In early 2008, 11 graduates enrolled for a Graduate Diploma and Masters in Journalism in UL. Two years on, not one has a full-time permanent job and some plan to emmigrate.
PAMELA DUNCANwrites about the reality of unemployment for her class
NO ONE ever said it was going to be easy – not our lecturers, nor the journalists who came to give us seminars on their experience of the industry, nor the doomsayers who spoke of the general economic turmoil we would face when we entered the big bad “real world” after finishing the course.
Of course we ignored it. A mixture of hard work, determination, curiosity and ability would see us secure work after a year-long masters programme in journalism. Okay, maybe there was an element of naivety in the mix too but, with the economy and journalism itself in decline, this was about all we had to cling on to.
Embarking on the course was hugely beneficial to me. Through it I got a job placement with The Irish Timeswhere I work on a contributor basis.
When I see how hard things have been for my classmates I appreciate the opportunity even more. Of the 11 graduates in my class not one works full-time in journalism.
We are part of a new generation of graduates whose future – rich with promise during the Celtic Tiger – is now fraught with uncertainty and disappointment. There is also the lingering belief that emigration may be the only alternative.
This is the story of the class of 2008.
Name:Abigail Creed
Age:26
Qualifications:Degree in English and Philosophy; Masters in Journalism
Currently:Unemployed
“I am waiting to get the dole but it could take up to 10 weeks as they’re still processing my claim. I want to get the dole so I can do another placement through FÁS on the graduate programme.
“But first I have to be on the dole and stay on it for three months if I want to get any money doing it.
“I can understand the logic behind it because they want to make sure that you can’t get a job before they give you the placement, but I still think it’s a bit of a waste of time.
“There are so many people out of work and it’s just getting worse and worse.”
Name:John O'Regan
Age:49
Qualifications:Degree in Literature, Politics and Sociology; Graduate Diploma in Journalism
Currently:Working as a freelance journalist
“At the moment I’m still working with the music magazines that I was working with when I started the course and writing sleevenotes for CDs with BGO records so that work is still continuing.
“Returning to education has been very beneficial to me. Now, I may not have seen the result of the course I’ve done being immediately tangible in the space of time since the course has finished, but I know at the same time, now that I’ve done this and gotten this far, that it will raise my kudos even further.
“It will have a ripple effect but it might not happen immediately.”
Name:Catherine Moore
Age:26
Qualifications:Degree in European Studies; Masters in Journalism
Currently:Freelancing in radio in Paris
“The minute I get off the plane in Ireland I feel the life getting sapped out of me again because there’s no prospect of getting work. I did my degree in Ireland. I did my masters in Ireland. I’d like to work in Ireland as a journalist. But it’s just not realistic and I can’t see that changing in the next five years.
“I think it’s a disgrace that the country that trained me to masters level can’t offer me paid work, that it’s taken another EU country to take care of me by giving me a job. Some of my friends who graduated feel ashamed drawing the dole.
“It’s the Government which should feel ashamed. This country has abandoned its youth.
“It’s just depressing. There’s no prospects. There’s no hope. There’s no future. I’ve done so much unpaid work experience in Ireland and have asked them all if there’s any work but I’ve no great hope that anything will change and that I’ll get a job. Nobody can offer me anything in Ireland. Paris can offer me something but Ireland can offer me nothing.
“I’m glad I don’t pay my taxes to the Irish State anymore. I’m totally disillusioned with the country.”
Name:Kevin Cronin
Age:28
Qualifications:Degree in Law; Masters in Film Studies; Masters in Journalism
Currently: Working as a junior reporter for the Limerick Leader on a six-month contract
“I’m incredibly glad to be working. I was out of work for four months so it’s nice to feel like you’re a productive member of society again.
“It really was incredibly difficult after coming out of college. For the most part there aren’t really any journalism jobs out there at the moment – they’re very few and far between – the fact that I’m in here at all is a bit of a miracle. I think I was extremely lucky to get this job.
