Recruiter's message to university graduates ‘whinging' about salaries
Tammie Christofis Ballis, specialist recruiter and career coach at Realistic Careers, has gained a following online by providing practical advice to young professionals.
In a recent video to TikTok, Ms Ballis revealed she has noticed a rise in people complaining about the salaries they are being offered after obtaining a university degree.
'I get a lot of uni grads that are whinging that their wages are really low,' she said.
'And, if that's you, I want you to understand that you're at the beginning of your career. You haven't got any experience or anything to offer.
'You are on those low wages because you are getting trained for your profession.'
The Sydney-based recruiter said, while she understands it is tough, getting a job in this market is an achievement in itself, as there are many graduates who are struggling to even get a foot in the door.
Speaking to news.com.au, Ms Ballis said she has heard graduates complaining about salaries anywhere from $65,000 up to $100,000.
She believes many graduates are simply 'not prepared' when they enter the workforce as there is a 'misconception' that they will be earning a massive salary purely for completing a university degree.
'But that is not the case,' Ms Ballis said.
'They are literally starting from the bottom as they have no work experience. They don't understand that employers pay for expertise and experience and graduates don't have that yet.'
The recruiter's video instantly struck a nerve with some people, with many rushing to the comment section to defend their salary views.
One commenter claimed all graduates want is the same amount their parents and Baby Boomers were given, 'real wages, not p*ss poor excuses like this'.
Another claimed that the degree is meant to be 'the training component', adding it is a 'kick in the guts' to get into the workforce and realise you still need more experience to secure the salary you want.
'But they still need to pay housing food utilities? And wages can't cover the cost of living, that's why they're upset about being underpaid. They can't work to survive, let alone live,' another claimed.
One added: 'They definitively lied to us when they were getting us to enrol.'
However, there were those who agreed with Ms Ballis' assessment, sharing their own experiences of when they first entered the workforce.
'My entry level job was $58k and now I've gone up by $20k in two years, I used to be so sad about it but your right! And it has gone up with my experience,' one person wrote.
Another said: 'What baffles me is I hear people whinging over $75k being 'low' and like while it's low in your profession, $37 an hour is not low in the real world.'
Alongside the rising cost of living, Ms Ballis believes seeing other graduates complaining on social media and misconceptions around university degrees are contributing to young people being disappointed with their compensation.
'I also believe they're being sold a dream at university that isn't true. The tutors and lecturers aren't preparing them for the real world in the workforce,' she said.
'University isn't the key to a successful, high paying and easy life. You have to put the work in even if you have a degree.'
Ms Ballis believes younger people should get experience in the workforce before deciding whether they want to go to university.
'Going to university first often means they have a rude awakening in the job market and many don't end up using their degrees anyway,' she said.
The recruiter noted that some industries are harder than others for graduates to break into at the moment.
Those with business and commerce degrees may be finding it more difficult, with Ms Ballis saying there are many businesses that are opting to hire experienced staff over graduates as they don't have the money or capacity to train younger employees right now.
In her opinion, there has also been a shift in the way younger generations approach work, claiming they are more focused on work-life balance and don't want to put in the extra hours to learn.
