Jobless graduate sues her college

The Americans always seem to have a way about doing things. The woman refered to in this article has taken the unemployed student senario to the next level.

Does she have a point though? My degree was was distrupted heavily by poor teaching and incredibly poor administration, (a senario where I feel that if I had been taught to the level I expected, I would have recieved a 1st or at least a good 2:1 rather than the 2:2 I got)

Albeit I may not have worked particularly hard at the end of my 3rd year, but this was purely a result of the frustrations the university had caused me.

Speaking to a friend who graduated this year (the academic year below mine) it appears as though the University is still failing the students, I was dismayed to hear that the students had had their results reduced by 10% as a result of university marking systems.

If students are paying for a service, why does the service seem to fail so often?

I find it incredibly hard to try and understand this situation, granted the universities have thousands of students graduate every year. However, most students are now graduating in my position, no job and over ten thousand pounds worth of debt. With such a bleak existance facing the graduates, maybe getting their money back isn't such a bad idea after all?

It's all a game of chance

I read this article today, 2.38 Million unemployed across Britain.It also dawned on me that I myself, like many who graduated last year have just reached the one year anniversary of leaving university.

In the Twelve months since I moved home from university I have worked for roughly four months, three months in paid employment, and one month worth of volunteering.

So for nine months I've been invalid, unable to claim benefits from the state, and no one, not career advisor, family friend, employment officer, friend or professional has been able to offer advice which can work. Why?

The job world at the moment is about two things, chance and luck.

It's definitely chance rather than deserved if you are offered a job in the current climate, and there's nothing more than luck in keeping the job and getting more work from it.

From a personal perspective, it's taken me a year to work out which field of work I'm best suited to. Ironically it's the field I've spent the last year trying to get into.

But what about the other graduates, and what about those who unlike me have a rent to pay and a family to feed.

How do they work again?

The most infuriating and painful fact about this question is that no one can find a good answer for it.

Some have claimed, the BNP for example to have a answer, as disturbing their answer is however, they've managed to do what the other political parties cannot do, which is suggest an answer to the problem.

Let me just make it clear right now that in no way do I think the BNP have made a good suggestion nor do I support any political views that the BNP have ever held.

The question I have is what hope can the unemployed have if the powers that be (government) cannot think of a realistic answer to the problem in hand.?

A new batch arrives

The summer is approaching, the sunny weather has been and gone (for the time being at least) and more and more students are returning home from university.

In a situation similar to last year many of these returning students will find themselves labelled as 'Graduates' with a degree and struggling to find full time employment.

I've managed to keep myself busy as a graduate, I've taken nearly every job that's been offered to me and worked as hard as I possibly can while employed to at least suggest to my employer that I'm a keeper.

Last week I received a phone call asking if I could be in Lakeside shopping centre (in Essex) the very next day to act as a product demonstrator. I had never done this particular job before, but I jumped at the opportunity for paid employment, the job in question is only for Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Six days over Two Weeks) so my second stretch of demoing starts tomorrow.

To keep myself busy this week however I volunteered, I may have only done half a days worth of volunteering on Tuesday, but I did it, and I'll go back next week if the job hasn't been done for someone else.

Why? I hear you ask.

I do it so that when I next go to a job interview and they ask me what I've been doing. I can give an answer that I'm proud of.

I'm proud of my volunteering,

This is the part where I could give a gushing speech about the wonders of volunteering, but I wrote that article a few posts back for my old Student's Union (See below)

I am proud of the volunteering aspect of my life however, I like that instead of graduating from University and stacking shelves, or going back to working in a petrol garage, I have instead done something a little bit different, I've decided to get as involved as possible in a charity that I genuinely care about.

During this period I've also developed some very useful contacts and received some very good advice from individuals who have been in the exact same position as me before.

So if you're reading this and wondering what to do having just graduated, I recommend looking at what everyone else in your position is doing, and maybe try something different.

Statistics and the claims

I recently read a news article which stated that currently 900,000 graduates are unemployed in Great Britain.
Combine this with the thousands due to graduate this year; the apparent 2 million other people who are unemployed (some with degrees, many with job experience, and those that don't want to work) and you are left with a right old mess.

As I write I've been talking to the Government, I'm trying to find out if I need to pay national insurance or not. I've been out of work since I left Uni (nearly a whole year ago) during that time I've demolished and re- decorated a bedroom (unpaid) helped to look after my grandparents (unpaid) re- joined the gym (I paid for that) and done the equivalent of one months worth of paid employment (which went really quickly and I wish it hadn't ended.)

I have also had 3 formal job interviews (of which I didn't get a single job) applied for so many jobs I couldn't tell you which ones (I think I've passed the 1000 applications though, can I have a medal please?) and generally felt a bit rubbish as I can't understand one seemingly simple question.

How did I go to university in a world where it was suggested it would be easy and lucrative to find employment, and I left university to enter a world where I have to fight even to get voluntary work.

I hope this trend doesn't continue.

The worst knowledge that I have currently, my best friend returns from a round the world trip at the end of the month, she left in September.

