The world is your Oyster!

Poppy9

Oh come on guys cheer up.;) At least you have had the chance to benefit from a decent education. No-one is going to take those qualifications away from you. Those school leavers you are currently working with in dead-end jobs may never have had (or will have) the opportunity to further their education.

There is nothing new in grads not being able to get a decent job straight out of uni - problem is there are just more of you!

I am an accountant - that took a good few extra years of training. Yes I was working and earning at the time but you try holding down a full time job and studing every evening and weekends for years on end. If I had failed my exams I risked losing my job (nothing like a bit of added incentive).

There has been some great advice given on getting more work experience. Your vol work with D&A abuse would stand you in good stead for Social Work too. I live in South Wales and there is a retention problem for child and family Social Workers so permanent ads whereas I know of qualified SW who want to work with Eld & Disabled who can't get permanent jobs locally!. The pay here isn't so great (starts at just under £20k for newly qualified rising to £28k). Not a high turnover of senior prac. as this part of Wales is known as the graveyard of ambition.

Local Govt. can be great places to work - but not many earning £52k in my Local Authority sadly! Pay and promotion prospects better down South that in Sunny S Wales. I recently interviewed a gent for a post paying upto pay upto £20k, even though he's currently earning nearly £30k in a London Council. He had a fancy senior title but was doing little more that admin and was not experienced enough for the job he applied for. Anyway I digress - LA will often pay for further studing so might be worth getting a clerical job in the department that covers the area you want to work in i.e. Education (if you want to do Educ Psychology) Social Services or Human Resources etc as they are more likely to fund your training.

I personally think it's a disgrace that schools and colleges are not preparing students for work. All students over 16 should be undertaking decent work placements to find out which area they are best suited to. Sandwich courses at uni I think are the way forward too. Oh if only I ran the country:D

Anyway it's friday night so crack open a bottle, invite friends around and relax. As my old mum used to say "it'll all come out in the wash":o

Lipsticklady

Todays been hard.
Sat at my desk with a red puffy face. Went to the loo for a long hard cry. Feeling completed down and worthless. Dont feel motivated, or intelligent or even that i have achieved anything.
I feel like a complete disappointment to all those people who thought i had done so well getting a degree because, they hadnt had the opportunities. _pale_

Todays been a really bad day

Dont know how i will get through it.

Eliza252

Hello, sorry you have a had a bad day today - is it just the careers thing or is there anything else going on?

Maybe you need a duvet day - or as my mother calls it, a mental health day! phone in sick, have a lie in, chill out, have a looong breakfast and read the newspaper, surf the net for some job ideas, that kind of thing.. it sounds like skiving but if your feeling so down your crying in the toilets then I think its justified and you'll be much more likely to be productive at work when you come back so dont feel guilty about it

At the very least arrange to meet someone after work for a pint and get things off your chest

Have found a really good website for you:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/links/GradTalk

You can send a personal email to a careers advisor for independent advice, there is masses of careers info pages and an online graduate chat room where you can post stuff.
Also on Wednesday afternoons between 2-3pm (check the times!) there is an online live chat with a careers advisor.
hope that might help

ps. I can guarantee that no one looks down on you because you have a psychology degree and are working in your present job - and if they do they most probably dont have a degree, dont realised that its not all roses and lillies after you graduate and are a bit small minded - so not worth worrying about!

elona

Sorry you are feeling so down.

Try to get yourself applying for jobs or careers or training and that in itself will lift your mood. You will feel that you are doing something to dig yourself out of where you are.

Good luck for the future.

hilstep2000

My 18 year old daughter is feeling a bit like you now, Lipsticklady. She studied really hard at college for two years, Got 9 City and Guilds certs for the Travel Industry, and can't get a job. She had an interview for "Going Places" last week, they asked her back for a second one , and today they tell her she didn't get it, because she isn't experienced enough! I feel like going in and giving someone a piece of my mind! How can she get experience if no one will give her a job? She's really depressed, (She's been home since June) and I am finding it hard to keep her, (I'm a single mum, that's why I use this site!) But I keep telling her," it wasn't meant to be" . Something will turn up soon I' sure, for both of you. Keep your chin up!

elona

I know money will be tight but could she contact the company and offer to work for 2 weeks for free just to get "experience"?

Might be a way of getting a foot in the door.

Poppy9

Lipsticklady wrote:

Todays been hard.
Sat at my desk with a red puffy face. Went to the loo for a long hard cry. Feeling completed down and worthless. Dont feel motivated, or intelligent or even that i have achieved anything.
I feel like a complete disappointment to all those people who thought i had done so well getting a degree because, they hadnt had the opportunities. _pale_

Todays been a really bad day

Dont know how i will get through it.

Ok lady come on now you will get through it :grouphug:

We all have s**t days. I worked today - not one of my normal days as I am part time. Up until lunch I was motoring and making real progress - then this afternoon hit. Talk about 1 steps forward and 2 back. Then a 17 year old family member told me that a school friend had been found murdered after a night out. Sort of put my work problems into perspective. So I finished off and called it a day :whistle:

I know you may not feel it but trust me - you are plenty young enough to start training for a career. Hell one of my friends just qualified as an accountant at the age of 43 after years of studing while being a single mum.

The situation is obviously seriously getting you down so you need to act now. Stop putting off, go and visit careers, job centre, colleges - in fact anywhere that can give you info on what jobs are in demand and what qualifications/qualities you need.

Ok I am out of mothering mode now:silenced: Take care of yourself - but get started on your new track:think:

Eliza252

Hello Lipstick Lady - hope you are feeling better today!

Lipsticklady

Hello,

I was feeling very down yesterday. Alot of poeple i know are just starting university. They have moved away and all seem to have career paths planned out. Another aqaintance that dossed around in school has just got a job in the bank. I dont wish him any bad luck but just feel a bit down that he is earning more than me and has better prospects.
It sounds awful i know...i suppose a bit jealous. Wish things would go my way.

However, i am very lucky in so many other ways. I have good friends and family.

Sometimes i feel a bit sorry for myself.............need to get motivated and looking for a decent job!

Poppy9

Glad you are feeling better. Anyway who wants to work in a bank. They are transferring all the work abroad so no future there !

Make a to-do list about finding a new job. Aim to tick one item off every week.

Good luck.