'Lost' generation

Humphrey10

I'm really worried because of this right now, I'm just finishing a FdEng, and had planned to carry on with the course to get a BEng, but to do that I have to have a job with the company that sponsors the course (Network Rail) and they have a recruitment freeze at the moment So I'm left without a job, and a worthless degree (everyone I've met working in engineering has at least a masters, and most are chartered or working towards it!).
On previous years of the course, all the students have managed to get jobs with NR and the other sponsors, but not this year.
Desperatly trying to get into the 2nd year of a BEng somewhere else now, not really sure if I want to spend another 2 years of my life being a poor student, but I really don't know what else I can do!

456789

Thanks for all your responses

It would be interesting to hear from someone who has experienced this in the last recession

ploder

I too feel 'lost'. It's a feeling of hopelesness and not being able to see light at the end of the tunnel. I have a good degree in a respectable subject, but after almost a year of relevant experience I could progress no further in my chosen career after I lost my job because of the 'downturn' last year. Most of my applications and enquiries for graduate positions were never responded to. The few interviews I did get were positive but they always gave the job to someone else using the cliche that there were 'a high standard of applicants this year'.

So after almost a year now being unemployed I feel stuck or 'lost'. Any job I try to apply for below graduate level hardly ever get back to me and the only comment I get if they do is that I am 'over-qualified'. Never thought I'd see the day when a good education would set you back.

I've tried to diversify into other industries but this is even harder without relevant experience. I got some positive vibes from some people in industry but that never materialised into work.

I've tried volunteering but that hasn't changed my luck. I am someone with a naturally cynical personality so trying to remain positive after a while is a struggle, especially as I am in over £10k debt. I just can't stand this bs struggle to even get a cruddy job, the hours of searching and applying all for zilch. I don't believe that 'working your way up' is a realistic possibility anymore, just an idealistic dream, after seeing many good people I know stuck in dead end jobs.

I wonder how many other people are in this situation who are not indentified by the official statistics?

tsstss7

I think I'm one of the last lot of lost generation and yes it affected my life a lot - I never got a graduate level job as I drifted until the age of 25 doing temp jobs and stuff I really wasn't suited to (worked in a bank for 9 mths in a job i hated and which paid peanuts) then I got pregnant and fell out of the job market for a few years and by the time I came back it was boomtime and my childless friends were all loaded lol.

Unfortunately my degree was no longer relevant to my life and so I started an ou degree and did volunteer work to keep my brain working while I pondered my future. I then got some really good jobs in community work but they were always contract work and when I had my second child nearly two years ago I thought I'd easily find another position after my maternity period (I never qualified for smp) instead bang another bloody recession and no jobs again!!

Anyway I'm thinking of reprising the ou degree for now - not working is driving me bonkers but part time work is virtually impossible to find in my field at the mo and LO is not ready to be left full time yet.....roll on the good times!!

briona

venus_in_furs wrote: »

Yes, well i think it has knocked my confidence some what. You get brought up being told you can be what you want if you work hard enough, yet when you do work hard you still seem get no where! It makes you doubt your own abilities. I suppose universities may be the culprit, you live in a bubble of giddy expectations, thinking that your future is sorted! They never inform the student on the down falls that may occur after uni, such as unemployment and how to cope if all doesn't go to plan. Or if they do it was not widely known about and should be!

I have to object to this post – "You get brought up being told..." and "They never inform the student of the down falls...". Didn't it occur to you to do your own research?! Jeez, I was brought up being told that babies came from storks; I certainly don't believe that now, and indeed haven't for a very long time! :rolleyes:

This recession didn't happen overnight; it was being forecast months before it was officially declared. The fact is that many people chose to ignore it until it personally affected them. In the case of recent graduates, it seems easier to blame the university for NOT telling them they might not find jobs rather than take responsibility for themselves ("I suppose universities may be the culprit, you live in a bubble of giddy expectations, thinking that your future is sorted!") and look into what their options might be.

But, recession or not, with more and more students going to university – Jeez, you can even get offered a place with 'D' and 'E' grades! – there are too many graduates chasing too few jobs. And if everyone has the same qualification and class of degree, no one stands out.

