Rites
of passage
Welcome to the world
of work! How do students make the transition from campus to career?
HERE are aspects of student life that most graduates
will happily leave behind; not many will miss writing essays at two in the
morning, or cramming for exams. But for some students the only thing more
daunting than doing a degree is finishing one. "Students have it
easy" - it's one of those irritating things that people say. It's even
more irritating when they turn out to be right.
Giving up student status
means renouncing the laid-back lifestyle and three-month summer holidays.
Instead, there is a soul-destroying search for work to look forward to. So are
this year's graduates ready for the transition?
Matthew Bashford
graduated a year ago from the University of Humberside with a degree in
Business Studies. "It's awful," he says. "It makes you want to
go back and be a student again. You find it difficult to get work in the first
place, and when you do, it's menial stuff and the office politics are a nightmare
-it's not easy to make friends:' On top of that, full-time employment has not
brought the deluge of cash Matthew expected. "After the increase in rent,
bills, and income tax, I was better off as a student than I am now in terms of
disposable income," he says. He is still seeking a permanent position.
For others, it is not
only finding the job that is a problem, but also accepting the responsibility
that goes with it. Mike Hale left Hertfordshire University with a law and
economics degree. Lack of money meant he was forced back home which felt
"like a regression", and he found it hard to adjust to the
nine-to-five routine. "The thing is," he says, "college is so
free and easy that even the thought of doing 40 hours a week is a bit
intimidating. But you can't fight it, you've got to earn money. You have to
become part of the system.'
After working for
nine months as a guitar technician, Mike had saved enough money to go
travelling, an increasingly common choice for college leavers. But those who
take the backpacking route have to start at the bottom of the career ladder
when they return. Mike solved this problem by starting his own business.
Another common
problem is that leaving university means losing the structure that a degree
course provides. Pete Fulford, who left Coventry University with a BSc in
industrial project design two years ago, says, "I got a bit depressed
because there was a lot of camaraderie on my course, we were a very close-knit
group. There was this institution that I was a part of, and then it was gone.
It left a kind of void.'
A year after leaving
Brightonwith a degree in design history, Kelly Moore was going through similar
emotions. She said, "Going to lectures, being part of the system, it gives
you a sense of security, and you lose that when you leave."
Not all students are
daunted by the rite of passage from university to the jobs market. Rebecca
Jones, a student of French and German from Liverpool University, is looking
forward to leaving college and earning some money. She will take "any job
going" to pay off her debts, although long-term career plans are vague.
She mentions returning to France, where she spent part of her degree, and that
she would be disappointed if she didn't use her language skills. "You don't
know what it's going to be like until you get there, do you?"
Maybe not, but it is possible to plan. Those who have
coped best are those who have thought about the difficulties they might face
and are open to the diverse range of opportunities that.
"I knew it was going to be hard," says Kelly, "but I had
a game plan. I wanted to get a job that would help me pay off my debts, and I
started applying as soon as I finished my course. I was offered a job as a
personnel manager on the day I graduated. It certainly wasn't my ideal
position, but it was an absolutely brilliant experience. It taught me
self-discipline, how to organise myself and a great deal about the workplace.
My advice is, don't just hope that something will come along, start planning
what you're going to do as early as possible. It makes it so much easier."
stopped work after a short time? 1 ....
has a full-time temporary job? 2 ....
had to do something unwillingly
because of a poor financial situation? 3 ....
misses friends on the course? 4 .... 5 ....
has not left university yet? 6 ....
finds an alternative to a job with a
salary? 7 ....
feels confident about finding a job? 8 ....
found it difficult to get on with
colleagues? 9 ....
is not very ambitious with regard to
future jobs? 10 ....
found a job easily? 11 ....
learnt a lot from a job? 12 ....
B Mike Hale
C Pete Fulford
D Kelly Moore
E Rebecca Jones
Graduate - a student who finished school.
Here are aspects of student life that most graduates will happily leave
behind.
Renounce - to give up (a title, for example), especially by formal announcement.
Giving up student status means renouncing the laid-back lifestyle and
three-month summer holidays.
Menial - relating to work or a job regarded as service, relating to work or a job
regarded as service;
You find it difficult to get work in the first place, and when you do,
it's menial stuff and the office politics are a nightmare -it's not easy to
make friends:'
Disposable income - Remaining to a person
after taxes have been deducted.
"After the increase in rent, bills, and income tax, I was better
off as a student than I am now in terms of disposable income," he says.
Camaraderie - goodwill and lighthearted rapport between or among friends; comradeship
I got a bit depressed because there was a lot of camaraderie on my
course, we were a very close-knit group.
Daunt - to abate the courage of; discourage.
Not all students are daunted by the rite of passage from university to
the jobs market.
