For those who have graduated.. where are you now? (1 Viewer)

[crazy_paki123]

The days of getting good grades and getting a good job are well and truly gone. As a Uni student there is a lot of competition ill agree with u there, but not everyone is getting Distinctions or HD's as an average. And even if u r getting a credit u can still be successful. If you want it, work for it. Get a part time job in the relevant industry, anywhere (i help my dad around in his accounting business), do loads of Extra-curriculars, be a president of a society, play sports, volunteer go on exchange etc, theres so many opportunities at uni especially. Finally network, network, network! By going to different conferences and the like you WILL meet people from big 4, i recently attended a conference about Youth Leadership and what do u know, a PwC senior Accountant was there and hooked me up. There is loads of competiition but it is also upto the student on how much they develop their people, leadership and team skills whilst maintaining that D+ average. Hope I helped

 

[Trebla]

Please don't talk to me as if I'm a little kid crybaby. 'If you work hard enough you'll get anywhere'. Well duh, blame nobody but yourself. You talk like a university marketing rep- 'Come and enrol you'll make big $$.

Obviously everyone is responsible for their own personal growth and career development. Who the hell doesn't want to forge their own successful career/company? Nobody's a crybaby. When you write that guide to improve employability, over 50% of them are going to fail to get into a good grad program and move back into their parents home and deviate into completely different career paths. I'm not saying grad programs are even remotely the ultimate goal and in fact its over rated. Like many others I don't get what the fuss is about it. But you see most people I talk to, like literally the entire class found their degrees useless. Are the students kidding themselves when they apply for something when their odds are like 5%. Doesn't hurt to apply right?

The point I'm trying to make is there's no need to get a bachelors degree if its not required for the profession. Educators can't sleep at night cause they are teaching students arts and history and whatnot useless english majors. Law is saturated like hell, as well as many other professions.

Companies are becoming less meritocratic and more about getting the best people you'd like to work with. Big companies are becoming like empires, or family companies like they have in korea and japan.

Um no the point you're trying to make is that degrees are useless. I don't know who you've been talking to but the majority of 'high level' jobs require at least a bachelor's degree. If you do not pursue a bachelor's degree it will be MUCH harder to get into those high level professions not to mention you will be paid much less than everybody else. That is a well known fact and has been backed up by the statistics. Degrees accelerate your career progression which is something you don't appear to appreciate. If you want to break into the finance world for example you are much better off completing a bachelor's degree or higher than not having one.

Also, about the point of changing career paths...in my view that is a sign that you've given up because you lack the determination, hard work or interest in your studied field. If you were really keen on a finance career for example you would keep pursuing it no matter what and not give up after a few years from graduation. That deviation you speak of is not necessarily a permanent one either, for many it will just be a detour until they find something they want. Also, a lot of the deviations I've seen from my personal experience were due to lack of interest (e.g. people who did degrees they weren't genuinely interested in) in the field rather than lack of prospects.

In short, I don't particularly agree with the fact that you are placing the blame on the education if you can't get a relevant job. The degrees equip you with some valuable skills that are transferable to the workplace (yes, this includes arts degrees - the arts graduates in the organisation I work are people are particularly good at articulating and communicating and they make up a large portion of one of our divisions). As someone who is currently working full time I can definitely vouch for that. The problem is that this is not enough. You need to have more than just a degree to get a job and that comes down to your work experience, extra-curricular activities and your overall attitude/personality (and of course how well you present your application etc). The reason people don't get the jobs they want is mainly because they relatively lack in those 'extras'. It has nothing to do with the degree itself.

 

[enoilgam]

Um no the point you're trying to make is that degrees are useless. I don't know who you've been talking to but the majority of 'high level' jobs require at least a bachelor's degree. If you do not pursue a bachelor's degree it will be MUCH harder to get into those high level professions not to mention you will be paid much less than everybody else. That is a well known fact and has been backed up by the statistics. Degrees accelerate your career progression which is something you don't appear to appreciate. If you want to break into the finance world for example you are much better off completing a bachelor's degree or higher than not having one.

