New faculty grad exposes horrid job market after failing to get a proposal from 500 purposes

A 21-year-old who graduated on the high of his class after spending roughly $125,000, together with bills, on his faculty diploma stated “the system is broken” after he utilized for 500 jobs and didn’t get one.

Khaled Sharif, 21, earned a level in digital media tech from Kingston University simply outdoors London, England. He started making use of for related roles after he graduated in 2025, information company SWNS reported.

But regardless of submitting 500 purposes, he stated, he’s had lower than 20 job interviews and has but to land a job — regardless of increasing his search into gross sales and different sectors that he “didn’t want to work in.”

Sharif, who holds UK residency by means of his mom, moved to the United Kingdom from Qatar at age 18.

At the time, he stated, he was the envy of his friends, because of the UK’s status for providing among the “best opportunities in the world.” But Sharif stated he believes his diploma is just not the issue. 

Instead, he stated, the job market is a “broken system” that’s “flooded” with graduate candidates.

“It does make me really upset. It’s really stressful,” he instructed SWNS. “I got [a] top-of-my-class [designation], but I can’t find anything. Kingston’s not a top university, but I just can’t find anything — and I’ve applied for everything. If people got a lower grade, how hard would it be for them?”

He added, “Since I posted on TikTok about it, I’ve had people [who hold] master’s [degrees] saying they can’t get anything.”

He went on, “I could easily get a part-time job in a Tesco [supermarket].” 

But he desires “to use his degree,” he stated. 

He talked about how a lot he spent to earn a school diploma — and stated, “I think the system is broken. More opportunities have to be made, but because of COVID and now AI, companies don’t want to hire. They’re looking to save money.”

He famous that he may go “back home” to Qatar — “but if you tell people you’ve worked here [in the UK], they instantly have respect for you, but it’s been really hard.”

He stated he suspects that when individuals look into his background and see that earlier on, he went to high school in Qatar, “they instantly think I need sponsorship, even though I’m a resident, so I can legally work. I don’t think they read to the end of my application to see that I don’t need one.”

Life classes

Sharif was born in Egypt and moved to Qatar at age 4. He moved to London in 2022, with a level on his resume that he stated is “essential in my culture.”

His mother quickly adopted to start out her enterprise, YallaCook — giving him residency.

He believed that London was the perfect place to be as a “global hub of business,” he instructed SWNS. He stated the job search has been demoralizing for him. 

“From the 500 applications, I’ve had 10 to 20 interviews. … They all say I passed the first one, but after the second I hear back in two weeks, and they say they’ve decided to move forward with someone else,” he stated.

International college students learning at Kingston pay an annual tuition charge within the area of $30,000 — and with value of dwelling integrated, he estimates his diploma value him about $125,000.

Having accrued work expertise as a videographer and a photographer whereas working towards his diploma, he’s continued to freelance rather than full-time employment, he stated. 

He added that working for his diploma “taught me a lot of life lessons but, honestly, I didn’t learn much. Everything I know content-wise is because of experience, volunteering and YouTube.”

He stated that on reflection, “I wish I [studied] filmmaking. But when I was thinking about it before, there were many fewer job opportunities [in that field] than [earning his degree]. I don’t think it makes a difference.”

As a results of his misfortune within the job market, he’s began his personal clothes model, named Zoqué (“my style” in Arabic). 

He stated that’s so as to mix his ardour for presentable clothes and pictures.

In the US, in keeping with the most recent figures from a wide range of sources, the everyday value of a four-year faculty diploma varies broadly by the kind of schooling, the college itself and the monetary help that could be given to the scholar. 

For a public faculty for in-state college students, the price of a four-year diploma can vary from roughly $80,000 to $120,000.

For a public faculty for out-of-state college students, the price of a four-year diploma can vary from roughly $170,000 to $200,000 or extra.

And for a non-public faculty, prices of a four-year diploma can vary from about $180,000 to $260,000 and past.