'The ones who go above and beyond will go far,' Ms Ballis said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
3 minutes ago
- ABC News
Legal Practice Board of WA faces parliamentary inquiry amid 'detailed list' of complaints
The tables will be turned on WA's legal watchdog as it faces a parliamentary inquiry into longstanding concerns about its operations. The Legal Practice Board of WA (LPBWA) is the independent regulator for the state's legal profession, deciding who is admitted to practice law, issuing annual practising certificates and resolving complaints about lawyers' conduct. But the LPBWA itself has been the subject of complaints for years, according to the profession's peak body. "Concerns about the board's governance and processes have been building for some time," Law Society CEO Kate Wellington told the ABC. "We appreciate the nature of the board's regulatory role. The board's purpose is public protection. "The legal profession, too, serves a public purpose and it is important that its ability to fulfil that purpose is not hindered by barriers to effective practice." Late last month, the Law Society said it presented a report to the board "based on feedback shared with us in a profession-wide survey, which pointed to delays, service challenges and problematic regulatory processes". The chair of state parliament's Public Administration Committee, which will probe the LPBWA, said the survey contributed to the committee's decision to open its inquiry. "People were talking about the timeliness of responses, the manner of interactions, a lot of technical issues around applications," Labor MP Kate Doust said. "It's quite a detailed list. "We were quite surprised at the nature of the responses in the survey and certainly the number of responses to the survey." Ms Doust said given the role the Legal Practice Board played in WA's legal system, the committee felt it necessary to investigate those complaints. "You want to make sure that people have got appropriate access and timely responses to the matters they have to deal with, their engagement with the board," she said. "There just seemed to be a fairly high rate of dissatisfaction with their engagement." The board's annual report for 2023-24 showed it failed to meet many of its time-based key performance indicators — for example, while it aimed to resolve 80 per cent of "consumer matters" within 90 days, it did so in just 42 per cent of cases. It also aimed to resolve 80 per cent of the "highest complexity significant investigations" within a year, but only met that timeframe 40 per cent of the time. The only time-based targets that were on track related to internal reviews of decisions. The committee is now calling for submissions to inform its wide-ranging investigation into "the operation and effectiveness" of the board. "This inquiry will give those impacted an opportunity to voice their concerns without fear," Ms Wellington said. In a statement, the board's executive director welcomed the opportunity to engage with the committee. "These are matters we take seriously. "Over the past 12 months the board has commenced a number of internal reforms aimed at improving service delivery, streamlining regulatory approvals and enhancing stakeholder engagement. "The board remains committed to maintaining the trust of the public, the legal profession and government." In May the LPBWA was hacked, resulting in "limited corporate correspondence" being taken, which it said included "minimal contact information" and "bank account details for the board and a very small number of third parties who have been directly notified". It forced the organisation to take some of its systems online and process lawyers' practising certificates manually.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Live updates: Australian share market to open flat, Wall Street little changed, US Fed rate-cut expectations trimmed
The Australian share market is set for a soft open as Wall Street ends flat, while a hotter-than-expected US producer prices report dampens expectations of potential interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. A report from the US Labor Department showed producer prices increased the most in three years in July due to a surge in the costs of goods and services, suggesting a broad pick-up in inflation was imminent. We'll bring you the latest on what's happening on the markets throughout the day in our live blog. Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Floored': Aussies slam shady new cafe tactic
It seems like every day, a new cafe or restaurant gets called out online for their exorbitant price tags. But this time, a Reddit post has gone viral for the opposite reason – cafes that have no price tags at all. This sneaky trend, which appears to be on the rise, leaves people blindsided when they reach the counter and realise what they have to pay. 'Prices are not getting displayed on food in cafes and bakeries?' the post in the r/Perth forum began. 'I mean, it's been happening for a few years and I'm sure it's probably an Australia-wide thing. 'I've noticed it with cafes all over the city that they deliberately don't display the prices. You have to ask what that tiny falafel wrap in the window, or small piece of lasagne or meat pie is going for.' The poster believes that the businesses know people don't like asking for the price, and would rather just accept it when the total is shown on the EFTPOS machine. 'I hate it. It's scammy and frustrating,' they concluded. According to the ACCC, a retailer doesn't have to display prices, but the customer must be informed of the price of an item before purchase. Businesses can communicate their prices in various ways, including in-store signage, online notifications, ordering apps, or verbally. Despite the practice being legal, commenters agreed it was frustrating. One person even called the tactic 'predatory'. 'When the price is higher than you expected, but you're already at the till, it's harder to speak up,' they said. 'It's so annoying!' someone else added. 'I like to know pricing so I can decide accordingly!' Another argued that by the time you're swiping your card, it's already too late to change your mind, so called it 'shady' behaviour. Others recalled experiences of being caught out by this move in the past. 'I was charged $23 for coffee and a small cake. Floored. I paid it but never went back,' one revealed. Some also shared how they've handled this situation before. 'I once yelled out from the other side of the deli, 'How much is this?' about ten times for different items, just to make a point,' one person commented. The trend among Australian cafes not displaying prices appears to be linked to ongoing economic pressures, particularly inflation and rising costs. Many cafes have faced increased costs for supplies, rent, wages, and utilities – making them hesitant to fix menu prices out of fear of frequent adjustments. 'If inflation stays low and as people get used to the higher prices, I think we'll see prices slowly start to be displayed again,' one commenter theorised. As another simply wrote, 'No price, no purchase'.
