The straight out of uni job hunt...

[Joe.]

32 minutes ago, Daveo said:

It's true. 

Let's say I owned a printing company, I had two 21 year olds sat in front of me, one that has worked for 4 years in a supermarket, the other fresh out of Uni with his shiny degree.

Without a doubt I would employ the one with 4 years work experience. To me that would be far more valuable than a degree in English literature say

Now let's say you are looking for someone to design a new printer for yor printing company, do you employ the lad who worked in asda for 4 years or the one that has a degree in electrical engineering

[Day]

13 minutes ago, Joe. said:

Now let's say you are looking for someone to design a new printer for yor printing company, do you employ the lad who worked in asda for 4 years or the one that has a degree in electrical engineering

I'd buy one on eBay  

I'm not saying degrees are totally pointless or that any job can be done without one. I'm against the random degrees with no direction of the end goal you want to achieve. 

I also believe that going from school to A Levels  to Uni you don't really experience the real world and that a 2 year delay would benefit so many people. 

Me have members on here that have gone into call centres and freely admit the degree means nothing and hasn't helped them in any way.

 

 

[Rev]

@Kernow, have you considered joining the army as a military policeman?

 They're shorthanded right now, and with a degree you may be able to join as an officer?

 

[PodgeyRam]

Didn't know you were at Cardiff Uni Kernow! I am too, but I'll be sticking around doing a masters. No job hunt for me just yet! Probably been mentioned above, I know PCSO's are in demand in the Midland's and up North.

[MrsRam]

What about the Prison Service? or working in the Courts - I used to volunteer for a charity that helped witnesses deal with the whole court experience.  Get on the Ministry of Justice website and have a look if there's anything in your area.

[Kernow]

47 minutes ago, reveldevil said:

@Kernow, have you considered joining the army as a military policeman?

 They're shorthanded right now, and with a degree you may be able to join as an officer?

I haven't actually considered that. What area of the military in particular do you know?

[Rev]

1 minute ago, Kernow said:

I haven't actually considered that. What area of the military in particular do you know?

Nothing really, just read an article in the paper the other day about how short of MP's the army is, had a quick peek at the army recruitment website when I saw your post.

Apparently, after 6 months training at Sandhurst, you then spend another 6 months with the Special Investigation Branch, before taking up your first post.

Doesn't look that high an entry requirement for officer level either, take a look at their website.

[Joe.]

12 hours ago, Daveo said:

I'd buy one on eBay  

I'm not saying degrees are totally pointless or that any job can be done without one. I'm against the random degrees with no direction of the end goal you want to achieve. 

I also believe that going from school to A Levels  to Uni you don't really experience the real world and that a 2 year delay would benefit so many people. 

Me have members on here that have gone into call centres and freely admit the degree means nothing and hasn't helped them in any way.

Haha shouldve seen that one coming ? no that's fair the degrees that people do for the sake of it can't really complain when they don't get a job. Re work experience the uni I went to only did sandwich courses where everyone had to work for a year in their third year

[SillyBilly]

I'd take the teaching job if I were you. Teaching isn't a long term career now. A lot of newbies don't make it past 5 years, hence the recruitment problem. Its not a bad wage for a new starter to the workforce (particularly in your part of the world) and it will allow you to take stock. The reality is your degree isn't a world of use outside the niche area you want to get into - you're going to have to gain experience elsewhere first and diversify later, a few jobs down the line. With the teaching option you may also have the benefit of being sheltered from any economic slowdown which hits the private sector hardest. I wouldn't want to be looking for a job with little experience later this year or in 2017 as I believe we're turning down for a recession.

[davenportram]

1 hour ago, SillyBilly said:

I'd take the teaching job if I were you. Teaching isn't a long term career now. A lot of newbies don't make it past 5 years, hence the recruitment problem. Its not a bad wage for a new starter to the workforce (particularly in your part of the world) and it will allow you to take stock. The reality is your degree isn't a world of use outside the niche area you want to get into - you're going to have to gain experience elsewhere first and diversify later, a few jobs down the line. With the teaching option you may also have the benefit of being sheltered from any economic slowdown which hits the private sector hardest. I wouldn't want to be looking for a job with little experience later this year or in 2017 as I believe we're turning down for a recession.

teaching for some isn't a long term career, but over 90% of my PGCE are still teaching 4 years on. The problem with retention is too many see it as an easy option and are surprised when they find otherwise.

