JEDDAH, 7 October 2005 — Young Saudi graduates nowadays often work in jobs that are not related to their university majors. Study in a field at the university does not always mean the graduates will work in the same field in future.
One reason is that graduates like to take on a challenge of something different; more often, it is the shortage of vacancies that drives them into alternative occupations.
Sarah Sarraj, a biology department graduate with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology, had applied for numerous jobs in many medical analysis labs, but found none. She looked for jobs in other fields until she found one in a travel agency office.
“I was successful in my work although it was not my profession,” she said. “However, I gained good experience in a totally new field.”
The lack of vacancies in companies and other working places has become a big problem for graduates, even if they have high degrees.
Dr. Wissam Ismail, who graduated from the medical school in King Abdul Aziz University (KAAU) last year, is now working as a volunteer in a private small hospital. He too had looked for jobs in many hospitals — both government and private — but found no vacancies. He was offered to work as a general doctor in a small private hospital without any remuneration. He accepted the offer saying, “It is better that you keep practicing medicine.
“I studied medicine in order to be a regular doctor not a volunteer. But I accepted the offer because I was afraid of losing my skills and knowledge in medicine.”
Another example is of Emad Sulaiman, an IT diploma holder. Sulaiman spent more than a year looking for a suitable job but could not find one. Later he considered working as a taxi driver.
Sulaiman is now a taxi driver earning more than SR3,000 a month. He is satisfied with his work.
Some people view taking up jobs that are not related to their university majors as an opportunity to learn and work in another area.
Abu Omar took a bachelor’s degree in marketing and masters in economics in the US. After returning to Jeddah four years ago, he found difficulty in getting a job related to his field because they were all occupied by foreigners.
“I started to think of something that would interest me, so I worked on interior designing for my home and my relatives’ homes until I mastered it by self-training.”
Now, he works as an interior designer and he enjoys what he is doing. “I don’t think I would have enjoyed marketing and economics the same way,” he said.
Some young graduates wish they had studied the job market before they started their university education.
They are not always sure whether they made the right decision when they chose their field of study.
“Sociology was my major at the university since I’m interested in it. I didn’t know it has a very limited scope in our country. After I graduated, I looked for jobs but couldn’t find any,” said Sarah Ba-Ahmed, 27. Sarah now works as a planner in a wedding hall.
“I think young people nowadays should be flexible in accepting jobs. Moreover, training and working on different jobs enrich a person not a certificate,” she added.
