The Publisher writes...

Be realistic - a first 'creative job' never pays well, even when you have a degree

So, you’ve just finished your finals, you’ve taken a week off to celebrate, and now you’re hoping to start paying off that mountain of debt you’ve run up during your student years, and then – yeah – you’ve decided you want to work in marketing or PR or journalism or the arts and you find some starting salaries are as little as £12K, which is practically impossible to live on, let alone start to pay off that debt with.

With an increasing number of brand new graduates coming through Unicorn House in recent weeks (actually, technically speaking they’re graduands, being between their finals and graduation) I’ve noticed that my fellow blogger, and our resident recruitment expert, The Recruiter, has adopted a new mantra – “be realistic”.

And it’s good advice because I’ve seen a number of new graduates turn down good entry-level roles on the basis the wage doesn’t meet their expectations, only to regret it when they’re still jobless six months later and realise what brilliant work experience they would have got if only they’d taken that job.

All of this is especially true if you’re hoping to work in one of the ‘creative industries’ – including the more creative end of advertising, marketing and PR. Many first jobs in these sectors, especially with smaller firms, will offer £15K a year or less, or just expenses, or even nothing at all. One young graduate who reluctantly took one such job with a small ad agency recently asked me how these sectors could get away with paying young people who had spent at least three years in higher education such a meagre wage.

There are several answers to that question. Firstly, there’s simple economics – there are more graduates, and talented graduates at that, wanting to do those jobs than there are jobs – so companies don’t need to offer large salaries to get good candidates. Secondly, there’s that general rule that the more fun or sexy a job the less well paid it will be. This is especially true the lower you get in the job hierarchy, meaning many first jobs are very poorly paid.

Moreover, there is the issue that in a creative job, where actually being creative is important, a degree in itself isn’t necessarily proof you are a good candidate. A degree may prove you have the ability to learn, to work towards a goal, to stay committed, that you’re literate and able to communicate. But it doesn’t necessarily prove you are creative – because that’s something it’s actually quite hard to test in an academic environment. Which is why the fact you’re a graduate will not, in itself, enable you to add a few thousand pounds to that meagre starting salary.

But, the aforementioned graduate, while not necessarily approving of the low wages her new industry paid, admitted that now she had taken on such a job she was learning everything she needed to know about advertising, was starting to understand and make contacts in the industry, and was demonstrating she had a lot to contribute. And that kind of thing is invaluable – giving you the extra collateral to go and find the better paid second job, and to then work your way up the hierarchy to the roles which – while possibly never quite en par with a city job – pay you pretty handsomely nevertheless.

So, consider yourself warned. If you want a creative job the degree doesn’t guarantee a big pay cheque tomorrow. But seize the opportunities that come your way, work hard, prove your skills, and there is some good news – the better pay will follow.

publisher@unicornjobs.com

Posted Wednesday June 25 2008