So do u think graduates should go on the dole instead of taking a low paid job?

Question

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=557393&in_page_id=1770

A Professor is actually saying that it would be better for them rather than take a low paid job.

Answer 1

dont you think we pay enough taxes for people who dont want to work, so whats so different about graduates i think thay should take a job even if its low paid at least thay would know what a hard days work feels like

Answer 2

no no no

Answer 3

h**l no! If they can't find a job, they should've chosen a more appropriate degree (I had my job before I'd even finished my course).

They should get out to work immediately and stop sponging off the state!

Answer 4

Can see his point. My daughter graduated 2 years ago and is working as a supervisor in a record store. Not exactly how the career path was planned but I'm not sure the dole is a better answer.

Answer 5

Maybe for six months to give them a chance to find the job they want but that is all.  If they can find that well paid job, they will have paid the tax payer back within a couple of months and will be paying far more tax than they would in a low paid job.

Answer 6

No.  Many of us are in jobs we hate, whether we're graduates or not.

If you don't work, then you starve.

I do not understand how the country could sustain people who are educated in jobs there is no call for.  

Being in a low paid job, unsuited to your talents IS depressing, as many shelf stackers, cleaners, road sweepers, etc will tell you.  But it puts food on the table.

Answer 7

h**l no what about self respect at least working for minimam wage you will feel of some worth not a bum who gets money for nothing let the people who need these benifits have them and if you can work then work a low paid job on a c.v looks better than unemployed.

shows your willing to work even if its a job you dont like you will get more respect for that.

Iwas a single mum for two years and still did not live on benifits i crammed 40 hours work into 3 days a week so i could still be at home most of the time and i felt fantastic tired but i new the clothes food and toys my son had id paid for not the tax payers

Answer 8

if you were asking this 25 years ago - i might say yes, because it is harder to job search when you are actually in employment, and at that time - only a tiny fraction - 5 percent or less - went to university and could be classed as having great potential.

Now if the target is 50 percent, you can no longer assume that their is a fantastic job waiting for every university leaver, so they have to be prepared to lower their expectations

all people need to accept that the country provides for them - health, education, benefits etc ... so they have to be prepared to pay back through employment or otherwise

Answer 9

Probably. While you are unemployed, you've got all day to look for jobs and attend interviews. It is very hard for a new graduate to get a job in his/her field and it may take them 6 months of attending interviews after interviews before they get a decent job. Now if they are in low-paid jobs, which tend to be very restricting with time (especially jobs like check-out operator, call centre operator etc.) therefore they won't be able to attend all the interviews that they need to so they may miss out on a decent job. Bosses/supervisors in low paid jobs don't like flexibility and they certainly don't like 'smart-asses'. Another problem is, that if graduates don't find a job within 1 year of their graduation, they will be in competition against the latest graduates and it is well known that employers prefer very recent graduates from those that graduated a year ago. While it may seem that graduates are sponging for 6 months, it will be worthwile on the long-run.

Mark: I did a science degree, but it took me about 6 months to find my first decent job, even though I had a job lined up after graduation, that one fell through after 3 months.

Answer 10

As a society we have a responsibility to help people who suffer unexpected unemployment. So if someone loses a job we should pay them benefit to assist them.

That said people have a responsibility to look after themselves. Public finances are not limitless.

We now have a society where people appear to believe that long term sponging off the hard earned taxes of others is acceptable. It is not.

Solution, compromise.

We pay unemployment benefit to everyone for the first six months that they are unemployed. This means that for the first six months they have 100% of their time to search for another job. After six months they have two options, either their benefit is stopped or they work 40 hours per week for the state to earn their benefit. This "employment" to earn their benefit could be any work which benefits society as a whole such as helping the elderly, street cleaning, looking after our parks, anything of that type. They should do tasks which would earn the money that we as a society are paying them because they were unable to find a job themselves. While doing this work they could still apply for other jobs and attend job interviews.

This idea would stop the crazy attitude that many have nowadays whereby they say "I get more money if I don't work."  It would mean those who deliberately CHOOSE to remain on benefit long term cannot continue with their sponging. It will also mean that those who are genuinely unemployed loose the stigma of being "unemployed." They will be financially supported but they will be in the work mentality, which is something employer’s value, it also increases self esteem.

Sorry this is a long answer but I feel we urgently need to redress the imbalance in our benefit system. I am so fed up with the fact that so many people feel they are entitled to sit on their backsides and claim benefit from our hard earned taxes and they need challenging. Yes we need to support those who have fallen on hard times but the system is now being abused by hundreds of thousands of people. I know people in their mid forties who are able bodied but who have never had a job in their lives. This is not healthy for them and is an unfair burden on society. This dole culture needs radically changing.

So I think this Professor needs to leave academia and join the rest of us in the real World.

Answer 11

No, I think it's better if they work and not rely on tax payers handouts.  The difference between being on the dole and in low paid jobs was not huge.  Perhaps would-be graduates should check out what sort of degrees are needed for the workplace before going to uni, then they would find it easier to find jobs afterwards.

Answer 12

too many grdautes around now and not enough jobs to go around

i have had to take low paid jobs in shops and nursing homes to pay my way . i have returned to stuudying to get a pgce to improve my career prospects . a degree is not worth as much as it once was

Answer 13

Nobody should be able to go on the 'dole' if work of any sort is available. The 'dole' should be significantly less than 'the lowest paid' job. But this should be part of a radical change in benefits so that a large portion of the population no longer lives at the expense of the rest of us.

Answer 14

The professor who offered the advice is quite wrong.  I know a guy who arrived in London with a Scottish Law Degree.  This was back in the early 1970s.  He wanted to work as a company lawyer, but could not find a job.  I told him to take a job working as a dustman with the local authority.  He took the job, found himself with a great crew of guys, earned wages, paid his bills and was able to buy his pals drinks at the bar along with everyone else.

He eventually found employment as a company lawyer and now earns sums of money in the region of the price of a house every year.

Answer 15

I don't quite see where you're coming from, many graduates now work unpaid to get their relevant work experience.