Guest BoomBoomCrash Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 The graduate job market is in utter chaos, I'm stunned by how bad things are. I've seen jobs for engineering graduates offering 14k a year, and the story is similar for physics/chemistry and mathematics graduates. I'm even seeing companies advertising for Ph.D's for circa 16k. They'd be better off on the dole and claiming housing benefit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashinmattress Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 The graduate job market is in utter chaos, I'm stunned by how bad things are. I've seen jobs for engineering graduates offering 14k a year, and the story is similar for physics/chemistry and mathematics graduates. I'm even seeing companies advertising for Ph.D's for circa 16k. They'd be better off on the dole and claiming housing benefit. Pretty hard to compete with a hungry world of experienced engineers, especially when our own graduates exit school with zero experience and huge expectations. The company I work with hasn't hired a British engineer in 2 years. We have hired Australian, Spanish, Indian, Polish and Canadian ones though. I know it sounds bad, but there just isn't enough home grown talent willing to work for a reasonable wage here. Maybe it's time for these young men and women to go live in another country and get an understanding of just what effect globalisation is having on the West. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InternationalRockSuperstar Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 I've seen jobs for engineering graduates offering 14k a year 14k pa is a reasonably sum if you didn't have to pay PAYE, council tax, road tax and pay 300% sales tax on petrol etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroSumGame Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 The graduate job market is in utter chaos, I'm stunned by how bad things are. I've seen jobs for engineering graduates offering 14k a year, and the story is similar for physics/chemistry and mathematics graduates. I'm even seeing companies advertising for Ph.D's for circa 16k. They'd be better off on the dole and claiming housing benefit. Bet you're glad you graduated before the economic 'miracle' kicked in full thrust, then ? But on the point you make : David Willets of theTories came up with a very smart proposal. He suggested that the government ought to find cash to fund a sudden increase in the number of Masters Degree places to be had so that those finding a difficult transition into the job market could build additional skills in the interim. This worked very well indeed in the eighties and I see no reason whatsoever why it wouldn't work now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BoomBoomCrash Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Pretty hard to compete with a hungry world of experienced engineers, especially when our own graduates exit school with zero experience and huge expectations.The company I work with hasn't hired a British engineer in 2 years. We have hired Australian, Spanish, Indian, Polish and Canadian ones though. I know it sounds bad, but there just isn't enough home grown talent willing to work for a reasonable wage here. Maybe it's time for these young men and women to go live in another country and get an understanding of just what effect globalisation is having on the West. Define 'reasonable' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LumpHammer Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 (edited) If you have an accredited engineering degree and cannot find a job paying greater than £14k there is something wrong with you. The greatest cause of graduates with good degrees not finding work is apathy. I'm sure the "lesser" degrees will struggle more but this is just natural selection. I know from personal experience that the "economic climate" argument has become just another excuse for dossing around at mum and dads. Regards Edited July 3, 2009 by LumpHammer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BoomBoomCrash Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Bet you're glad you graduated before the economic 'miracle' kicked in full thrust, then ?But on the point you make : David Willets of theTories came up with a very smart proposal. He suggested that the government ought to find cash to fund a sudden increase in the number of Masters Degree places to be had so that those finding a difficult transition into the job market could build additional skills in the interim. This worked very well indeed in the eighties and I see no reason whatsoever why it wouldn't work now. I'm glad I took my skills somewhere they were appreciated. It was a choice between 16k in a call centre in the UK or what now amounts to nearly 6 times that in Germany. All I ever say to graduates when I'm in the UK now is 'why are you still here?'. The UK is a spiv nation in which you are more likely to suceed being a grade A bullshitter than you are by being very good at what you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashinmattress Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Define 'reasonable' Well it sure as hell ain't a £30k salary when you have zero experience; of course with experience and ability the sky is the limit. Besides, the engineers profession in Britain is on the wane. It's sad, but we are seeing a near -10% YoY decline in the number of positions available. Depends on the industry of course, but I assure you that there are many out there, with superior grades willing to work for much less from all over the world. C'est la vie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BoomBoomCrash Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 14k pa is a reasonably sum if you didn't have to pay PAYE, council tax, road tax and pay 300% sales tax on petrol etc... Lame argument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BoomBoomCrash Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Well it sure as hell ain't a £30k salary when you have zero experience; of course with experience and ability the sky is the limit.Besides, the engineers profession in Britain is on the wane. It's sad, but we are seeing a near -10% YoY decline in the number of positions available. Depends on the industry of course, but I assure you that there are many out there, with superior grades willing to work for much less from all over the world. C'est la vie. In real terms they are not working for less, it's just that the pound is a ridiculously overvalued ******** currency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InternationalRockSuperstar Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Lame argument. if the state wasn't siphoning-off half your wealth then you'd have twice the purchasing power, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BoomBoomCrash Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 if the state wasn't siphoning-off half your wealth then you'd have twice the purchasing power, no? Right, but if all taxation vanished tomorrow, the following day all businesses would be conducting ay reviews to adjust wages such that people would be as they were before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