In your position, I would look at my qualifications/experience and work out whether any of the skills were transferable or could become a USP (unique selling point). My friend's degree was in Fine Art (not the most useful of degrees in any job market); her only work experience was in admin roles. I helped her tailor her CV towards admin jobs in more art/design related areas, e.g., design/photographic studios, art galleries, museums etc. Her USP was that she could help designers/photographers mount their work for presentation to clients (very useful in busy periods) and that she obviously had a good knowledge of, and interest in, art.

Briona

NEH

I have had to leave university because of ill health. It was the seond time that has happened but this time I had hoped it would be better but unfortunately because of the way the new universities are being modular etc I had no choice but to leave....So I picked myself up and I have been doing a secretarial course for the last year and a half, I was in employemnt before Christmas but the work had dried up and after sitting there doing virtually nothing towards the end I chose to leave....8 months down the line and I am still unemployed and have applied for everything regardless of whether it has anything to do wiith my qualifications...Now i have put my job search on hold as we are hoping to move soon and my health is again not so good but I accept now that when we move I will be trying to get a job in supermarkets or McD's...not what I had hoped for and it's what I was doing 13 years ago but needs must....nothing wrong with working in a supermarket but I had hoped I would stay in admin for the foreseeable future...

I never thought it would take this long to find a job...part time work just seems to be a rareity these days and some of the rejections I am getting back is that there are so many people applying for one job now etc...

So yes in a way I think people like myself are a lost generation

bristol_pilot

I know a couple of people who lost their jobs in the last recession and have never worked since. These are people with good solid relevant work experience as well as a degree (that was obtained in the days before everyone had one). But once you have a couple of years of continuous unemployment on your CV employers just don't want to know.

venus_in_furs

briona wrote: »

I have to object to this post – "You get brought up being told..." and "They never inform the student of the down falls...". Didn't it occur to you to do your own research?! Jeez, I was brought up being told that babies came from storks; I certainly don't believe that now, and indeed haven't for a very long time! :rolleyes:

This recession didn't happen overnight; it was being forecast months before it was officially declared. The fact is that many people chose to ignore it until it personally affected them. In the case of recent graduates, it seems easier to blame the university for NOT telling them they might not find jobs rather than take responsibility for themselves ("I suppose universities may be the culprit, you live in a bubble of giddy expectations, thinking that your future is sorted!") and look into what their options might be.

But, recession or not, with more and more students going to university – Jeez, you can even get offered a place with 'D' and 'E' grades! – there are too many graduates chasing too few jobs. And if everyone has the same qualification and class of degree, no one stands out.

In your position, I would look at my qualifications/experience and work out whether any of the skills were transferable or could become a USP (unique selling point). My friend's degree was in Fine Art (not the most useful of degrees in any job market); her only work experience was in admin roles. I helped her tailor her CV towards admin jobs in more art/design related areas, e.g., design/photographic studios, art galleries, museums etc. Her USP was that she could help designers/photographers mount their work for presentation to clients (very useful in busy periods) and that she obviously had a good knowledge of, and interest in, art.

Briona

Well, that was my opinion. I find your response very patronising. Not many students i knew at the time were thinking about the recession...we were thinking about studying and hanging out with our friends. I did find uni just like a bubble. That again is just my opinion. Some people may not have.

Of course i do not believe that 'you can be anything' just because i got told when i was young. I was merely using that expression - a way of showing how many student feel when they come to university...you feel like the World is at your feet and you COULD be anything you want! It feels amazing at uni, thinking your future is safe and you are on the right tracks.

It is hard to get a job as a graduate and there is no going around it. It doesn't matter how many unique selling points you have sometimes. It is just the times we live in at the moment and hopefully they will get easier and people will soon start to consider what us graduates have to offer properly.

I do think students need more education into 'real life'. Not all students are as aware of the pitfalls of their future as you, and some guidance would be nice for when we leave (if we wish, obviously some, like yourself would not need any). I am sure many agree. It is daunting stepping out into the big wide world with no job offer and only a degree to hold you up, especially when no one else can get a job anyway!! As much as some student think they know it all by the age of 21, they don't and some help with the finer details would have been appreciated. I know so many people who have stepped straight from uni into the dole queue and it IS demoralising after 3/4 years of study when you are young and still slightly naive, no way around that. I know its 'just life' but people cant help the way they feel.