A 21-year-old graduate, who spent almost £100,000 (about Rs 1 crore) on his UK education, says the job market is “broken” after applying for 500 jobs without securing a single offer.Khalid Sharif, who graduated top in his class in digital media technology from Kingston University near London in 2025, has received less than 20 interview calls so far and remains unemployed despite his academic performance. New York Post Informed.Sharif described the experience as “really stressful”, saying, “I graduated top of my class, but I didn’t get anything.”Sharif, who was born in Egypt and grew up in Qatar before moving to Britain at the age of 18, hoped studying in Britain would open up global career opportunities.Instead, he says he has been forced to expand his search beyond his field into sales and other roles that don’t interest him.

‘Flooded’ job market, less openness

He believes that the graduate job market is overly saturated. “The system is flooded with applicants,” he said, adding that companies are also hiring less due to cost pressures, post-pandemic uncertainty and increased use of AI tools.According to him, though he can easily get a job in a supermarket, he wants to work in the field for which he has studied.Despite securing interviews, Sharif says the results were disappointing. “They say I passed the first round, but I got rejected after the second round,” he said.In one instance, he passed several rounds at a multinational tech firm, only to be told that the graduate program had been scrapped.Visa confusion escalates conflictsSharif also believes that his international background may work against him. Although he lives in the UK through his mother and does not need work sponsorship, he says recruiters may think otherwise because of his education history in Qatar.“They probably think I need sponsorship and don’t read the entire application,” he said.

Freelancing, the startup route after struggling to find a job

Not finding full-time opportunities, Sharif has continued to work as a freelance videographer and photographer – skills he developed during college.Reflecting on his education, he admitted that most of his practical knowledge came from real-world experience rather than classroom learning. “To be honest, I didn’t learn much at university. Most of it was YouTube and volunteering,” he said.He now regrets not choosing filmmaking earlier, but says he put it off due to fear of limited job prospects.He said, “I wish I had done filmmaking, but I thought the opportunities would be limited.”

Launched a clothing brand

Sharif has now started her own clothing label, Zoque, which means “my style” in Arabic, combining her interests in fashion and photography.He says the experience has been discouraging but not so discouraging as to give up completely. “More opportunities have to be created,” he said, adding that many other graduates were facing similar struggles in the UK job market.