Category: PhD – Beyond Graduation

Crew, T. (2020). Higher Education and Working-Class Academics. Precarity and Diversity in Academia. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

https://research.bangor.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/beyond-graduation-trajectories-of-graduates-from-higher-education/

Beyond Graduation: trajectories of graduates from higher education in North Wales

Thesis written by Dr Teresa Crew

Abstract

Higher education is in a state of transformation, with the economic recession leading to an even greater emphasis on graduate outcomes. Existing UK-wide research suggests that graduate opportunities are influenced by pre-entry characteristics, institution attended and subject studied, as well as the individual’s store of social capital. The research for this study uses data from a cohort of graduates in North Wales to explore the issues in further detail. The mixed methods design compares secondary data on access, student experience and destinations with original survey and interview data. A critique of the current emphasis on graduate outcomes six months after graduation leads to a focus on longer-term trajectories. The results from graduates from four different types of degree awarding institutions and three specific subjects – chosen for contrast and convenience – reveal both similarities and differences compared with existing studies. Whilst the findings support existing research on pre-entry factors, they also indicate that regional assets e.g. Welsh language skills, access to transport and local networks, influence the patterns of subsequent trajectories. The more biographical and extended longitudinal approach contributes to the literature on graduates by providing an analytical typology of their post-graduation trajectories. It also contributes to Bourdieu-inspired theoretical discussion of inequalities in higher education and beyond. The study has implications for policy and practice in universities, careers services and the Higher Educational Statistics Agency (HESA).

For full thesis see: Beyond Grad thesis

Thank you for including my Twitter account @Beyond_Grad and Blog https://genderandinequalitiesblog.wordpress.com/ on the 101 Accounts that PhD’s should follow. Visit this page for useful resources http://onlinephdprogram.org/twitter-accounts/

Beyond Graduation: trajectories of graduates from higher education in north Wales

Higher education is in a state of transformation, with the economic recession leading to an even greater emphasis on graduate outcomes. Existing UK-wide research suggests that graduate opportunities are influenced by pre-entry characteristics; institution attended and subject studied, as well as the individual’s store of social capital. The research for this study uses data from a cohort of graduates in north Wales to explore the issues in further detail. The mixed methods design compares secondary data on access, student experience and destinations with original survey and interview data. A critique of the current emphasis on graduate outcomes six months after graduation leads to a focus on longer-term trajectories. The results from graduates from four different types of degree awarding institutions and three specific subjects – chosen for contrast and convenience – reveal both similarities and differences compared with existing studies. Whilst the findings support existing research on pre-entry factors, they also indicate that regional assets e.g. Welsh language skills, access to transport and local networks, influence the patterns of subsequent trajectories. The more biographical and extended approach longitudinal approach contributes to the literature on graduates by providing an analytical typology of their post-graduation trajectories. It also contributes to Bourdieu-inspired theoretical discussion of inequalities in higher education and beyond. The study has implications for policy and practice in universities, careers services and the Higher Educational Statistics Agency (HESA).

New research shows inequalities in progression to postgraduate study in the UK.

What Does The New Fees Regime Mean For Postgraduate Study In The UK?

Recent UK government policy means that this year’s undergraduate students now pay far more in fees than previous cohorts, with some universities charging £9000 per year. To encourage families who cannot afford this up-front, a system of loans has been set up. However, nothing has yet been decided on postgraduate fee support. Universities are campaigning for a similar sort of loan system to support postgraduate study, otherwise the skills and educational base of the country will decline and only the wealthiest students will be able to go on to postgraduate training.

What does this mean for those interested in postgraduate study now?

At the moment there are several options for funding a postgraduate degree. First are the research councils. However, these have now stopped funding the one year taught Masters and so research council grants are only available for PhDs or the research training ‘1 plus 3’ route, which involves undertaking a research masters and progressing immediately on to a PhD.

Second, there are internal awards financed by the universities themselves to support either maintenance or the costs of fees. These scholarships are offered by the university centrally, or a particular faculty or department. Increasingly these are very competitive and few are available.

Self-funding is also an option and there are many ways to do this. Banks will lend you the money to cover fees and maintenance as part of a ‘career development loan’. However, since 2008, banks have been more reluctant to lend and will only offer very high interest rates. Doing a qualification part time is also an option while working to support yourself and to pay your fees. This is possible for some people but juggling study, work and family commitments can be a real challenge.

Universities are pushing the government to make a decision on postgraduate funding before the first cohort of undergraduates to pay the higher fees begins to make decisions about future study in the autumn of 2014. However, waiting to see whether a loan system is introduced is a risky strategy and will also unnecessarily delay your career progression. So, if you decide to undertake postgraduate study, do not delay.

What does this mean for academics in UK universities?