 

as for being sheltered from the downturns in economy. Pah that's bull. Real term pay freezes or cuts has had a massive effect on teachers recently

[SillyBilly]

23 hours ago, davenportram said:

teaching for some isn't a long term career, but over 90% of my PGCE are still teaching 4 years on. The problem with retention is too many see it as an easy option and are surprised when they find otherwise.

 

as for being sheltered from the downturns in economy. Pah that's bull. Real term pay freezes or cuts has had a massive effect on teachers recently

Well, you'd know more than I, my siblings are teachers and a few mates so its second hand info. Pay freezes perhaps, but at least you're likely to retain the job, that is the most important thing. As opposed to being thrown out the door the minute a company loses a contract.

[davenportram]

36 minutes ago, SillyBilly said:

Well, you'd know more than I, my siblings are teachers and a few mates so its second hand info. Pay freezes perhaps, but at least you're likely to retain the job, that is the most important thing. As opposed to being thrown out the door the minute a company loses a contract.

theres been redundancies in many schools too, due to budget restraints.

[Mafiabob]

5 hours ago, davenportram said:

theres been redundancies in many schools too, due to budget restraints.

And also dinner ladies sacrificed so teaching assistants do that job too, and they've had pay cuts too... 

Anything to save a few bob.

 

[G-Ram]

Go travelling a bit, do a few odd jobs on your travels, come back decide what you like doing then try to set up on your own doing it.

Work for yourself rather than someone else. Being employed is terrible, exchanging time for 'x' amount of pounds per hour is modern day slavery & i'd value my time as far more important. Plus you're constantly relaying on someone else for a wage. 

Whatever you do go with just might as well enjoy it no point in turning up somewhere and being unhappy live the dream ?

[Inglorius]

On 12/02/2016 at 09:33, Mostyn6 said:

so what was the point of getting the degree you got if you aren't trying for a related career?

How many people continue with their university studies as a vocation? I went to uni with a friend who studied geography and is now an IT programmer and another who also did geography who is now a conveyancing solicitor.

[Duracell]

Really irks me when people go "what's the point in going to uni if you're not getting a job in that field?". You do, in fairness, get a lot of people doing all sorts of bizarre courses at terrible universities, and people would be better off going straight into a job. But subjects like History, Philosophy, Foreign Languages...you need people from all sorts of backgrounds studying these at top universities. You go to university to educate yourself, and all healthy societies are educated.

When people say they wouldn't employ anyone straight from Uni with no real-world experience, then I agree with that completely. That's a big assumption to make though. At my Uni for example, the two terms were only 12 weeks long (it's just 8 weeks at Oxford and Cambridge and 10 at Durham), so you've got half a year when you're not in lectures. You have no excuse for not sorting out internships or work experience in your holidays.

University often gets dismissed as a three-year pissup, but you need the discipline to know when to stop. There is a huge amount of work that goes into it, and it's bloody tough. Writing an essay for a subject I know will be marked by one of the top academics in the field in the world is a daunting prospect, and it's not like school - you don't get stickers for giving it a good go. I've had 5,000 word essays that I've slaved over and thought were really good that have been absolutely torn into. It's then all on you to just get on with it, and learn for yourself to improve. It's the best thing I've done and I'm really proud I saw it through.

That's my rant over, but anyway, @Kernow it's always a daunting prospect thinking about what you're going to do after uni. Not sure if my situation can help as it's not fully played out yet. I graduated in the summer just gone with a 2:1 in Theology at University of Nottingham. I'd done internships in marketing and PR and lots of people from my course went into that sort of thing, and I had no trouble getting interviews in that line of work, but quickly realised it wasn't for me.

I'm really jealous of that offer you've got though - where's that from? I've decided I want to be a teacher, and I've been doing night-shifts in a warehouse so I can do work experience at a school. I'm going to Colombia to teach English for a few months from April, and then I'm going to start looking for work as a teaching assistant for a year here before going for a PGCE course. I can't afford to do it next year.

