17-05-2025
Why the odds are stacked against today's university graduates
Alice Patterson seems like the ideal job candidate: she has a degree and a master's from a top university, experience on the ground and a lot of enthusiasm.
Yet Patterson, who finished her master's in geology from Bristol University this week, is struggling to find a job. She has submitted 50 applications, attended a handful of interviews and made it down to the final two on a number of occasions, but is yet to land a role.
'I sit down and fill out ten applications at a time. You do get a bit disheartened,' said Patterson, 22, from Cambridge.
• Cost of a master's degree soars: even student loans won't cover it
'I was more hopeful at the start and when I first got some
