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    When Study Goes Wrong
    When Study Goes Wrong
    When Study Goes Wrong
    Ebook157 pages2 hours

    When Study Goes Wrong

    By Tia Mitsis

    ()

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    About this ebook

    To most, Tia Mitsis (LLB/BA, LLM) looks like a hard-working lawyer. However, she's never been employed as a lawyer and now she and other graduates are speaking out about what it's like to be a graduate unable to get a job in their field of study. Hear from graduates in business, law, IT, communications, nursing and more, discuss the isolation and frustration of unemployment and underemployment on their lives. Also discussed are statistics on graduate employment, as well as tips and coping mechanisms; but the real message of this timely book is to let struggling graduates know they are not alone.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTia Mitsis
    Release dateNov 30, 2015
    ISBN9781311753342
    When Study Goes Wrong
    Author

    Tia Mitsis

    I am the author of ‘When Study Goes Wrong’, published in March 2015. ‘When Study Goes Wrong’ shares stories from graduates in business, law, IT, communications, nursing, and more, and considers the emotional toll of the isolation and frustration of unemployment and underemployment. Also discussed are statistics on graduate employment, as well as tips and coping mechanisms; but the real message of this timely book is to let struggling graduates know they are not alone.I am a qualified lawyer with a Masters degree in Law and have always been passionate about writing. I have recently finished my second book, a non-fiction travel narrative focused on the lesser known areas of Greece. My book will be out in early February 2016.

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      Book preview

      When Study Goes Wrong - Tia Mitsis

      When Study Goes Wrong

      Tia Mitsis

      ~~~

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright © 2015 Tia Mitsis All rights reserved.

      Print Edition ISBN: 1494862875

      Print Edition ISBN-13: 9781494862879

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Dedication

      I dedicate this book to everyone who believed in me. To my parents and my brother for their love and support. To those who responded to the initial survey and shared their stories with me. And to you, the reader, who has honoured me by wanting to read this book.

      Contents

      Dedication

      Acknowledgements

      Foreword

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nin e

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Chapter Seventeen

      About The Author

      Endnotes

      Acknowledgements

      In writing this book, I had help from a number of sources. The editor of my first draft, Abigail Nathan, who gave me excellent advice and helped to point me in the right direction with my writing. Judi Hopson, who helped me polish the final draft and assisted me with her excellent advice. Dianne Wadsworth, who completed the final proofread of the book. The designer of my cover Sarah Billington who created the front, back cover and spine and helped me to explore different ideas for the design. Arthur Mitsis for drawing an excellent illustration for the book that in fact, started off as the cover. The illustration embodies the overarching theme of the book. Vera George who talked me through what qualitative data analysis meant and provided me with excellent resources to aid my understanding of the process. To CreateSpace for offering me the opportunity to get this book out into the world through self-publishing.

      Foreword

      Graduate high school, get into university course of choice, get lowly job in field of study, graduate, get real job in field of study. That is the checklist in the minds of many when they think about study, and it is the way that gaining a qualification is supposed to work.

      But what if it doesn’t work that way? Are students prepared to face the challenge of having all that study and time go completely unacknowledged? To go through the trial of applying for job after job, only to be rejected and end up working in a completely unrelated field?

      It was an experience that I wasn’t ready for. Study itself is filled with challenges. To then come out and be faced with more roadblocks was eye-opening.

      Students tell themselves that the investment of time, effort, and money is worth it. It can be, and there are many success stories out there. What isn’t out there is a detailed discussion of what happens when things don’t work out; the real issues and challenges. Who does it affect? And what happens to those who, for one reason or another, are not working in their field, have difficulty finding a position or even work experience, and end up in a field entirely different from their study?

      There are many articles speaking about the plight of graduates; they talk about too many graduates and not enough jobs, the global economic crisis, and the effect on the job market. They talk about statistics. What they don’t talk about is the effect the lack of jobs has on the graduates themselves; the areas of a graduate’s life that are affected by the lack of options, and how graduates face and cope with such a challenge. This book will address all these concerns.

      In the following chapters you will find my story, and the stories of other graduates I have interviewed. In sharing these deeply personal stories, I aim to bring light to this topic in a new way.

      There are many blogs and articles online written by students who have been through this struggle. The comments sections following these articles are filled with replies from other students, adding their own experiences and advice.

      Many students also utilize online media to discuss their plight, to ask for assistance, and to share their stories. What the numerous online articles and student discussions indicate are that this problem is very real, at times painful, and worthy of investigation.

