The UK’s top college graduates say the job market is ‘broken’ after 500 redundancies

A 21-year-old woman who graduated at the top of her class after spending an estimated $125,000, including fees, on her college education said “the system is broken” after she applied for 500 jobs and got none.

Khaled Sharif, 21, earned a degree in digital media tech from Kingston University just outside London, England. He started applying for suitable roles after graduating in 2025, SWNS media reported.

But despite submitting 500 applications, she said she had less than 20 interviews and was yet to land a job – despite expanding her search into marketing and other fields she “didn’t want to work in.”

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Sharif, who holds UK residency through his mother, moved to the United Kingdom from Qatar when he was 18.

At the time, he said he was the envy of his peers, because of the UK’s reputation for offering some of the “best opportunities in the world.” But Sharif said he believes his qualifications are not a problem.

Instead, he said the job market is a “broken system” that is “flooded” with qualified applicants.

“It really upsets me. It’s really stressful,” he told SWNS. “I got it [a] top-of-my-class [designation]but I can’t find anything. Kingston is not a top university, but I’m getting nothing – and I’ve applied for everything. If people get low grades, how hard can it be for them?”

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He added, “Ever since I posted on TikTok, I have people [who hold] kings [degrees] they say they don’t get anything.”

“Companies don’t want to hire. They want to save money.”

He continued, “I can easily get a part-time job at Tesco [supermarket].”

But he wants to “use his degree,” he said.

He mentioned how much he spent to get a college degree – he said, “I think the system is broken. There are more opportunities to be created, but because of COVID and now AI, companies don’t want to hire. They’re looking to save money.”

Khaled Sharif, pictured with his family, said he would take a supermarket job, but wants to use his college degree – saying the expensive system is “broken” as recruitment slows in the AI-driven world. (SWNS)

He noted that he could go back “home” to Qatar – “but if you tell people you’ve worked here [in the U.K.]they just respect you but it was really difficult.”

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He said he suspects that when people look at his background and see that he initially went to school in Qatar, “they immediately think that I need support, even though I am a citizen, so I can work legally. I don’t think they read to the end of my application to see that I don’t need it.”

Life lessons

Sharif was born in Egypt and moved to Qatar at the age of four. He then moved to London in 2022, with a degree on his resume that he says is “important to my culture.”

His mother soon followed to start her own business, YallaCook – giving him a place to live.

He believes London is the best place to be “as a global business hub,” he told SWNS. He said that looking for a job is draining him.

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“From 500 applications, I had 10 to 20 interviews. … They all said I passed the first one, but after the second one I heard back two weeks later, they said they had decided to move forward with someone else,” he said.

International students studying at Kingston pay annual tuition in the region of $30,000 – and with living expenses included, he estimates his degree cost him around $125,000.

Sharif, pictured here, said that out of 500 job applicants, he had 10 to 20 interviews. He said he used to pass the first round but was not selected after the second interview. (SWNS)

Having gained work experience as a videographer and photographer while working toward his degree, he continued to work for himself instead of being employed full-time, he said.

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He added that working on his degree “taught me a lot of life lessons but, to be honest, I didn’t learn much. Everything I know in terms of content is from experience, volunteer work and YouTube.”

He said looking back, “I wish [studied] the making of the film. But the more I think about it, the more opportunities there are for fewer jobs [in that field] than [earning his degree]. I don’t think it makes a difference.”

Because of his bad luck in the job market, he has now founded his own clothing brand, called Zoqué (“my style” in Arabic).

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He said that was done to combine his love of good looking clothes and photography.

In the US, according to recent statistics from various sources, the average cost of a four-year college degree varies greatly by the type of education, the school itself and the financial aid that may be offered to the student.

At a private college in the US, the cost of a four-year degree can range from about $180,000 to $260,000 and up. (Stock)

At a public community college, the cost of a four-year degree can range from about $80,000 to $120,000.

At a community college for out-of-state students, the cost of a four-year degree can range from about $170,000 to $200,000 or more.

And at a private college, the cost of a four-year degree can range from $180,000 to $260,000 and up.