Yikes! Are recent graduates prepared for the job market? I’m not.

We spend years in school, taken multiple courses in college and university, some continue to master programs, Ph.D.’s and doctorates only to graduate knowing they will never work in their field.

Are we graduating with transferable skills? Most graduates face an unwelcoming job market when coming out of academia. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to land a job in my field immediately out of college, but I know many of my colleagues never stepped foot into their field. Never. Recently, having left a relatively small country with no more than 70,000 people with no competition, and moved to a large city with millions and millions of people from all across the world with comparable and greater skills, I haven’t been so lucky.

Photo by Moaid Mefleh

I’ve seen baristas in popular coffee shops who are highly qualified in subjects I have never heard of, some with masters and Ph.D.’s but yet are preparing coffee to those with the same qualifications, maybe even less. We all seem to be taking jobs just because. With a bachelor’s degree, which has now not much these days, I am working in a company that doesn’t use my skill set. Why did I take it you ask? It was the only company to hire me. Is it the job I want? No. Is it where I thought I would be? No. It seems when it comes to skills for current jobs and knowing where careers are to be found; recent graduated don’t know enough to be successful.

According to CareerBuilder study in 2014, nearly half of college-educated workers said their first job was outside their field. Perhaps the syllabus in schools are historic, out of touch with the present-day job market or perhaps the employers are just moving too fast not given graduates enough time to catch up. Whatever it is, the responsibility for job preparation should lie with both the school and the employer.

Many of my colleagues work full time in a job they never prepared for when graduating. I work with potential professors, designers, actors, musicians, historians and engineers who have all had to find a new niche just to earn some money to pay off those ridiculous school loan.

If this is the case, why are we taking out hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans spending years studying all to graduate with a degree that is no longer valid?

Since graduating in 2013 the job market has changed drastically, the reality is I would have studied something else, just to feel a little more confident in this job market. It leaves me unsure about the future of our youth.

What will our children do?

By: Jade Webster