The Graduates Of 2009

The graduates of 2009 have already had to deal with the new ?3000 per year university top up fees so in the contextual scheme of things, it does seem very unfair that they should also have to deal with graduating right into the middle of the credit crunch. Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in the highest rates of unemployment amongst new graduates in a long time, both in Britain, North America and many other places across the globe.

To make matters worse, many popular graduate schemes were forced to reduce their usual intake in 2009 in order to make necessary cutbacks in their businesses, so even jobs designed specifically for new graduates are hard to come by.

It's clear that many of this year's graduates will be feeling rather depressed about their unfortunate situation, but there are a number of options available to them in the meantime:

There are always jobs available for those who are interested in teaching English as a foreign language, both within the United Kingdom and further affield. Sometimes it is necessary to have a formal qualification, but this is not always the case so it's worth inquiring to see what opportunities may be available to you.

Taking a gap year is another popular choice. Travel can open all kinds of doors for young graduates with open minds, and even if it doesn't help them directly in their career they will gain all kinds of life experience in the process.

Applications for masters and PhD reached record numbers this year as many graduates went straight back into their studies with the hope of increasing their opportunities later with a few more certificates under their belts.

If graduates are simply stuck at home leafing through the guardian for the fourth time in the vague hope that some perfect new job opportunity will appear, there are other- more productive things they could be doing. If they're after public sector jobs, for example, doing some voluntary work whilst they are unemployed could help their CV to stand out.

For any graduates who are still stuck for something to do, perhaps you could spare a thought for the generations to follow. It looks as though the cost of university education is set to rise again, meaning greater debt and gloomier prospects - so joining an NUS campaign against such changes could be one way to put unemployment to good use.

By: Karri Farug

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