New college grad exposes horror job market after…

A 21-year-old who graduated at the top of his class after spending roughly $125,000, including bills, on his college degree said “the system is broken” after he utilized for 500 jobs and didn’t get one.

Khaled Sharif, 21, earned a degree in digital media tech from Kingston University just exterior London, England. He started making use of for related roles after he graduated in 2025, news company SWNS reported.

But despite submitting 500 functions, he said he’s had less than 20 job interviews and is yet to land a job — despite increasing his search into gross sales and other sectors that he “didn’t want to work in.”

Sharif, who holds UK residency through his mom, moved to the United Kingdom from Qatar at age 18.

At the time, he said he was the envy of his friends, thanks to the UK’s status for offering some of the “best opportunities in the world.” But Sharif said he believes his degree just isn’t the issue. 

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

“It does make me really upset. It’s really stressful,” he told SWNS. “I got [a] top-of-my-class [designation], but I can’t find anything. Kingston’s not a top university, but I just can’t find anything — and I’ve applied for everything. If people got a lower grade, how hard would it be for them?”

He added, “Since I posted on TikTok about it, I’ve had people [who hold] masters [degrees] saying they can’t get anything.”

Khaled Sharif, 21, hasn’t been ready to get a job despite making use of to 500 of them since graduating college. Tony Kershaw / SWNS

He went on, “I could easily get a part-time job in a Tesco [supermarket].” 

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

He talked about how a lot he spent to earn a college degree — and said, “I think the system is broken. More opportunities have to be made, but because of COVID and now AI, companies don’t want to hire. They’re looking to save money.”

He famous that he might go “back home” to Qatar — “but if you tell people you’ve worked here [in the UK], they instantly have respect for you, but it’s been really hard.”

He said he suspects that when people look into his background and see that earlier on, he went to college in Qatar, “they instantly think I need sponsorship, even though I’m a resident, so I can legally work. I don’t think they read to the end of my application to see that I don’t need one.”

Sharif recieved a degree in digital media tech from Kingston University in the United Kingdom. Khaled Sherif / SWNS

Life classes

Sharif was born in Egypt and moved to Qatar at age 4. He then moved to London in 2022, with a degree on his resume that he said is “essential in my culture.”

His mother soon adopted to start her business, YallaCook — giving him residency.

He believed that London was the best place to be as a “global hub of business,” he told SWNS. He said that the job search has been demoralizing for him. 

Sharif completed best in his class in college. Khaled Sherif / SWNS

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

International college students finding out at Kingston pay an annual tuition price in the area of $30,000 — and with price of dwelling included, he estimates his degree price him about $125,000.

Having accrued work expertise as a videographer and a photographer while working toward his degree, he’s continued to freelance in place of full-time employment, he said. 

He added that working for his degree “taught me a lot of life lessons but, honestly, I didn’t learn much. Everything I know content-wise is because of experience, volunteering and YouTube.”

He said that in retrospect, “I wish I [studied] filmmaking. But when I was thinking about it before, there were many fewer job opportunities [in that field] than [earning his degree]. I don’t think it makes a difference.”

Sharif said the “system is broken” after he didn’t get a single job offer. Khaled Sherif / SWNS

As a outcome of his misfortune in the job market, he’s now began his own clothes model, named Zoqué (“my style” in Arabic). 

He said that’s in order to mix his ardour for presentable clothes and images.

In the US, according to the latest figures from a selection of sources, the everyday price of a four-year college degree varies widely by the sort of schooling, the varsity itself and the financial support that could also be given to the coed. 

For a public college for in-state college students, the price of a four-year degree can vary from roughly $80,000 to $120,000.

For a public college for out-of-state college students, the price of a four-year degree can vary from roughly $170,000 to $200,000 or more.

And for a personal college, prices of a four-year degree can vary from about $180,000 to $260,000 and past. 

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