One in three university graduates work in jobs unrelated to their study

One in three university graduates work in jobs unrelated to their study YOUNG Aussies considering university are being urged to carefully consider their career choices to ensure there is a job at the end of their degree. Melanie Burgess News Corp Australia Network. SEPTEMBER 4, 2017 2:42PM

Jake Antill, 26, landed his first full-time job in copywriting and data analysis despite being qualified in completely different areas. Picture: News Corp AustraliaSource:News Corp Australia ONE in three young university graduates do not find work in their chosen field, with many forced to cast their net wider to land full-time employment.

A survey of 1000 Australians aged 16 to 24 by Pure Profile and career strategy firm TwoPointZero revealed 34 per cent of those with a bachelor degree and 32 per cent of those with a postgraduate degree gained their first full-time role in an unrelated field.

For many, this meant continuing in the industry they were in before graduation. One in five uni grads lost hope in having a career they were passionate about, the report found — and the higher the qualification, the more pessimistic the outlook. While just 12.4 per cent of high school graduates had given up hope, this jumped to 24.5 per cent for those with postgraduate qualifications.

TwoPointZero chief executive Steve Shepherd said it was important to help young Australians make the right career choices early on.

Almost half of young people decided their career path while still in school and in hindsight, more than half regretted their high school electives to at least some extent.

“If you don’t know what your passions, strengths or career interests are, then the decisions you make in high school or university could be the wrong ones,” Mr Shepherd said.

Jake Antill studied film and television, psychology, English literature and political science but ended up in digital marketing.

“It’s troubling that young Aussies are spending so much money on a good education and getting themselves into debt, but putting it to little use when entering the workforce.”

Mr Shepherd said Australians were obsessed with degrees, with many young people going to university because it was the done thing.

“It doesn’t matter what course they take, just as long as they come out with a degree,” he said. Jake Antill, 26, landed his first full-time job in copywriting and data analysis for digital marketing firm Chek Digital despite being qualified in completely different areas.

The Melbourne resident studied two arts degrees back to back through The University of Queensland with majors in film and television, psychology, English literature and political science as well as completed certificates in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).

After his initial degree, Mr Antill had trouble finding work and attributed this to his lack of work experience. The second time around, he changed his plan of attack by juggling as many as three jobs at a time with his study, and writing fresh cover letters for every job he applied for.

“(After the second degree) I was also older too, which made a huge difference. I could structure my time better (and) I had proven I could work in a team and be counted on,” he said. Despite spending seven years and tens of thousands of dollars on unrelated qualifications, Mr Antill said he did not regret going to university.

“If I had my time again, I’d still go,” he said. “I didn’t study marketing, but without my weird assortment of subjects I couldn’t do what I do now. Psychology prepared me for the analysis, literature for the writing, and everything else for everything else — preparation, problem-solving, all that jazz.

“I went to learn about the world and learn how to think and how to engage. I’m not a psychologist or a filmmaker or a politician, but I still use what I learnt in those subjects all the time.”