Tertiary and Continuing Are universities producing too many graduates?

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hamohawk1

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The ability to gain a job (in your field) within 12 months of completing a degree is becoming almost unachievable for myself and many other graduates. This does not involve landing a dream job, purely entry level or some means of gaining experience.

I have a large network of friends who have graduated from a diverse range of areas i.e. economics, science, property etc and most have found volunteer work most likely leading no where.

A lot of us have come to the conclusion that universities are simply producing too many graduates that have the same skills, making it very hard to make yourself unique or applicable to the organisation. I understand the governments within the past 5-10 years have really tried to push more individuals into a tertiary education but how positive will this be having a % of the population with a degree but no purpose.

While times may be tough economically, i personally don't believe this can be blamed for the inability to land a job within a reasonable time after completion of their degree.
 
Yes.

Universities need to have tougher curriculums, and need to actively urge those who are borderline students to pursue vocational careers. The problem is that urging everyone to get an average tertiary education diminishes the value of having that education in the first place. Particularly for us here in the US where you have to fork out tens of thousands for even a minimal degree, this has led to a massive student loan bubble that will burst at some point soon.

Can this be blamed for the inability to land a job? A little bit, as it floods the market with similarly-qualified applicants. It's not all that hard to set yourself apart, though. Show initiative, show you are more than just a piece of paper, demonstrate value. Unfortunately, that's something the universities don;t preach enough of.
 
Yes.

Too many graduates and too many graduates that come out no more employable than when they went in.

The problem is, if we produced less graduates and a higher percentage of graduates got jobs then where would all the would-be graduates end up? We'd still have the same problem, just with less govt funds tied up in producing commerce and arts grads.
 

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Membling said:
Have to say my experience at the moment is that it is incredibly difficult to land even a 'simple' entry level job even remotely related to degree.
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having the exact same issue mate,
have the chance to go back and do more study but all it does is just leave me in more debt and little more chance in terms of getting a job
 
hamohawk1 said:
having the exact same issue mate,
have the chance to go back and do more study but all it does is just leave me in more debt and little more chance in terms of getting a job
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Also a bit catch 22 at the moment. 'Need experience for a job...'

Genuinely do feel that the uncapping of university places has caused a huge over supply of grads as well as underfunding
 
hamohawk1 said:
who's fault is it that the individual is not getting educated well enough?
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That is a different question. (edit: without much thought ) In terms of allowing people to graduate without having the knowledge and skills, that lies with the universities. But beyond what is required for the dumbed-down degrees, that have been a feature ever since the Dawkins reforms of the early 1990s, the student should be educating themselves. Unfortunately, there is no encouragement or need in the system to do so (for most degrees at most unis, there are exceptions).
 

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Yes. Too many shonky universities offering degrees in fields they should be excluded from.

Law degrees are worth less than toilet paper now. Although I will qualify that statement to say that they're worth less than toilet paper from some universities offering the course.
 
Jack Richards said:
Cut graduates and Unis will scream that they are poor. Over 600 teachers graduate a year. No way in hell are there 600 jobs available each year
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Keep funding same level, jack up our units prestige then can raise international fees.
 
Jack Richards said:
Cut graduates and Unis will scream that they are poor. Over 600 teachers graduate a year. No way in hell are there 600 jobs available each year
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agree 100%, make it more competitive to become a teacher. an emphasis needs to move from kids getting straight into education to getting into an aspect of life they enjoy,
 
Maybe look outside the box. I'm into my final semester, and have gained a job in the country :)
 
Volunteer work while studying is a must.....Have a CV ready for when you graduate. Even then it can be tough going to get a job. And volunteering is easier said than done if nobody in your field is willing to give you that chance. Feel a bit for uni graduates who bled through the eyes during VCE and worked hard at uni to be working in menial jobs after they graduate...meanwhile people who farked around in school have gone and done trades and rake it in atthe same age.
 
Membling said:
Also a bit catch 22 at the moment. 'Need experience for a job...'
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Someone needs to tell disingenuous employees that entry level ≠ 1 or 2 years of prior experience.
 
IschenkoUBeauty said:
Volunteer work while studying is a must.....Have a CV ready for when you graduate. Even then it can be tough going to get a job. And volunteering is easier said than done if nobody in your field is willing to give you that chance. Feel a bit for uni graduates who bled through the eyes during VCE and worked hard at uni to be working in menial jobs after they graduate...meanwhile people who farked around in school have gone and done trades and rake it in atthe same age.
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That's not lazy, it's smart. Apprenticeships are invaluable in getting a foot in the door and in gaining vital experience at a young age, and they open up options much more rapidly than simply obtaining a degree/qualification without undertaking any complementary training. And tradies are no less hardworking than uni graduates (in fact, many work 8-10 hour days doing stuff far beyond the physical capabilities of your token couch potato office worker) - they just have a different skillset to you and I. There isn't always a great correlation between effort expended in VCE/uni and effort in the workplace, as hands-on training is better suited to many than academia (and vice versa).

The value of degrees and overall quality of university education is compounded by the fact that seemingly few courses offer placements/unpaid work. They are invaluable in gaining employment due to the practical skills they provide people with and because employers look at such experience very favourably when considering candidates. If Australian unis are to produce highly-skilled graduates, then more of this is needed.
 
There were only two in WA when I finished high school. The cut off TER was 95 for one uni and 98 for the other. I'd imagine that's gone south since.

Most graduates are naturally not finding work.


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