Some degrees lead to professional dead ends
Graduates of theoretical subjects get drawn into the professional dead ends by their degrees. This was apparent from the conference, where they were the majority, and also from the fact that many had submitted CVs for jobs totally unrelated to the subject of their studies. The record (based on first degrees) showed that of the 800 participants, 14 percent had graduated from Panteion University and 11 percent from the Philosophy-Philology School of Athens University. Thirty percent had studied foreign languages, which made sense since foreign languages are essential in multinational companies. The total number of graduates in theoretical subjects was 55 percent. There were also graduates of law (16 percent), economics (8 percent from universities and 6 percent from technical universities) and physics and math (2 percent). In their attempt to leave no avenue unexplored, a large proportion (65 percent) of those who had graduated in theoretical studies had sent their CVs to companies in very different fields: banking, hotel-tourism, technology and commerce. Besides, candidates are aware that in the increasingly demanding job market, a first degree is simply the basis and that postgraduate studies offer comparative advantage. Many participants requested information about studies abroad in fields that are in demand in the job market. A further indication of how concerned young Greeks are about their careers was that 35 percent of the participants were undergraduates still in the first three years of their coursework. The remainder were final (fourth)-year students (33 percent), graduates (21 percent), postgraduates (4 percent) and workers or students from other tertiary institutions (7 percent).
