There used to be a perception that university equalled a bright job future. You do the hard yards, study for three, four, even five years and you would soon be released into a world of eager employers just waiting, open-armed, to accept you and your well-learnt skills into their business. In fact, these days, it is a joke. Ask many graduates and they will laugh and say they are still looking for work after their years of study.

It is not just journalism graduates. Lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers, graphic designers, anyone trying to enter any kind of creative industry, are all finding it more and more difficult to find work upon graduating. The general stipulation is you need experience. But it is the age-old quandary, the chicken or the egg of employment; how do you get experience in the first place if no one will meet you without it?

For many career paths, the answer is internships. Work for free and we will eventually hire you … maybe, possibly, probably not. Head to New York or London and the job market is inundated with those offering up to six months of full-time, unpaid internship-ing, aka coffee-fetching. Look at the job ads and you will see Australia is quickly following suit.

If you are not lucky enough to have made a whole lot of money from working at your weekend clothing store or casual bar job during university or high school, then bad luck. If you have well-off parents who are happy to fund your job search and your future, then kudos to you. But those who cannot afford to work for free are left in the dust, still unable to gain experience leading to employment.

Not to mention the low salaries. Faced with the idea of studying for all those years and then not even getting a well-paid job, or a job at all, it is no wonder young people are starting to steer away from tertiary education. Others I know are even choosing to study for years more than may be necessary in a bid to avoid the excruciating job search. Statistics also show those on Youth Allowance are rapidly increasing.