Alex: Finding a job is difficult now. Every time you go for a job, there are about 50 different applicants, and no one is hiring. And it’s just going to get worse, because you are going to have a backlog of people who have done their exams and not found employment.
Holly: It seems more and more people are applying for the same sort of jobs and then when they come out even with a really good degree, they might not necessarily get the job they want.
Bethany: Yeah, I am not particularly optimistic. I’m sure I would be able to find some kind of a job after university, but I’m pretty sure I would be under-employed for a good number of years, not doing a particularly academic job. I see myself working in shops and bars for a long time before I can get down to what I want to do. Plus, my degree would not be a vocational degree, so that doesn’t give me any job security afterwards.
Alex: And even the vocational degrees, yeah great, you have a degree in law, but how many people are showing up to be barristers? I want to do forestry at Aberdeen, but you hear about everyone from Finland coming over to do the degree, so that’s quite difficult. I have two plans: if I don’t get in this year, I will do national service in Finland and I will apply again next year.
Bethany: I don’t really have a plan B. I guess if I don’t get into university, then I’d apply again next year - though I know that if I apply to Glasgow, I have got an unconditional offer. It’s not really my top university, but I would probably just take it, rather than wait a year.
Holly: I want to go to university this year but if I don’t, I’m quite happy to either go to college and get more Highers or maybe do a language or something like that. I have a wide range of subjects. There is nothing specific that I necessarily want to do, but I’ve got to decide soon.
Alex: You need a degree now to get anywhere.
Bethany: Sometimes you look at a degree and you think: “Why is this a degree?” Things like dance, I don’t understand why people have a degree in it.
Alex: You get degrees in Anglo-Saxon language, which are probably great in the academic world, but how is speaking old English going to help you in the real world?
Holly: So many more people want to go to university now.
Alex: You need to change the attitude towards university. It should be for people who do the more specialised subjects. It’s almost like you should have two universities, one for classics, history, and the really good academic stuff, and then you could have polytechnics, which do practical useful degrees.
