Wrong degree can prove costly Schoolgirl stomped in sickening videoed attack
Having a degree doesn’t guarantee you a high-paying job, or any job at all, with graduates’ annual incomes varying by $30,000 depending on what they study.
Performing arts graduates earned just $26,000 a year on average after finishing their degree, while radiography graduates made about $57,000, a Stuff analysis of the latest public data found. Meanwhile, the average student loan balance topped $22,630 in 2019.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, medical graduates earned the most, with an average first-year salary of $93,000. However, a bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery takes about six years to complete, compared to three or four years for most other degrees.
Employment rates also differed significantly, with fewer than onein-three nursing graduates working a year after completing their degree, compared with 96 per cent of pharmacy graduates.
Overall, 60 per cent of bachelor’s degree graduates were employed after 12 months, earning $41,000 a year on average.
Auckland University Students’ Association president George Barton said students were told that if they were diligent they would get a decent job, but that wasn’t always the case. ‘‘The reality is for employers, they’re looking for more than just a tertiary qualification. They’re also looking for students who are demonstrating critical thinking and leadership.
‘‘The key question ... is how do we make that equitable? Because it shouldn’t just be the rich kids who are able to participate and be involved in clubs and societies and organisations that show that they are employable.’’
Universities New Zealand chief executive Chris Whelan said the data included part-time workers, so wasn’t a complete picture.
A NZ Institute of Economic Research analysis of 2018 Census data showed people with bachelor’s degrees earned about 50 per cent more than those with secondary school qualifications alone.
The top complaints received from employers about graduates were that they lacked business understanding or practical work experience or their qualification was unsuitable for the job.
A 13-year-old girl has been referred to Youth Services after stomping on another teen’s head in a daytime attack caught on video.
The sickening attack, in Kaiapoi about lunchtime on Sunday, was witnessed by others, including one who tried to intervene.
Stuff has seen a video but chosen not to publish it to protect the identities of those involved.
The 13-year-old victim said she received a text the night before from a girl wanting to fight her the next morning at the skate park.
Not wanting to run into the bullies, she said she waited until the afternoon before she went out. But when she got to town she saw four or five girls running towards her on the Williams St bridge. ‘‘I was scared, my friends were with me but they were scared, too.’’
In the fracas, the 13-year-old fell to the ground and her year 9 assailant stomped on her head and kicked her in the stomach. She was not seriously injured.
David Bonnington, who saw the attack, said when he came to the rescue the ‘‘ring leader’’ hurled expletives at him. He moved away to call police but saw the girl being stomped on when he turned back. The attackers ran away.
The victim’s mother said she had watched the same group bullying her daughter for seven years.
While there were processes in place to keep her safe at school, she said not enough was being done on the streets.
Kaiapoi High School principal Bruce Kearney said he was ‘‘gobsmacked’’ over the incident.
Police said a 13-year-old girl had been referred to Youth Services.