The confusion about the earning potential of graduates has a particular poignancy for Careers Advisers. What do we tell the students and what do we tell those considering becoming students?
Do we subscribe to the Hesketh Brown view? Add up the numbers of traditional graduate jobs. Subtract that figure from the number of graduates, so that the resultant (very large) figure is a kind of graduate disappointment gap.
Or do we take the more comforting Purcell Elias view that graduates do move into satisfying work with a salary premium, even though this process is a slow gradual one?
And what of the latest findings that suggest a significant minority earning under £20000 at the age of 30?
Throw in the findings of the increased prevalence of the quarter-life crisis – young people in their mid to late 20’s experiencing serious anomie about their purpose and their roles.
And for good measure what about all those young males in the same age group who have mysteriously vanished – according to the last Census.
And what about the continuing crisis in the recruitment and retention of teachers, nurses, radiographers, social workers etc – graduate professions with a shortage of graduates?
The simple truth is that the existence of more graduate is bound to change a labour market which is in any case undergoing massive changes.
Low pay and lack of job security affect many graduates in many different occupations. Many of the staff working in Higher Education are a case in point – particularly contract researchers. Workers in the media endure similar conditions – check out the salaries of trainee reporters on a local newspaper. Advertising Agency creatives frequently spend long periods on unpaid ‘placements’ in the hope of securing a permanent job. Jobs in Think tanks, Charities, Research bodies are frequently preceded by spells as volunteers. Do students undertaking degrees in sculpture, theology, performing arts, philosophy, classics, calculate a generous pay-back on their investment? It seems unlikely. Furthermore many students choose courses like this despite ‘advice’ from parents, teachers and other professionals.
If a student wishes to base their choice of course on job or even money prospects then there is ample scope for that in UK Higher Education. Thankfully there are students who factor a wider range of elements into their choice making: intellectual curiousity, a wish to understand society, global politics, environmental protection, an urge to make music or visual art.
The question of course is whether they will feel able to make such choices when they will be incurring large debts by so doing. It may well be that Higher Education choice becomes a more pragmatic process
