University graduate, can't find a job, need help with benefits please.

System

RAS wrote: »

Almost all university careers services will provide support for graduates for two or three years after graduation. And have done since I graduated decades ago.

Well, I'll definitely give it go, but honestly, the impression I get from our university is that they've taken our money and washed their hands of us now. The uni career-site & info centre is on the intranet so grads can't even access it.

tortmad wrote: »

I felt really sad reading your post. My son is about to start uni - degree in accountancy - I'm tempted to tell him to forget it!!!

Good luck to you!

I certainly wouldn't say 'forget it'. However, I do wish more options were presented to me as a student. e.g. 'there are other things you can do apart from university'. I think teachers and parents put a lot of pressure on me to go to uni. I was a 'straight A student'. For my teachers, I suppose it was important for the school leader boards. They didn't care about what was the right thing for me as an individual. I now feel I may have done better with something vocational like an NVQ. I mean, I love psychology, but unless I get into an accredited postgrad or find a related job there is little more I can do.

I do feel a little cheated too. Everything I've learnt from my degree, you could learn by reading a few books. The only difference is I have an expensive piece of paper to prove it.

Sixer wrote: »

To avoid JSA, could you set up as a private tutor for A level students? How about using some of the work-from-home part-time options available on the Up Your Income board? You may be able to combine these with actual jobseeking or part-time postgrad studies?

A lot of my A level education is gone and forgotten. I have looked into tutoring Psychology A levels. During my degree I put a few adverts around. It is not a popular choice for private tutoring, but it is certainly an option should I find any students.

clemmatis

candyflossing wrote: »

Well, I'll definitely give it go, but honestly, the impression I get from our university is that they've taken our money and washed their hands of us now. The uni career-site & info centre is on the intranet so grads can't even access it.

OK that's dreadful. But references are anyway nothing to do with them, you should write to your former tutors for those.

I certainly wouldn't say 'forget it'. However, I do wish more options were presented to me as a student. e.g. 'there are other things you can do apart from university'. I think teachers and parents put a lot of pressure on me to go to uni. I was a 'straight A student'. For my teachers, I suppose it was important for the school leader boards. They didn't care about what was the right thing for me as an individual.

Yes. (My school was the very opposite in a way -- in the days when hardly anybody went to university -- they tried to make everybody apply to teacher training college... .)

50 per cent of the population going to university is fine by me -- but not affordable... -- what isn't is the way students have been conned into thinking they'll all get a good job related to their field of study. Etc.. It's a very long time since that was true.

I now feel I may have done better with something vocational like an NVQ. I mean, I love psychology, but unless I get into an accredited postgrad or find a related job there is little more I can do.

at least you studied something you loved. I know that isn't much comfort now

I do feel a little cheated too. Everything I've learnt from my degree, you could learn by reading a few books. The only difference is I have an expensive piece of paper to prove it.

I don't know where you studied, but in some places, academics have been more or less forced to teach to textbooks because of very mistaken ideas of quality and quality assessment. In others, though -- but I think I'd best stop right there!


Yes, I can well imagine you got a cookbook degree, and that's so unfair.

Have you thought of applying to teach for the Open University? They do now, unfortunately, mainly re-appoint existing staff, but they might have some vacancies where you live

http://www8.open.ac.uk/jobs/tutors/vacancies


edit -- of course the OU jobs are part-time

-- and I see you got some advice in the other thread

yenool

Wow, this is really depressing. I have been UE for a long time due to health reasons, now I'm healthy and just about to start a degree this year as a mature student. One of my main reasons for wanting to do it is to give myself at least a chance of employment as I have no chance right now. This does not look hopefull really....... I can only hope that as I will be doing an IT/Computing degree I will have an advantage as it is a bit more practical/vocational in nature.