Why do colleges and unis pay so poorly?

[Firky]

Well yeah, it is the NHS but it was still shit pay

As a graduate I'd expect somewhere between £18k and £24k. Depending on your role / what degree you did etc. I used to be on slightly more than that because I had to work overtime to cover my rent.

Spotted this old house in Southsea, spit away from the solent, private, with a cobbled courtyard and about 500 year old. I had to have it

 

[_angel_]

I never had a *graduate job*. Is this good or bad?

 

[Gromit]

Which aint a problem, so why do they want word and powerpoint? that's for girls.

Its a college yes? Powerpoint and Word in a college? What could they want that for I wonder?

Do colleges present much information to students I wonder?
Even so haven't they heard of overhead projectors and transparencies & chalk and slate. Get with the 20th century people!

/end sarcasm

 

[Firky]

I never had a *graduate job*. Is this good or bad?

Neither.

I think going to uni was a mistake for me. If I could turn back the clocks I would do something more academic.

 

[Callie]

I never had a *graduate job*. Is this good or bad?

are you a graduate?

 

[_angel_]

are you a graduate?

Yes.


I seem to have worked for people who don't/didn't believe in qualifications.


The one and only time I needed any certificates was Maths and English GCSE for a temp civil service job. Woooooooooooooh!

 

[Callie]

Well I guess its all relevant - you could get a graduate job in call centre where it has zero relevance to your degree, needs virtually no real skills and it mind shatteringly boring but would you really want to?

If it btohers you that you havent had a graduate job then its probably bad but presumably youre getting by doing what youre doing and dont actually need a 'graduate' post

graduate job in itself doesnt really mean anything - most of the time theyre not actually directly linked to your actual qualification rather than just taking you on cos youve got a degree

is crazy chicken!

 

[LDR]

I seem to have worked for people who don't/didn't believe in qualifications.

When I've had to employ people I tend to focus more on experience rather than qualifications.

If someone can do the job that's good enough for me.

 

[_angel_]

When I've had to employ people I tend to focus more on experience rather than qualifications.

If someone can do the job that's good enough for me.

Tbh I believe in this as well, some obvious exceptions (rocket scientist, doctor, etc etc).

You need a degree to fart these days.

 

[Callie]

You need a degree to fart these days.

yeah then you still need the experience

my degree was a waste - all i can remember was that male badgers have a ridge of skull to which they have jaw muscles attached so theyre really good at biting

everything I know now I learnt through my job

 

[EastEnder]

When I've had to employ people I tend to focus more on experience rather than qualifications.

If someone can do the job that's good enough for me.

I tend to work on the same principle - even though when I'm recruiting, it's for highly skilled technical roles.

The sad reality is that the more people who do degrees, the less value they have. If one were to be brutally honest, a degree was never about showing what you could do, it was about showing what you could do that others couldn't. It was about setting you apart from the crowd. The distribution of abilities and competencies amongst society in general doesn't change as a result of more people doing degrees. It merely raises the bar for job requirements. Companies still look for the best people they can find/afford, and will always look for those characteristics that set people apart.

It really riles me that the government is obsessed with getting as many people as possible to go to uni, putting themselves in massive debt as a result. When I'm reviewing CVs for a role at work, a degree is on the "nice to have" list, but nothing more. Someone with just A levels and, say, 2-3 years relevant, demonstrable commercial experience would stand out way more than a graduate with a years relevant experience, or even several years experience in a less relevant area.

 

[LDR]

I have half filled out my application form, going to get it proof read and then type it up and bung it in the post tomorrow. First class on a printed envelope!! I have always had more success sending an application form rather than emailing it - they seem to actually read it rather than scan read it

Have you heard back? Did you get a interview?

If not, as you said you could do the job standing on your head, it may be time to reassesses your abilities. Things move on quite quickly in world of work and 18 months is more than enough to get left behind.

You may need to start aiming a little lower. It's probably not what you want to hear but better for you in the long run. Just don't give up.

 

[Firky]

Heyup!

No, I still have it to send of and I am procrastinating because I don't want to be here, rudeboy. Deep down inside I don't really want the job as it would mean I would have to stay in the north for X amount of time and I don't know if I could do that. I know no-one up here and as much as I like Newcastle and Northumberland its a dead end for me, I feel suffocated - the exact same feelings that propelled me down south seven years ago to find a better life.

Then the other half of me tells me to stop being stupid and apply for it. If I get it, stick it out for a year and then start applying for jobs down south again.

Anyway, I have until the 20th to get this in the post and I am dithering about - but I have applied for jobs in London when I have been dithering about and have a preliminary telephone interview on Monday morning. Have to make an interactive CD show casing a fictional writer's new book too... but ideally I want to work for an NPO :s

Chegs gave me some feedback from HR after I went for a job at his place and I was over qualified - wtf?! Why did they ask me for an interview then. Cnuts.

 

[LDR]

If you're heart's not in it maybe it's for the best you don't go for it.

But then again, I agree with your other half that it's a step in a right direction. Plus if you get it and then are lucky enough to be offered another job around the same time you have some bargaining power too. You don't even need to stick out for a year, I'd start applying for other jobs straight away. Also, you never know you might actually enjoy the job and people you work with.

When I said aim your sights a little lower, that would only apply if you weren't getting interviews. I'm a great believer in aiming high, reach beyond the comfort zone, as once you're in a job even if it's a beyond you, it's in the employers interest to get your up to speed and most people who are halfway bright can pick up a job with a bit of support.

The over-qualified bit is bollocks if you get an interview. I think it's just a way of saying that you don't fit in. You only get an interview if they know you can do the job from looking at your CV and the interview is just to see if they like you.

Don't get disillusioned, you just need that lucky break. Everyone I know who is successful has had to rely on a bit of luck now and again.

 

[Firky]

Yep, I have finally got out of the mindframe of "whats the point", I never realised how depressed I was until it lifted and since then I have made a couple of changes to my life and I am feeling so much better for it. Also met someone who's totally positive and has a great outlook on life and that's rubbed off on me a bit, she's great and it is better than "you're shit / ugly" remarks I had been getting off someone else for the past two or three years.

Life's good again - just have to get back to work, I do enjoy working when I am in a job I love and I'm one of those fools that will work for the pleasure of it rather than go home and post on the internet. Back in the days of old Firky when I worked and stuff I had a post count of about 2,000 in a year

I went a bit overboard the other night and bunged away an online application for head of picture research with getty images, £60k a year and you need at least five years experience working with international image banks. What the hell!!

Cheers, rudeboy!

 

[Callie]

Just send the bloody application form off and procrastinate about whether you want it or not once theyve offered it

 

[LDR]

Funnily enough, the hardest I've ever had to work is the job that paid the lowest.

The less stressful jobs always paid higher for some stranger reason.