Graduates today are entering the workforce with an unfair disadvantage compared to previous generations.
Most students will be around £45,000 in debt by the time they leave university. And with average age of first time buyers now at 34, it will be over a decade before some can even think of getting on the property ladder.
We spoke to 21-year-old journalism student Jess Rothwell, from Bury, about some of the financial pressures facing young people today and what she thinks should be done about it.
Most students will be around £45,000 in debt by the time they leave university. And with average age of first time buyers now at 34, it will be over a decade before some can even think of getting on the property ladder.
We spoke to 21-year-old journalism student Jess Rothwell, from Bury, about some of the financial pressures facing young people today and what she thinks should be done about it.
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00:00 I am quite lucky in that I have a situation where my boyfriend's parents are willing to let me stay here and they're very generous and accepting in what I can and can't afford to pay in terms of rent and bills.
00:15 But that's not really the situation for most people. Like I say, a lot of my friends, I have an older sister who went to university, they all struggle and a lot of students are choosing whether to eat or whether to put the radiator on or whether to eat or buy that textbook because it's just not cheap.
00:38 I don't think a lot of people realise how expensive it is to just get an education to get a job because the reality is for a lot of careers, I'm not going to get a job without the degree.
00:52 And there's not a lot of alternative options for any of them. I know for myself, there's not a lot of alternative options. And so it's like I said, it's a bit of a vicious cycle.
01:04 So would you say that you were optimistic about the future?
01:12 Yes and no, because I worry that a lot of the costs would be like for getting a house or being at a first house. I worry that a lot of the costs might end up more one sided, which while I know my boyfriend might say, oh, if you're in your first job and you're not earning as much as maybe I am, that's fine.
01:34 But I wouldn't be comfortable with that. I wouldn't like I'd feel like only using him, you're not providing as much when you should. And so I'm confident, hopefully, that we can get a house.
01:48 I don't know how happy I'll be with how it gets paid for. And because I am one of those people that I like to provide for myself and everyone else if I can. I don't like being spent money on. You should see me at Christmas and birthdays. It's awful.