A report published in the Independent recently suggested that too many unemployed graduates are guilty of “job snobbery” by turning down work they consider menial. So then, are we really seeing a build-up of graduates all clinging on to their degrees in Marketing and Media Studies waiting for that dream job whilst turning down those jobs serving coffee? With the latest figures showing another 15,000 people aged 16 to 24 becoming unemployed in June, is the truth that a huge cross section of graduates believe some jobs are below them?
According to an advisor in the Portsmouth Job Centre, who wished to remain anonymous, it isn’t a rare situation. “We get a lot of young people in here who genuinely want to work but have a mental list of jobs that they just won’t do.” He adds, “A high number are recent graduates who come to us with the genuine belief that they will walk away with a few interviews for 25k+ a year (40,000USD) roles. Unfortunately on too many occasions, we are having to dampen their expectations.”
Expectation. A word which crops up in almost every conversation I have on this subject. From the job centre, to undergraduates, to lecturers, to the unemployed. It is the one thing, despite the UK’s obvious socio-economic problems over the past few years, that crops up more than any other. As society’s class distinctions have been eroded, our ability to dream of landing that well-paid job has flourished. For the increasing number of graduates, the expectation is that they will at least secure a job mildly relevant to the degree they invested so much time in. The reality for so many is, for a few years at least, working jobs that you never thought you’d be doing.
We are in danger of creating a job market that makes no sense, where graduates are unprepared for the patience required to gain the career they want. A fact that Tim, an accountant living in Nottingham, thinks people are missing, “[Graduates] should have realistic expectations regarding jobs and if they can’t get a job they want then they should take whatever is on offer whilst they work towards/train to get the job they want.”
In an increasingly competitive graduate job market the situation is tougher than it has ever been. With reports suggesting 50% more graduates are more likely to end up in non-graduate jobs when they leave university than students a decade ago, it’s hardly surprising that some graduates seem to actively choose the dole rather than a ‘menial’ job.
Even when talking to current students the feelings are pretty similar. According to one student, Kay, who is studying at the University of Portsmouth, it is more a question of prospects than it is about reward. “I just want to know that the hard work I’ve put in will at least land me something which I can work towards, not just some dead end job. I’d rather live with my mum and claim jobseeker’s than work in McDonald’s.”
For Ollie, a 24-year-old economics graduate, the truth is hard to digest. “I graduated 18 months ago but have yet to find anything that’s suitable. All in all I’ve applied for around 150 jobs during that time and have had around seven serious interviews but progress is slow.” When asked about taking a different job Ollie’s outlook was fairly negative. “It’s not that I feel I’m better than working in a coffee shop but at the minute I’d rather stay on jobseeker’s and bide my time and wait for the right opportunity.” Whatever the reason, the reality is, more often than not, hard to swallow. The fact that graduates now see the dole as an increasingly accepted part of post-education is worrying. For most of the population the idea of living on the dole, even for just a short amount of time, is about as desirable as waking up next to a rotting corpse, but it is becoming increasingly common. Some reports suggest that as many as 13% of male graduates have spent more than six months on jobseeker’s allowance, a staggering statistic for something that still carries the stigma of embarrassment for many.
Back in July I wrote an article about the graduate problem. In a way the issue is that some graduates think a degree is an entitlement to a higher wage rather than seeing it as a tool to help them work towards a higher wage. A degree should be about taking that qualification and using it as a platform to become a better person, almost the foundations for what you achieve once you leave.
At least for most, the thought of unemployment still carries the shudder of worry it probably should. As a college tutor myself, I always feel the need to ask my students about their opinions on everything from international terrorism to that noise called dubstep. So when I asked one of them whether he would rather work than be on the dole his response was pretty unambiguous: “Being on the dole would make me depressed but then so would working at McDonald’s, but I’d rather be depressed and have money than depressed and living at my mums.” Good lad Johnny, good lad.
Topic: unemployed men are a waste of space (Read 12435 times)