranked universities with good results and still have trouble getting a graduate job. I know because I am one of them!

The current situation is all pretty much fudged for a lot of grads with 2.1's let alone 2.2's.
 
I secured myself a graduate job after uni...but the starting salary was 13k! I hated it anyway, worked in shops for a bit, now I'm working for a retail website on 16k. The best job for me was the non-graduate one.
Unfortunately, my degree is from the slightly second rate University of Kent, but it's a 2.1 and won't disappear, in case I need to look in the future.
 
int said:
These days everyone and their mum has a bachelors degree, you need more than that for a decent job. One of the reasons I'm doing a PhD and I'm lucky enough to have a secure job for the next 3 years.
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Come on now. You need more than that to be guaranteed a decent job, but many get one after their bachelors.
 
aayzof said:
I'm in exactly the same position - half decent academic record, basic work experience such as bar work, building, retail assistant etc. but it just seems frigging impossible to actually get a place on the grad schemes. I've been to three different final assessment centres and failed them all! The calibre of student there is rather intimidating - almost all exclusively Oxbridge educated or with an MA.
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I obviously can't comment on your particular case, but in most cases, the Uni on your CV will only get you exactly that far, to the assessment centre, beyond that, from my experience it's mostly about personality, social skills, attitude, and other intangibles.

As a general rule, companies do not invite people to assessment centres unless their CV's, education, etc, have met all the requirements to get the job. It would otherwise be insanely wasteful. At an assessment centre they want to determine whether you can hold a conversation, work with other people, whether you would fit in, and whether you would be a nice person to work with. Do not think your CV was the reason you didn't make it past the assessment centre, that is generally not the case.
 
Gilly said:
More than being a product of the downturn, this is, IMO, a product of **** and ****-easy degrees in stuff that won't allow anyone to move into any kind of career. In addition, too many people going for the same thing and avoiding 'proper' degrees.

There may also be a kind of snobbery too. People no better than manual work deciding they don't want to do it, and want to do something 'better' when they're not good enough to make it.
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^ this. As usual :)
 
mglover070588 said:
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.
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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.

bottletop said:
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.
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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...
 
No problems finding my job, depends what you graduate in though tbh.

Can someone explain to me the logic behind why UK grads get paid such a crap wage? Median salary for an undergraduate major form my university last year was around $50,000, 19k seems a bit not-worthwhile to me?
 
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Voltar said:
Well, I'm not worried about it all. I think getting a graduate position has always had lots of competition, and the best candidate wins (or should do).

I think that it's also a result of the Labour reign encouraging people to go to uni (a good thing in general btw). Now everyone wants uni and lots of people who shouldn't be in uni are. I feel as though the value of my degree has been debased due to the dilution of candidate quality and the enforcing of 'equality' in access to learning.

I feel confident that I will be able to secure a job after university as I believe that for the jobs which I truly want to do, I am good enough to do.

However, I don't know how secure any graduate job will be this autumn so I will probably do the safer thing and stay in education until the storm blows over.
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All of this!
 
What does everyone here class as decent degrees out of curiosity? Personally:

Math
Chemistry
Physics
Biology
Engineerings
Economics
Accounting
Finance
Law

Those are about the only ones I class as being worthwhile, what about everyone else?
 
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Maths
Chemistry
Physics
Biology
Engineerings
Accounting
Earth Sciences
Teacher
Medicine

i.e. the (proper sciences) and engineering as well as specific courses such as Teaching and accounting if you are aiming to get into that sector.
 
makeshiftwings said:
Unfortunately, my degree is from the slightly second rate University of Kent, but it's a 2.1 and won't disappear, in case I need to look in the future.
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I wouldn't say that Kent is even a slightly second rate university, it really depends on what you are doing at the university itself rather than just the university, if you are doing a course which the university is not great on, then you wont be getting anywhere.

Personally I did my degree there in Computer Science and have been accepted into a scholarship to a new graduate university in Saudi Arabia and that was on the back of a good 2:1. You just need to be the right sort of person to get into the perspective placements or job.

Back on topic though, I am going to have to agree that this is a case of several factors falling in on each other, one being the huge increase of **** degrees from **** universities, another being the downturn, leading to highly experienced people out of the job and looking for work for which they have years of experience in and are willing to do it for peanuts as long as they get the job, leading to graduates getting second place due to their inflated sense of worth.
 
I graduate this year in Accounting and Finance and have a job lined up in the city earning over 30k, assuming I get a 2.1. I'm not an elite candidate by any means, but I do have a years relevant experience and applied to intern schemes that I thought wouldn't be so affected by the downturn.

I'd agree with Lagmeister that employers are looking for a right sort of person, someone who will fit in and be a team player. Yes it's a prerequisite to have a 2.1 from a respectable (I'd say top 30) university in something other than Media Studies, but experience and personality play a key role in employability too. That's why I'm for the internship scheme, anything to give graduates more real life work experience has to be a good thing and can only make grads more employable.
 
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Amp34 said:
Maths
Chemistry
Physics
Biology
Engineerings
Accounting
Earth Sciences
Teacher
Medicine

i.e. the (proper sciences) and engineering as well as specific courses such as Teaching and accounting if you are aiming to get into that sector.
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Law, economics?!?!

I did a law degree and I'm hoping to become a solicitor, I'd say you definitely fudged at the moment with a 2:2 no matter what degree and what University.
 
University is by no means a guarantee for anything.

It's how you utilise your time and extra resources whilst there that sets you up.

I've gained a lot from University and believe it would be far harder had I not studied for a degree to end up where I want to be.
 
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