europbaron Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 The graduate job market is in utter chaos, I'm stunned by how bad things are. I've seen jobs for engineering graduates offering 14k a year, and the story is similar for physics/chemistry and mathematics graduates. I'm even seeing companies advertising for Ph.D's for circa 16k. They'd be better off on the dole and claiming housing benefit. Yet you can get the equivalent of over £26k doing a Ph.D. No wonder it's proving hard for some of my classmates with 2.1s to find one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashinmattress Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Right, but if all taxation vanished tomorrow, the following day all businesses would be conducting ay reviews to adjust wages such that people would be as they were before. Now you are all just taking nonse with your idealogical tax free Britain. Get out of the UK with your piece of paper and go cut your teeth in one of the many growing economies around the globe. Chances are you won't want to come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injin Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 (edited) The graduate job market is in utter chaos, I'm stunned by how bad things are. I've seen jobs for engineering graduates offering 14k a year, and the story is similar for physics/chemistry and mathematics graduates. I'm even seeing companies advertising for Ph.D's for circa 16k. They'd be better off on the dole and claiming housing benefit. How about people with useful skills that others actually want? how are they doing? Edited July 3, 2009 by Injin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InternationalRockSuperstar Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Right, but if all taxation vanished tomorrow, the following day all businesses would be conducting ay reviews to adjust wages such that people would be as they were before. if you paid someone in the Czech Rep EUR 16,360 per year (the Euro equivalent of 14k GBP pa) they would be able to afford a good life. and yet someone in the UK on the exact same salary of 14k would be pretty 'poor'. why do you think that is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BoomBoomCrash Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 How about people with useful skills that others actually want?how are they doing? As explained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashConnoisseur Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Maybe it's time for these young men and women to go live in another country and get an understanding of just what effect globalisation is having on the West. Britain is "best placed to weather the recession" and has "British jobs for British workers". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 The graduate job market is in utter chaos, I'm stunned by how bad things are. I've seen jobs for engineering graduates offering 14k a year, and the story is similar for physics/chemistry and mathematics graduates. I'm even seeing companies advertising for Ph.D's for circa 16k. They'd be better off on the dole and claiming housing benefit. Sounds like the market when I graduated many years ago[1]. I'd certainly have had more income - both total and disposable - on the dole. But if I hadn't started out in a new-graduate job, how would I have moved to an experienced-senior-person job? [1] with a good Maths degree from Cambridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
right_freds_dead Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 WHAT ?? DONT TELL ME THERES NO MORE media designers NEEDED ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BoomBoomCrash Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 WHAT ?? DONT TELL ME THERES NO MORE media designers NEEDED ? Because that's what engineers, chemists, physicists and mathematicians do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
right_freds_dead Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Because that's what engineers, chemists, physicists and mathematicians do. whats an engineer ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injin Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 As explained. Right. Todays graduates have nothing extra to offer (in general) - therefore they are not worth anything extra over people who didn't bother going to university and have therefore malinvested their time. Erm - so what? People make bad bets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Mario Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Right.Todays graduates have nothing extra to offer (in general) - therefore they are not worth anything extra over people who didn't bother going to university and have therefore malinvested their time. Erm - so what? People make bad bets. You assume a lot there Injin - what if they enjoyed being a student, or were interested in what they studied. I'd say either of these were a pretty good investment of time actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Where is my pen? Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 You assume a lot there Injin - what if they enjoyed being a student, or were interested in what they studied. I'd say either of these were a pretty good investment of time actually. I think what Injin is saying is that, if the idea was to get a good paying job at the end of it, then it was a malinvestment - it would have been better to just go straight into the job market and gain experience in the discipline, rather than try to 'fasttrack' via a degree which appears to have little value in the employers' eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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