The OPs problem is that he falsely believed that a degree gets you a job, whereas in reality, a degree is only a qualifying attribute. It's like, if you are going for a job interview, you are expected to be well presented (i.e. suit, tie, clean shaven etc). However, being well presented itself isnt going to get you a job (no one gets hired because they had a nice suit).

 

[106mikey]

This thread is kind of depressing, I applied for big 4 internships the start of this year and received offers from all 4 except for Deloitte (received AC offer from Deloitte but decided not to go to it). I think people need to stop focusing on the job market and realise that you're the only one standing in the way of your future career prospects. I see too many people turning up late/not at all to tutorials, leaving early, not doing the homework consistently every week, not staying up to date with lectures etc. Group work is just frustrating because it seems like everybody wants to get by with the minimal amount of work done, and then people complain that they can't get into the top organisations. If you want to get into the big multi-nationals unfortunately you're going to have to bring more than just your sense of entitlement these days.

 

[OzKo]

This thread is kind of depressing, I applied for big 4 internships the start of this year and received offers from all 4 except for Deloitte (received AC offer from Deloitte but decided not to go to it). I think people need to stop focusing on the job market and realise that you're the only one standing in the way of your future career prospects. I see too many people turning up late/not at all to tutorials, leaving early, not doing the homework consistently every week, not staying up to date with lectures etc. Group work is just frustrating because it seems like everybody wants to get by with the minimal amount of work done, and then people complain that they can't get into the top organisations. If you want to get into the big multi-nationals unfortunately you're going to have to bring more than just your sense of entitlement these days.

I somewhat agree with this, at least in terms of the whole entitlement thing.

Believe it or not though, I've seen loads of high achieving, focused students struggle to find jobs while the bludgers find work immediately.

Everyone should realise that being a well-rounded graduate is the key to getting a foothold in the job market.

 

[randomguy777]

You guys have barely done much professional work and now you think you're set for life? I know plenty of grads who are unable to secure work after their vac program including grad program too.

Most of the work they do is fairly uninteresting and after a year or two they:
1. Quit and do something else entirely different where they can make even more money quicker
2. Are unable to secure work and go back to uni to re-skill

 

[Crobat]

You guys have barely done much professional work and now you think you're set for life? I know plenty of grads who are unable to secure work after their vac program including grad program too.

Most of the work they do is fairly uninteresting and after a year or two they:
1. Quit and do something else entirely different where they can make even more money quicker
2. Are unable to secure work and go back to uni to re-skill

And why is that the degree's fault? Or the fault of the university's? Or the fault of the job market even? A company is not bound to hire you just because you did a vaccies program or internship and just because you have a degree. They still expect you to be able to perform during the program and fit well into the organisation. If you achieve neither then why should they invest their time and money in you? Vacation programs and internships have never been 100% guaranteed employment afterwards so why would you assume you're set for life just by having the opportunity to do one? Those programs are designed to give you an insight into the company's culture and work, and to give you valuable practical experience, yes; but if they see that you find the work uninteresting (which suggests a detachment from the actual work and a consequent poor performance in itself) why then should they hire you or put you into their graduate programs when they could hire other grads that genuinely want to be there and that have a passion for the work they do? I know for a fact that CBA offers 50 internship positions with a prospective position in their grad programs for the particular sector those internships are in. Do they hire every single intern that finishes? No. They're still looking for your performance, attitude, and potential. Your degree is a checklist item in the job market nowadays but the fact that it gives you no practical hands-on experience should tell you something about its value. Putting the blame on everything but yourself is the reason you're still not where you want to be.

And don't mistake "thinking you're set for life" for "not giving up". The reality is they know what they need to do to get a job and never relied solely on their degree to do it.

 

[enoilgam]

Believe it or not though, I've seen loads of high achieving, focused students struggle to find jobs while the bludgers find work immediately.

Everyone should realise that being a well-rounded graduate is the key to getting a foothold in the job market.

A lot of it does come down to luck though and I have seen some absolute deadshits get good jobs simply from being in the right place at the right time (by the same token, I know one or two really solid people who have failed to find work 2 or 3 years on). That doesnt mean you should give up though - having a well-rounded CV gives you the best chance of finding a job post-graduation, it isnt a guarantee.

