Young Poles' major choices, employment and remuneration expectations are unfit for the current job market. Dominika Staniewicz, job market expert, Business Centre Club, says that even 70 per cent of Poles graduate with the wrong degree. Studies do not guarantee further employment but only help on the job market.
Poles do not plan many things, especially studies. They start college because their parents studied and their friends study. Let's start picking our careers with awareness – says Dominika Staniewicz.
However, now we can observe a more optimistic trend to chose ones studies more consciously and cautiously. When it comes to picking a university we are doing much better, we start to check rankings, how many graduates are employed or unemployed – adds Dominika Staniewicz.
Choosing major is the first step to plan one's career. Thus, growing numbers of candidates to study at Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium Civitas and institutes of technology should not surprise as graduates form these schools are characterised by the lowest unemployment rate. Currently there are fewer and fewer job opportunities for graduates of humanities, at the same time employers need specialists with specific technical education.
The choice of university and faculty is also determined by population decline which affects some institutions. Schools which offer high academic standards, professional staff and interesting faculties are in the best shape.
Universities are subject to the market and some of them will collapse as population decline is coming and some of them will have to admit fewer students – explains Dominika Staniewicz. She claims that most young people have low awareness of employers' expectations and the market. For example, someone chooses Business Psychology and thinks he will work in business and thus earn more. But he did not think that a 25 years old graduate has little chance to advise managers with lots of money – says Staniewicz.
A piece of advice for the future: let's pick major more rationally and let's treat our job and remuneration expectations more realistically.
We should not expect that just after graduating we will be able to afford a great car, home or apartment mortgage and holidays on Majorca. We simply need to get there. The myth that studies guarantee high income was born a long time ago when only 10 per cent of society studied. Education helps us find a job but unfortunately still over 70 per cent of people pick the wrong major - Dominika Staniewicz points out.