unemployed with a degree

Optimus485 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I'm a degree-qualified young irish young person AND...
I'm fed up because I've been unemployed over a year.

1. It's boring.
2. I put alot of work into my 4 year degree course... I'd like to think all that work was for something.
3. I want to keep my skills in Ireland, after all... the HEA paid for my degree.
(but I won't work for free on these WWP things)

When is the misery going to end?

Many of us who were around in the 1980's out of school/college had no choice but to emigrate.

Why would you not consider emigration?

Optimus485 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I'm a degree-qualified young irish young person AND...
I'm fed up because I've been unemployed over a year.

1. It's boring.
2. I put alot of work into my 4 year degree course... I'd like to think all that work was for something.
3. I want to keep my skills in Ireland, after all... the HEA paid for my degree.
(but I won't work for free on these WWP things)

When is the misery going to end?

Go abroad young man!
Surely you know people in Australia or New Zealand.
Trust me - you will find more about yourself spending a year or two abroad than you will lounging around in Ireland.

Nehaxak wrote: »

Why are people content to push our problems of unemployment on to another country somewhere by telling our best educated people to emigrate ?

I find it sad if that's all we as a country can offer our graduates

Thats an excellent point and the best thing I've read on this thread yet! This country is fecked, I know there are no jobs and its still in a recession, but pushing people out of it is not going to help it!

On a side note to the OP, the only thing you can take out of this is that your not the only person in this position! So its nothing you have done and or doing, its the recession, its the country. It will come out of it and things will get better and we will all look back and laugh at the times we were bumming around the house all day watching Jeremy Kyle in our cruds... then it will happen again in another 10 or 20 years and we'll all be more wiser from going through the recession this time around!
People probably wont agree that we will all laugh at these times and I'll get slated on here, but I can say it, because I'm a statistic of the recession and am out of work for a year now with a Masters degree and 9+ years I.T. experience and not a job in sight!
I have started looking outside of Ireland, but its more out of necessity than want. I have a 9 month of child and I want to provide all I can for him, not stuck on the dole, bumming off the state for all I can get, unfortunately, the jobs are just not there and when they are, your going up against 1000's of other people

I would not agree with randomly upping and leaving the country as that wont help it get out of its recession, but you know what, if your free, single and young, you should go see the world, learn from it, I did it, and I'm better for it, but I'm old now (31!!!) and with child, so I haven't gone into the idea of leaving lightly as I have a lot of baggage!

Ultimately all I can say is, chin up, keep applying for those jobs, network as much as you can, spread your horizons, don't feel guilty for leaving Ireland, you can always come back, pay taxes and give back to the country!

I wish you good luck in your job search (unless you got for the same jobs as me! )

DG

P.S. Sorry about the slight rant, couple of glasses of vino!

Not really a State Benefits issue - moving to Work & Jobs.

Optimus485 wrote: »

I'm either underqualified if I'm being ambitious or overqualified if I apply for anything entry level. Just can't win.

Firstly you need to tailor your CV to each job you are applying for. Read the spec carefully and put yourself in the shoes of the people who will be reading your CV and present the experience/qualifications that meet the requirements they have and leave out/dumb down those that don't. Ensure your CV is short, no more than two pages.

In the meantime try and volunteer to do work for a day or so during the week at a charity or somewhere else. (the only time I was unemployed I worked for free in the credit union for one day a week but thats like 20 years ago!!!). At an interview it shows that you have some get up and go and should give you something extra over some of the many others who will be going for the job as well.

The last option is to look abroad. If you have a degree in something that is desired in another country and you don't have children/family commitments here why not go out into the world. I didn't do it when I was younger and I regret it now (especially listening to the friends that did do it and their stories).

Optimus485 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I'm a degree-qualified young irish young person AND...
I'm fed up because I've been unemployed over a year.

1. It's boring.
2. I put alot of work into my 4 year degree course... I'd like to think all that work was for something.
3. I want to keep my skills in Ireland, after all... the HEA paid for my degree.
(but I won't work for free on these WWP things)

When is the misery going to end?

If you're just out of college with a 4 year degree, you're not over-qualified for anything. You've proved you can complete a degree and, hopefully, learned something along the way.