In the 9 months since she's been around the world, I still haven't found a job.

Depressing reading doesn't seem to do it justice.

When will they learn?

I was rather dismayed to read about the debate currently occurring as to whether universities should be allowed to charge more money to students who wish to earn a degree.

I was dismayed by this news subject for a number of reasons;

1: I went to University, I graduated with a 2:2 BA in Journalism and Video Production. I am proud of my degree.

As a result of my degree I currently owe the student loan company several thousands of pounds in unpaid debt which is currently not being paid off (I don't earn enough money.) and which is continuing to gain interest on a monthly basis.

There is one way that I could pay of my student debt in realistic terms, however this realism does include my becoming a contestant on Deal or No Deal and being fortunate enough to pick the £250,000 box.

In the current climate, I will be shocked if I'm ever able to pay off my student debt.

On top of this, I believe that if the universities want more money, they should be giving value for money in the first place at least. (this brings me onto my second point)

2: I spent my university life in an average of 4 hours a week worth of lectures. If I had been taught during my degree, I am certain I would have gained a far higher grade.

I can be certain in this belief as a number of friends of mine who went to university and received real teaching graduated with much higher grades than I did (We're talking shiny proud 1st's here).

(and finally the 3rd point)

3: Since then I have heard from my university once, I received a telephone call a few months ago asking what I was doing now as the university were trying to record the paths of students since graduation, I explained my situation fully and was told that if I emailed David Shacklady who is the Head of Careers & Employment at Buckinghamshire New University I would be given advice on my C.V.

I did this immediately, anything to help find me an opportunity...

David replied with a note that read;

Hi Matt

I will check your CV and get back to you shortly.

Best Wishes

David

That was received by me on January 15th 2009.

I think we have different ideas on what the definition of shortly is.

(Conclusion)

As it stands I'm in a situation now where my outlook towards the future is incredibly positive and I'm really looking forward to finding out what happens next in my life.

The point I was originally making however is why should I or any of the future generations be expected to amass this much debt when the university do such a shoddy job?

If this suggested fee rise goes ahead I will urge any children I may have in the future to not go to university unless they wish to go into a profession that demands a university education, as it seems to me to be nothing more than a big waste of time and money.

How to prepare for the Big Bad World.

I was asked to write an article for the newspaper at Bucks Student's Union this week. Below are the wise words of advice that I offered for the current students.

How to prepare for the Big Bad World.

My name is Matt Fricker, this time last year; I was the Media Officer for Bucks Students’ Union. I spent my spare time volunteering and generally just got as much enjoyment out of my final year as a student as I could.

Then the recession hit.

And I, along with many of my fellow graduates became stuck in a pigeon hole, “Good but not close enough to the brief for this position.”

As a result I found myself fighting for jobs against people who had just been made redundant from doing that very same job, so it was a bit of a loosing battle.

Never the less, I persevere, and my C.V. is noticed by a number of employers. Why? I hear you ask.

Well, as I mentioned earlier, I spent my spare time at Bucks volunteering, I volunteered in the role of Media Officer. A position that allowed me to chat with Bradley from S Club and get splattered with cold sponges for Children In Need among other things.

More importantly though, I also spent a lot of time in meetings with other members of the Students’ Union debating, devising and then implementing ideas and projects that would benefit the cause that we were fighting for. Whether the cause was raising money for Child Poverty Day, or gaining the biggest election turnout in Bucks Students’ Union history, I was there, giving up my spare time to make a real difference.

It’s because of this that my C.V. looks the way it does, employers love volunteering, as it means that you’re willing to get up and do something different, not just sit about and get drunk or just study like many students.

Employers love candidates who volunteer, as through volunteering you learn those life skills that no classroom can teach you.

A month is a long time

In the four weeks since I last updated this blog, I would say that things have changed for the better. I'm still not in full time employment so to say, but my experiences over the past few weeks (Last week in particular) have asked me if I really want to "settle down" job wise.

I realise that the previous point can be argued simply that no one really settles down job wise, but hear me out.

Last week I spent my first full week working in six months, I have done a number of odd days of work here and there, but nothing from Monday to Friday.

For the job in question I was an Events Host, I met a number of very interesting people including a Doctor of Genetics who was searching for a new path. During one of the many conversations that we had, the subject of "what makes you happy" came up, personally, I love writing, I wrote my first book at the age of four, I've still got it, it's riddled with grammatical and spelling mistakes, but I wrote it, and I'm still very proud of it.

The point I'm trying to make is that as an individual and as a employer/ prospective employee I believe that it is imperative that you are working towards a goal that will make you happy. For example, I as an individual am not driven by money, I have nothing against money and I'm sure that first class flights and all of those flashy things are lovely, but I'd rather be happy and proud of what I do.

As a result I currently find myself at a bit of a crossroads, the question, do I keep applying for jobs and take the first full time one that comes along? or do I simply keep doing what I'm doing, take the work when it comes and see what happens?

Personally I'm opting for the latter option, unless my dream job comes along, but I think that won't happen for a few years yet.