Many Bermudian university students are pursuing inappropriate degrees which ultimately undermine their attempts to find a job when they return home.

This is according to the executive director of the Hamilton-based Bermuda Careers Centre, Derek Smith, who yesterday called on Bermudians to use his organisation to thoroughly research the local job market before deciding what to pursue as an undergraduate.

Addressing the Hamilton Rotary Club at the Surf and Turf restaurant, Mr. Smith said many graduates return home brimming with confidence and boasting a Bachelors degree in subjects such as Philosophy, Sociology and Biological Anthropology ? only to find they are not as attractive to local employers as they might initially have thought.

?Many have invested energy, time and money into their education only to find out that their interest or interests cannot be realised or utilised here in Bermuda,? he said.

?As a student, graduate or adult you may think I?m exaggerating, but I?m not. All you have to do is ask some people about their experiences and they will tell you. Students are choosing and have chosen from hundreds of majors ? from accounting to zoology ? many without thinking about the consequences of their decisions in Bermuda. Many are deciding on majors based on the course curriculum at the universities or colleges. It?s like putting the cart before the horse. Why decide on a school without first knowing what careers are available currently and for the next four to six years in Bermuda??

Young Bermudians, he argued, simply cannot afford to pursue generic degrees if they wanted to be competitive in the local market.

?If students don?t know what they want to do, it?s okay,? he said.

?In fact, more than half of all college freshman are undecided and prefer to get a feel for what?s available at college before making a decision. Most four-year college courses don?t require students to formally declare a major until the end of their sophomore or beginning of their junior year. But can Bermudian students have the exact same attitude? No, because Bermuda is industry and occupation-specific and though broad, many majors are not recognised or able to be utilised in Bermuda.?

These sentiments were broadly endorsed by Louisa Freisenbruch, associate director at the executive recruitment firm The James Partnership ? although she conceded there would always be exceptions to the general rule.

?It very much depends on the career you want to pursue,? she said. ?If you are interested in an insurance, reinsurance or finance career, employers will look for a university subject which required a proven ability in quantitative or numerical work, so a maths or statistics degree would probably be useful. A lot of companies are also starting to look at what university their applicants attended because the fact is more people are taking degrees now than ever before.

?Another thing which would work in someone?s favour is what work experience they?ve got. Sure, working construction might pay a bit better in the summer than being a PA at somewhere like ACE or XL but it might not look so good when that person then turns round and applies for a job in insurance.?

It is possible, she continued, for somebody with a general arts degree to get a job in Bermuda?s premier industries, although it ?would certainly make life far more difficult?.

?Of course you can never discount the influence of word of mouth or personal connections in terms of getting your foot in the door somewhere,? she said.

?But Bermuda?s job market is narrower than in the US, the UK or Canada for example, and Bermudians have to bear that in mind when selecting a degree because the market is definitely becoming more competitive.?

For more information, log on to www.bdacareers.bm.