But basically, do something you will enjoy doing. Screw the salary. I've got mates earning £40k already, but they live for the weekend. Don't live your life wishing 5/7ths of it away. Don't rush into a graduate job straight away for security or the money - 4 of my mates quit their grad schemes within 2 months of starting because they hated it. There's no shame in taking your time and plotting your next move, so long as you do something in the meantime. 

[ilkleyram]

Well done Duracell.  I hope that your fantastic attitude and approach will get you far.  I'm sure it will.

Young Ilkley did a PGCE course at Leeds Beckett Uni and lived with me while he did it.  It is a tough course and gave me a real insight into life as a teacher that gave me a new respect for what they do.  He's now a 'proper' teacher in a primary school in his second year and although he gets knackered by the end of a week and term he loves every minute of it.  Kids need good male role models in education so I hope you stick with it.

Before I took early retirement I was MD of a large company.  I used to love employing newly qualified people for the enthusiasm and willingness to learn and 'do anything' that they showed.  But they were more likely to be employed if they had shown signs of taking opportunities to work in the sector whilst they were studying.  There are so many more opportunities around now than when I was young.  

Good luck

[Kernow]

@Duracell cheers for your comments they were really useful.

As part of my degree we learn about the world of work etc and although degrees aren't 'necessary' for the job, you can only go so far as an employee without one. It doesn't even have to be relevant. For example I know a girl who wants to become a store manager at Tesco and she's studying Criminology. She says you just need "any degree" to go into a management trainee scheme so wanted to do something she found interesting. My criminology degree will have nothing to do with teaching children years reception-6, but it's necessary to have one to get on to the course.

I'm not sure where you live and what the situation would be like but I live in a very rural area. I have 0 experience of working in schools but I emailed & phoned around primary schools in my area to ask about doing some work experience after I finish uni. I'll be done anywhere between a month to six weeks before the end of the school term depending on my exam dates. My old primary school replied within 24 hours saying they'd be delighted to have me. That's one thing that attracts me to teaching. You're going to have an impact on so many people's lives and so many others will impact yours. My old teacher replied knowing exactly who I was, and this was purely by seeing my name. I hadn't spoken to or even seen her since 2006.

Anyway... I applied for a School Direct course with Cornwall SCITT Partnership as its about 90% school based whereas uni courses are obviously more academically based. I have a mate I knew from my first year playing football at uni who was in his 3rd year at the time doing the same course but elsewhere & he loves it. So my offer is conditional based on completing professional skills tests in literacy and numeracy which you have 3 attempts to pass then you have to wait 24 months.

Hopefully that helps a bit. The same mate on the course also spent a year as a Police Officer and he hated it. He told me a lot of things you don't see until you're an actual officer. I'm leaning more towards the teaching thing, so if you're still interested in a few months I should be able to give you a better insight so feel free to ask about anything.

[davenportram]

schools direct is a good way in, do you get paid while your doing it?

I've been teaching for three and half school years, four and half if you count my PGCE. I've taught hundreds of kids already, that's hundreds of lives I've had an impact on. It is a noble profession. Its very hard to start with, but worthwhile non the less.

[Duracell]

1 hour ago, ilkleyram said:

Well done Duracell.  I hope that your fantastic attitude and approach will get you far.  I'm sure it will.

Young Ilkley did a PGCE course at Leeds Beckett Uni and lived with me while he did it.  It is a tough course and gave me a real insight into life as a teacher that gave me a new respect for what they do.  He's now a 'proper' teacher in a primary school in his second year and although he gets knackered by the end of a week and term he loves every minute of it.  Kids need good male role models in education so I hope you stick with it.

Before I took early retirement I was MD of a large company.  I used to love employing newly qualified people for the enthusiasm and willingness to learn and 'do anything' that they showed.  But they were more likely to be employed if they had shown signs of taking opportunities to work in the sector whilst they were studying.  There are so many more opportunities around now than when I was young.  

Good luck

I do know a few teachers, and I'm definitely not doing it because it's easy. But it's one of those jobs where the success of it is almost entirely down to how much you care. I can't imagine sticking at anything else. In my spare time at the minute, I'm effectively working as a teaching assistant for free, and even in my little insignificant role, nothing beats the buzz of teaching a child how to do something for the first time. And it turns out, if you stick at it for long enough, they start paying you to do it!!

Thanks for the kind words Ilkley.