Any company that takes you on from here is going to find you useless for the first 6 months you work there. That's fine, they expect that of new grads because we're all like that when we're just graduated and green. Target entry level jobs everywhere, don't assume a degree qualifies you to jump a level, it doesn't, it can mean you'll generally pass through the lower levels quicker than someone without one but that's not even a guarantee.

We live in a society where the majority of people have degrees nowadays, they're nothing special any more.

My advice:

1. Consider further education, if you've been unemployed over a year you may be able to get the government to fund a post grad or masters.
2. Apply for entry-level jobs. That's where grads start
3. Ditch the attitude that having a degree makes you valuable, it doesn't these days and that attitude will piss off a propsective employer if they've gotten to where they are on lower levels of formal qualification.
4. Don't be so dismissive of the WWP placements. Yes, it sucks that you can't get paid to cut your teeth any more but the right one of these could turn into a permanent job and even the wrong one will give you something to put on your CV and some real world experience.

Yep, you are not alone. Plenty of us out there that just missed the boat by a year or two (5 where I work educated up to Masters level). I used to get bothered by it. Still stuck in the part time job that paid for me through 7 years of university but there's very little that can be do. All you can do is what has already been stressed in this thread by other posters.


- Try to stay motivated.
- Keep looking, applying and networking.
- If you are in a position to emigrate for a year or two consider it.
- Broaden your horizons in what your looking at.

And as one poster said hopefully we'll all look back at this some day and laugh...:)

do some open source projects, create some apps, etc anythign to get your employeers interested

Sleepy wrote: »

If you're just out of college with a 4 year degree, you're not over-qualified for anything. You've proved you can complete a degree and, hopefully, learned something along the way.

Any company that takes you on from here is going to find you useless for the first 6 months you work there. That's fine, they expect that of new grads because we're all like that when we're just graduated and green. Target entry level jobs everywhere, don't assume a degree qualifies you to jump a level, it doesn't, it can mean you'll generally pass through the lower levels quicker than someone without one but that's not even a guarantee.

We live in a society where the majority of people have degrees nowadays, they're nothing special any more.

My advice:

1. Consider further education, if you've been unemployed over a year you may be able to get the government to fund a post grad or masters.
2. Apply for entry-level jobs. That's where grads start
3. Ditch the attitude that having a degree makes you valuable, it doesn't these days and that attitude will piss off a propsective employer if they've gotten to where they are on lower levels of formal qualification.
4. Don't be so dismissive of the WWP placements. Yes, it sucks that you can't get paid to cut your teeth any more but the right one of these could turn into a permanent job and even the wrong one will give you something to put on your CV and some real world experience.

Absolutely spot on!!...

Half the country has degrees... Ask yourself what have you done in the last 12 months to differentiate yourself from the others.

I understand how frustrating this is - I was in the same boat over two years ago - just at the beginning. I went back and did a postgrad course for a year in a different area just to broaden my cv and to pass the time applying for jobs. By the time I finished the recession was beginning.

Most of the companies I applied to let huge number of their staff go and some even left/closed. My mates were all in the same boat - some still are.

The huge problem I had was hearing word back from companies - alot of them never sent back rejection letters. I tailored my cv for most applications and in some cases I applied to different areas in the same company. I also applied to the same companies after I did my postgrad course and still no joy.

As for the argument of being overqualified - some places use that as an excuse for not hiring. I don't think the OP meant that they were beneath any job but that was feedback from some applications.

Also there is a huge problem with graduates being underqualified. I noticed alot of "graduate" programs looked for at least 2 years experience. A friend of mine did biochem and had this problem. They even offered to work in hospitals for free to get this experience for hospitals/companies but alas no joy. So they've gone back to do a degree in medical science (I thinK) as it has a placement opportunity in it's 3rd year. IMO every college course should have this.

I thought about going abroad but I couldn't afford to leave. I don't think I would have been able to get a loan for visas, flights etc.. I know from other friends who've gone abroad that it's hard enough to get jobs. it's a huge gamble. Luckily enough something came up for me so I'm ok for the moment and it's something I love.

Hang in there OP. it is frustrating and horrible. Just keep trying. A lecturer suggested to us to read What Color is Your parachute. I'm not normally into that sort of thing but if you have the time what harm can it do.

Good luck!