“It’s a particularly hard time. Journalists are nearly as badly hit as architects and many other professions in terms of newspaper sales being down around the country and around the world. People are looking up their news on the internet these days so people are buying fewer newspapers, which are struggling, and this is probably one of the worst times for journalists to be graduating from media courses.”
Name:Marie Dowd
Age:26
Qualifications:Degree in Chemistry; Masters in Journalism
Currently:Unemployed
“When I came out of college the first time it was 2005. You walked out and there were people queuing up to employ you but it’s completely different now. I had the option of going travelling and I took it but I have friends who just walked into jobs.
“I always wanted to go travelling and work in different countries but now I’d be more inclined to want to live in Ireland when I’m older. However, there aren’t as many opportunities to stay here as there would have been.
“In five years time I don’t have a clue where I’ll be. You keep looking at the short term, the next job, where you can get work. I’m planning on going to South East Asia for the summer to teach and to use that money to go to Canada. Whether I stay in Canada or not will depend on the opportunities out there. All my friends who have gone there are all highly qualified, they all have degrees, some of them have masters degrees. They’re well skilled and well trained and they have work there and they don’t really seem to want to come home. They think there’s nothing for them here so I can see myself ending up there and staying there.”
Name:Alex Grogan
Age:55
Qualifications:Degree in History, Politics, Sociology and Social Studies; Graduate Diploma in Journalism
Currently:Unemployed
“I was made redundant in 2000 after working for 25 years in the charity sector. It really affects your self-esteem. I applied for 30 or 40 jobs in my field. I had about 10 interviews but I felt that I wasn’t being employed because of my age. I was 45 at the time.
“I’m not very optimistic because I’m going to be 56 in May and I know employers prefer to employ younger people because they have more energy and they’re going to get more years of work out of them.
“I think employment for people over 55 is very difficult to secure.”
Name:Vincent Ryan
Age:25
Qualifications:Degree in History and French; Masters in Journalism
Currently:Unemployed. Completing an internship in marketing and co-founder of the recently set up social news aggregator website, beast.ie
“What I’m doing now is doing a marketing internship just to get marketing experience or PR experience because a lot of the skills are transferable and they’re actually hiring in those sectors.
“I don’t see any point flogging a dead horse anymore. I need a job and there aren’t any and there’s no prospect of them materialising any time soon. Journalism is a bit like being a blacksmith – it’s a dwindling art – there are fewer and fewer positions in it and they’re not coming back.
“Circumstances are what they are, there’s no point in whingeing about them.”
Name:Ciara Peters
Age:31
Qualifications:Degree in English and Media Law; Graduate Diploma in Journalism
Currently:Unemployed and working voluntarily in administration and PR
“I’m on the dole. I’m holding out for a Community Enterprise Scheme because it’s more like a job placement because, even though I’ll only be getting the equivalent of the dole, I’ll be there for a year and it’s a fantastic experience. If a position becomes available, great. If not and a position comes up somewhere else, then at least I have that experience behind me. Even though I’m not earning money at least I’m in the sector that I want to be in.
“It seems like you’re better off sometimes being on the dole because, if I went away and got a job somewhere else, I wouldn’t be entitled to the CE scheme so I’m trying to get in the back door, as it were, in doing this scheme to stay in the loop.”
Name:Deirdre Connolly (not pictured)
Age:23
Qualifications:Degree in History and Politics; Graduate Diploma in Journalism
Currently:Unemployed
“I just got let go from Dunnes and I’m going in tomorrow to sign on the dole and apply for jobs.
“Hopefully, I’ll be able to get some sort of job in PR but, if I want to do that, I’ll have to go to Dublin and work for free for six months to get some sort of experience that I can put down on my CV.
“But there aren’t really any jobs in PR either and I can’t afford to live in Dublin for six months without getting paid.
“I’d like to think that, in five years time, I’ll be in a job doing something that I want to do. But I’m just going to have to wait until the economy picks up until there’s actually work there.”
Pamela Duncan is a freelance journalist
