Science graduates struggle to find jobs (1 Viewer)

[Rafy]

The push to encourage more students to enrol in science and technology degrees is dangerous and risks leaving many graduates unemployed, the respected Grattan Institute has warned.

A new report by the think tank, to be released on Monday, finds that science enrolments have surged over recent years yet science graduates are struggling to find jobs. They are also less likely than other graduates to put into practice what they learnt at university.

Despite this, business groups, the science lobby and politicians continue to argue Australia needs more graduates with Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) degrees.

Grattan Institute higher education program director Andrew Norton said beginning a science degrees was a "risky" decision that students should not make lightly.

It would be a "good development" if fewer people chose to study science, he said.

"If people think doing a Bachelor in Science will give them skills that are highly valued in the labour market then they should probably look at studying something else," he said. [...]

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...-fewer-science-graduates-20160807-gqmy19.html

 

[turntaker]

Why are they mentioning STEM.

 

[turntaker]

And also doesn't this apply to any university degree now days?

It should be changed to "The push to encourage more students to enroll in university degrees is dangerous"

They are basically saying you will be jobless if you do any STEM degree. Idk where they got that from.

what about arts and the overly saturated fields of commerce and law

 

[Infin-Noka]

That's a better chance of jobs in life science than I thought. But I wanted to have a grand power level as some sort of jobless war lock...

Anything on pure mathematics, though? Asking for a friend. I feel that there's quite literally nothing to do other than serve as a jester for some wealthy physician.

 

[enoilgam]

And also doesn't this apply to any university degree now days?

It should be changed to "The push to encourage more students to enroll in university degrees is dangerous"

They are basically saying you will be jobless if you do any STEM degree. Idk where they got that from.

I couldnt agree more with this, to be honest, it cuts across many sectors. The issue is, employers are no longer interested in investing in graduates. Years ago, firms were happy to invest the time training graduates, whereas nowadays they just want people who are ready to go from day one. There are many reasons for it such as:

- The pace of the modern workplace makes training graduates impractical for many managers/companies.
- The constant change and instability of the modern workforce reduces the ROI for graduates. Training graduates is an expensive endeavour. Twenty or thirty years ago, graduates would stay at a company for many years, whereas nowadays most people dont stay in the same organisation for more than a few years. The blame for this is often shifted onto "Generation Y" for being fickle, but I think companies bear a lot of blame because it is clear from the shift in HR Policies that loyalty is no longer valued.
- There is a disconnect between the skills a degree provides and those needed for the workforce.

Im generalising with these points and I dont think it applies to all sectors (namely accounting, education, healthcare and to a lesser extent law). But it is a growing trend across many industries in my view.

 

[enoilgam]

What job do you get with a science degree? Like people going into a science degree, with their dream job in mind, what is that job they're aiming for?

All that I can think of is research, but even then you need way more than just an undergraduate.

There are jobs, but no real pathway from graduate level into the industry. I work on a major infrastructure project and we have quite a few science graduates in areas like environmental approvals, geo-technical areas (GIS etc) and project management. So the jobs exist, but getting there from a graduate level is a hard and ambiguous path.

 

[leehuan]

That's a better chance of jobs in life science than I thought. But I wanted to have a grand power level as some sort of jobless war lock...

Anything on pure mathematics, though? Asking for a friend. I feel that there's quite literally nothing to do other than serve as a jester for some wealthy physician.

http://community.boredofstudies.org...344917/nature-advanced-mathematics-major.html

Go to the very bottom.

 

[shivanshw63]

Would a bachelor of clinical science at macquarie be any different employment wise then a regular Bsci in regards to the type of jobs available and how much demand would they be in

 

[Drdusk]

Omg dont scare me like this haha

I already have half the world telling me taking a Physics degree is useless but I'm going with my heart.

 

[Drdusk]

Forums not too old, how am I only just seeing this

 

[weaknuclearforce]

Omg dont scare me like this haha

I already have half the world telling me taking a Physics degree is useless but I'm going with my heart.
I hope it works out

Are they telling you via devices that work because of our understanding of Electromagnetism & Quantum Mechanics?

 

[Queenroot]

Omg dont scare me like this haha

I already have half the world telling me taking a Physics degree is useless but I'm going with my heart.
I hope it works out

A physics degree is more useful than other science majors. Most stem jobs I've seen are happy to hire physics grads.