      The following is my story—the challenges, the fears of failure and the triumph of acceptance. I too was one of those students who thought that getting a degree would mean greater employment opportunities. My experience is probably one of the best examples of what happens when study goes wrong. It isn’t unique in today’s oversupply of students to the employment market, but it is a reality many graduates face if they are completely reliant on a degree to get where they want to go.

      Many fresh-faced young students are sitting in universities, TAFE colleges, or taking online courses and dreaming of their future bright career in their chosen field at this very moment.

      This book is not intended to scare them, nor is it intended to alienate universities; its aim is to examine graduate outcomes. Universities proudly declare their graduates’ employment rate after graduation. They don’t measure who is working in their field and who isn’t. They only measure employment it-self. In your field or not, they will happily declare that you are employed.

      If you’re considering higher education, are currently studying, or have graduated and found that things haven’t panned out as expected, this book is for you. This is for the hard work, time and determination you have put into those letters after our name.

      O n e

      Before I share my story and the stories of the other graduates interviewed, there are just a few things to note. The call for others to share their story went far and wide (around the world in fact) simply by utilising social media and sharing the link to a survey I set up to gather data and identify willing participants. We’ll look further into the results of the survey and the data gathered in Chapter 2.

      Participants shared their stories via email and social media, as well as via face-to-face or telephone interviews. I offered interviewees complete anonymity—names changed, identifying information about their university or their workplaces omitted. This allowed everyone to feel comfortable with sharing their story. No one was paid for their participation.

      Some graduates said that being able to discuss their situation with someone who knew what they’d gone through was cathartic, even comforting. I know that for me, it was troubling to find others from a variety of disciplines who had been in the same position I had.

      This isn’t a pure statistical and factual account of what happens when study goes wrong, because for all of these people affected there were dreams and ideas that had to change.

      There were emotions associated with that disappointment, with that fear of failure, with that breaking down of a vision that didn’t eventuate.

      I took a journey with these people affected, with the people that shared their stories with me. They were stories I could identify with and they were stories that you too can identify with. They are full of character and life, willing and able to share their stories with you. What was their experience as graduates, how did they tackle the job search, how did they handle the struggles and disappointments along the way, and what are their insights into the situation faced by many graduates today seeking to enter the workforce?

      All of these questions will be answered and more as each graduate gives their insight and experience into what happens when study goes wrong.

      I don’t think I considered, even for a moment, during my time in law school that it was possible all my hard work would go to waste. I was always working towards something. Handing in assignments, managing part-time work and study, attending lectures and tutorials, dealing with the strong personalities one is almost certain to meet in law school and, like many students, dealing with that one subject that caused many hours of stress.

      The plan, however, was there. I would become a lawyer at the end of it. I could go on to become a barrister. I could help everyone with that fresh, somewhat misguided sense of justice I had as a first-year student with big dreams.

      Have any of those dreams been realised? No. However, they have been replaced with other dreams. It is always important to be flexible with goals. If things don’t work out in one area, there are things that could develop in another.

      During the years I studied, the university offered law as part of a double degree; as such, I was working towards a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts with a mix of subjects that allowed me to immerse myself both in law and in journalism.

      I had a thirst for knowledge, and I still do. I had a thirst to succeed, and I still do. More so now than ever, just to ensure that all that time and hard work is not wasted; and to reach the dreams I still have, despite feeling that those years at university could have been better utilised doing something else.

      The words of advice from friends and family to be patient, that the time would come when I’d enter the field I’d studied with triumph, were constant. Two years after graduation I half believed them; now, eight years later, I’d never consider ‘entering’ the field. When I was a new graduate, it would have been appropriate for me to take an entry level role, but now life has moved forward, responsibilities and financial obligations have changed, and what was very necessary and appropriate back then is no longer possible.

      Of course, opening my mind to different ideas and ways of thought was not a waste. Having an education is a powerful tool in today’s world. But is the massive HECS/HELP debt I accrued as I kept going back for more study, while I couldn’t find a niche in my field, a waste? I believe so. Graduates study in order to open doors, to broaden their horizons, to reap the rewards. They invest time and money, in expectation of being rewarded with the career of their choice and a suitable salary for their knowledge and efforts. This is my understanding of why most people study, and was also my reason for study.

      After a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Arts (LLB/BA), Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (Grad Dip Legal Practice),

      Graduate Diploma in Law in Media and Technology Law (Grad Dip Law), and a Master of Laws (LLM), I have yet to reap the rewards. Are any of those qualifications a waste? There are days I consider them all useless; there are other days I appreciate that they are a part of me. They form

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