Things must be quite different in the UK than the US with regard to the job market. We hear all the time around these parts that a degree does not guarantee a job. While this is true, and always has been, it depends now more than ever on what field the degree is in and whether or not employers are hiring people with no experience.
In engineering, there are many jobs going unfilled in the USA due to a shortage of qualified engineers. The medical electronics company that I do some contract work for a few months a year, seems to hire many interns each year, and then they select those they consider to be the best fit, to hire upon graduation. I get emails from recruiters all over the country every week, and nearly every day with engineering job openings.
On the other hand, somebody with a degree in English Literature or something along those lines might have a tough time finding a job. When investing in a 4 year degree program, the potential student must do his or her due diligence as would any consumer making a large purchase, to determine the chances of finding enough employment to pay his or her student loans after graduation.
Degrees that avail the new graduate a job currently, may not necessarily be the degrees that yield a good job some years down the road, which simply means that any advice regarding fields to go into will change over time. Technology and medicine seem to have been holding rather strong for quite some time. Unfortunately, not everybody is suited to those kinds of work and may want to consider getting some other form of education, including consideration for trade schools, for skills elsewhere in the job market.
What I am saying here holds true for the USA, but I have no idea what the job market is outside the USA. It is a sad thing for anyone graduating from college to be unable to find employment. That person has spent at least 4 years and a lot of money to get that degree, and on graduation, has to begin to pay it all back.
Tony