 

[mirin]

Couldn't agree more with the posts above. Especially the resume part, it's true to a large extent that having attended a private school or top selective school WILL definitely enhance your chances of landing a good job!

 

[Crobat]

Couldn't agree more with the posts above. Especially the resume part, it's true to a large extent that having attended a private school or top selective school WILL definitely enhance your chances of landing a good job!

If you mean this in terms of landing a cadetship/traineeship out of high school this may be so, but if you mean this in terms of landing a job post-undergraduate degree you couldn't be more mistaken.

 

[enoilgam]

If you mean this in terms of landing a cadetship/traineeship out of high school this may be so, but if you mean this in terms of landing a job post-undergraduate degree you couldn't be more mistaken.

I didnt even bother putting my High School on my graduate applications - it was a waste of space. I dont think graduate employers could care less where you went to HS (think about it, why would they).

 

[mirin]

You both are right, but honestly it depends which employer it is at the end of the day.
I also meant that it would be easier for a student from such school without experience of any kind, to get a job in whatever career path they're choosing.

 

[mirin]

You both are right, but honestly it depends which employer it is at the end of the day.
I also meant that it would be easier for a student from such school without experience of any kind, to get a 'first' job (during university to get some sort of experience)

 

[Crobat]

I didnt even bother putting my High School on my graduate applications - it was a waste of space. I dont think graduate employers could care less where you went to HS (think about it, why would they).

They really don't. All of the recruiters I deal with (CBA and KPMG in particular were REALLY heavy on this, they wouldn't even let me put my HSC results on mine) said that no one cares about who you were in high school, not even if you were the school captain. They want to know who you are in the current - what you've done in uni and your industry experience at the forefront of that.

 

[randomguy777]

If you mean this in terms of landing a cadetship/traineeship out of high school this may be so, but if you mean this in terms of landing a job post-undergraduate degree you couldn't be more mistaken.

Depends entirely on what you are studying and what you're trying to get into. As this is the business forum the high school you went to certainly can matter. If you're doing dentistry and other things of course the high school you attended has no relevance whatsoever. Employers I know would rather employ students from well known selective high school/top private school all else considered. I've been to interviews at these 'elitist companies' but I went to a no name high school(heavily disadvantaged) so pretty much I was out of place.

I know boys from st aloysius, and ignatius boys who got jobs simply because they're white and well connected.

See here:

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/c...p-private-schools-2013-10#sydneygrammarschool

 

[Hagaren]

I graduated couple years back, haven't found anything relevant. I know that most people like 95% of each class have not found anything substantial, which makes their degree worthless. There's obviously too many grads for too few jobs leaving many unaware disappointed and many practically unemployed (working in some other random job is irrelevant).

That being said I did major in applied finance/econ and like many others have wasted their time at uni.
I could go on for ages also why MQ isn't particularly good and also why you shouldn't be at uni if you didn't get like 98 +UAI/atar.

So I am wondering what other people are doing and I'd like to hear their stories. Unfortunately not many lurk around these forums.

please tell me more about why you need a UAI of 98 to go to uni...

 

[Hagaren]

Yeah most of their grad positions are filled by vaccies/cadets so they're now just going to look for the remainder on LinkedIn pretty much. It's the same at the other Big 4 acct firms so give it like 3 or 4 years before they all get rid of their grad programs too.

They also recruit through careers fairs, graduate events, CA and CPA events etc. I got asked to apply on three separate occasions.

 

[OzKo]

They really don't. All of the recruiters I deal with (CBA and KPMG in particular were REALLY heavy on this, they wouldn't even let me put my HSC results on mine) said that no one cares about who you were in high school, not even if you were the school captain. They want to know who you are in the current - what you've done in uni and your industry experience at the forefront of that.

I've had some grad applications where they actually asked for the ATAR tbf

 

[isildurrrr1]

please tell me more about why you need a UAI of 98 to go to uni...

coz you must be somehow uber elite to get a normal job.

Problem with a lot of aussie grads is a really weak resume and only apply to big firms straight out of uni. They also forget the fact that 70% of jobs are pretty much through networking.

 

[enoilgam]

They also forget the fact that 70% of jobs are pretty much through networking.

That's more for internal offers and experienced workers - it's probably not as high for graduates.