Marie-Therese Dobbin

Marie-Therese Dobbin Column

What's poppin' with Dobbin?

UNIVERSITY students have a bad reputation.

Apparently we all skip lectures to watch Jeremy Kyle on TV and spend our student loans on filling up the nearest Wetherspoon pub.

But ask any student and they won’t agree.

New figures show that students who have just started their first year will graduate with more than £20,000 of debt and, with 540,000 undergraduate applications, there’s got to be some reason we’re all crazy enough to do it.

Panic stories in the press don’t help.

Apparently we’re all going to end up as overqualified shop assistants because the number of graduates/job vacancies available ratio doesn’t quite add up.

So why do it?

Recessions don’t last forever and, five years from now, I’ll be glad I have a degree when I’m in my chosen profession, even if I do have to fight that little bit harder for it.

Maybe that’s how it should be; good jobs only go to those who are willing to fight for them.

As I start my third (unpaid) work experience placement in a year, I add another section to my CV and increase my chances of getting a paid job.

A year from now, I’ll have to go into the big, bad world and take my chances in the job market.

Maybe I’ll strike lucky and land an entry-level job in my chosen profession, work my way up the ladder and become the ultimate success story.

Or maybe I’ll have to take a minimum wage job just to pay the bills while I become disheartened and give up on my dream.

But I’m willing to take the risk.