The number of UK-based postgraduates at UK universities is already in decline and academics fear that uncertainty over fees support will exacerbate that problem. While for many institutions the numbers are being made up by overseas students signing up to postgraduate study, thus protecting some programmes, overseas student numbers are concentrated in certain subject areas so many courses are still vulnerable. Central university administrators are under increasing pressure to attract more postgraduates or to close unprofitable programmes.

As the 1994-group of universities argues, the decline in UK students going into postgraduate study is bad for the economic development of the country, but it will also negatively impact the universities because a lively postgraduate community is an essential part of university life. Postgraduate training is also an essential step on the career path for academics in most disciplines, so if fewer people are undertaking this training, in a few years this could spell a skills shortage in UK academia itself.

For more information on attitudes amongst the 1995 group of universities towards government policy in this area, see:

http://www.1994group.ac.uk/documents/120215_PostgraduateCrisis.pdf

Women graduates wait until they hit 35 before having their first child 

Women graduates are delaying the age they have children until 35 – almost a decade later than those who do not go to university.
The phenomenon has grown as the number of female students has more than doubled in the past 20 years – in 2010 half of all young women in England went to university.
Now, new research suggests, a baby’s social class can be determined by the age of their mother.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2220918/Women-graduates-wait-hit-35-having-child.html#ixzz2ehW4qakS
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Tacking into the Wind…Excellent post by Jenny Walklate

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/blogs/just-higher-ed/2013/08/30/tacking-into-the-wind/

It has been a tough few weeks. Various events have left our household rather glum, and these have piled up on top of my already delicate mood. I’ve been without income for almost a year now, have finally graduated and officially left the university which I belonged to for so long, have my office on the dining room table of my partner’s parent’s house, and have so far had one job interview, at which I was unsuccessful. I’m watching the rest of my generation do well in their careers, buy homes, and generally display all the signs of fully grown human adults. I find it galling that I have worked so hard to try to get the best education and qualifications I could only to find myself left behind. That’s a function of staying in education longer, I suppose; whilst I might have gone further academically, I’ve been outclassed by their ability at life in general. I admit it – I’m jealous of them, their maturity, their experience, their stability. But I made the choice I did, and it means that I have to wait for those things just a little longer. I won’t have the life that those people have; but that’s okay.

The worst part about my current situation is the lack of paid work. I can’t do anything until I have work, and unemployment makes me feel trapped. I’ve applied again and again, but keep being rebuffed. I’ve never really experienced such constant rejection before; whilst at university, you’re relatively protected, and even critical responses to things you do are cushioned by explaination. But in regard to jobs, all you get sent are pro forma letters that read “Unfortunately, you have been unsuccessful”. It’s beginning to drain the well of confidence I had amassed from the validation offered by my colleagues and tutors, and even wearing out the booster jab provided by the people outside the university who have chosen to take a punt on me – Jobs.ac.uk, for instance. Every time I’m told something isn’t right, or I make a mistake, I feel like a massive failure in a way I wouldn’t have before.

There are lots of us in similar situations at the moment, of that I’m fairly sure: uncertain young researchers heading out from their doctoral apprenticeship on the path of the journeyman academic, and meeting new kinds of hardship along the way. It isn’t easy being green, but you can do things to help improve your lot.

If you are failing to find employment, it is worth revisiting old applications and asking why they failed. Sometimes, the answer might be to do with the institution, in which case you can do nothing about it. But if you discover errors, inconsistencies, or lack of clarity in your applications, or discover you aren’t showing yourself at your best or making yourself appealing to individual institutions, these are problems you can solve. It is hard, and sometimes soul-destroying, but recognising, accepting and dealing with your own failings is an important part of moving on in life. You might have a PhD, but you sure as heck ain’t perfect.

Neither is it any good to sit on your laurels. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, doing nothing and just waiting for that perfect job to appear will make your applications gradually weaker, and that is precisely what you do not need. But this is not the most important reason – that is something far more personal. You have to keep doing things to keep your mind active, to experiment with new ideas and forms of expression, to keep up to date. This way, you will gain confidence in your ability to work independently of any external validation. I realised that it isn’t just habit and tenacity that keeps an unemployed researcher doing the things that researchers do – though it might not feel like it, it’s also confidence, confidence in your abilities, ideas, and confidence in the value of showing them to the rest of the world. I’m still writing this blog, still writing papers for journals and conferences, so perhaps I have more of that baseline confidence than I realised.

Seeking employment and the validation it brings can sometimes feel Sisyphian. But to give up in the face of something which can sometimes seem pointless is to throw away everything you’ve worked for. If you find another path that makes you happier, take it – but don’t simply give up. In the end, all humanity is, in universal terms, inconsequential, and our only validation comes from ourselves. In order to meet the force of the wind, embrace your own absurdity, and the absurdity of your course, and never, ever, stop working.