Yesterday (11 October) Grad Plus brought you the news that Bangor University graduate Jamie Fox is working as a human scarecrow.
This follows figures which revealed that 3,500 more graduates are working in low-skilled jobs this year than in 2011.
The number of graduates being recruited to fill basic jobs has risen sharply by 6% since last year, according to a study by the Higher Education Careers Service Unit.
As well as a significantly higher percentage of ex-students in non-graduate jobs such as shelf stackers or office juniors, the research also showed that around one in 12 university leavers were still out of work six months after graduation.
Despite the worrying revelations, the Higher Education Careers Service Unit insisted that employment prospects were “better than feared, despite a weakening economy and further job losses from public spending cuts”.
And as Jamie says, any work is better than nothing. Being employed as a human scarecrow is “much better than being at home on unemployment benefit”, he said, adding that “you’ve got to take every opportunity you find”.
In fact, Jamie’s so-called “dead-end job” has seen him dominating headlines worldwide. News of the graduate human scarecrow has raced around the globe and he has received dozens of phone calls from newspapers and radio stations.
"I sound like a superhero," Jamie commented. "If I'd aspired to become well known I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams it would be through a story like this."
When life gives you lemons... Jamie has definitely made the most of working in a basic job – and his fame might even help him find a job elsewhere once his fortnight-long stint as a scarecrow comes to an end.
And despite the fact that the number of university leavers in non-graduate jobs immediately after graduation has risen, the Higher Education Careers Service Unit confirmed it was “still more beneficial to be a graduate than not”.
“Although graduates may begin in non-graduate level employment six months after graduation, they move up the ladder relatively quickly,” the study said – so it’s not all doom and gloom.
Would you accept a “non-graduate” job offer? Or are you looking for graduate jobs only?