My name is Jacopo and I was born in 1988 in Pescara, a city by the Adriatic sea in central Italy.
A city and a region that I love, but really not developed under the cultural point of view: there are few libraries, no real theaters, few opportunities for social and cultural growth. Also practicing a sport which is not football is difficult.
Anyway, I've always been eclectic, interested in many different fields. Maybe too many: when I was still at the high school (in my case, the Liceo Scientifico – the one about sciences), I used to attend any single course I found: drama, filming, music, languages, IT. Moreover, I've always been interested in politics and active citizenship: volunteering, advocating, and so on. The results were that, already at the time of choosing which University to attend, I had a very diverse preparation, but not a real idea on what to do. And local authorities did not help: that was not any project about the functioning of University, or volunteering opportunities, of other formation opportunities or about the job market. I was alone, having no examples within my family or friends.
Therefore I decided to enroll at University, and to study Political Science. After some months I saw that there was not what I was searching in University: I've had, in less than one year, courses of Law, Economy, Philosophy, Sociology, Politics, History, Statistics and Demography. But they were rather superficial, I'd never became a lawyer or an economist or a philosopher or … If I wanted to spend time and money on following a degree, I would require to learn to do something.
Following than another passion of mine, Physics, I then enrolled at the Astrophysics bachelor course at the Bologna University. It was in 2008, and I was already 20: you finish high school in Italy when you're 19 (quite late, compared to other Countries), plus I “lost” another year with my first try at University – my fault.
I could move to Bologna only thanks to a full scholarship, which covered tuition fees and provided accomodation. I was one of the last lucky ones, since in the following year the economical crisis and the austerity measures caused a cut in the amount of scholarships.
Most of University courses in Italy work in this way: you attend a bachelor course, that should last for 3 years, then you get the bachelor, called Laurea Triennale. With this Laurea Triennale you can do more or less nothing, and in certain cases is less worthy than a high school diploma. So you are forced, in a sense, to enroll for a master course, at the conclusion of which you'll get your master, called Laurea Magistrale. The problem is that, for some courses, you have a compulsory unpaid full-time internship that could last even for 6 months, and a long final dissertation also for the Triennale. It is a system that brings you to take 1 year more to get the bachelor and the same for the master. So, in the majority of cases, you study 6-7 years instead of 5.
The problem with internships is not only that they're unpaid. In most cases, they're useless: for specializing studies, enterprises that will take you as an intern won't trust you since you have no experience, therefore you'll go on in gaining no experience: they'll ask you to do some not-specializing tasks.
In my case, seen the difficulty in finding enterprises that want wannabe astrophysicists, the course council decided to cancel the internship from the course. So I haven't done any internship: this allowed me to get the bachelor in the foreseen 3 years, but I haven't had any kind of insertion into the job market.
Anyway, I went on searching new experiences and courses to feed my hunger for knowledge.
In 2011, then, I enrolled for a master course in Geophysics, considering it more “practical” than Astrophysics. I should have graduated in 2013, but I experienced some problems and I'll graduate in 2014. I'll be 26 (quite old, in my opinion), knowing Mathematics, Physics, IT, programming languages, geoelectric and seismic methods and 6 languages. But being “old”, as said, and having no job experience. Can I be optimistic?
Jaccopo Barbati
Italy
A city and a region that I love, but really not developed under the cultural point of view: there are few libraries, no real theaters, few opportunities for social and cultural growth. Also practicing a sport which is not football is difficult.
Anyway, I've always been eclectic, interested in many different fields. Maybe too many: when I was still at the high school (in my case, the Liceo Scientifico – the one about sciences), I used to attend any single course I found: drama, filming, music, languages, IT. Moreover, I've always been interested in politics and active citizenship: volunteering, advocating, and so on. The results were that, already at the time of choosing which University to attend, I had a very diverse preparation, but not a real idea on what to do. And local authorities did not help: that was not any project about the functioning of University, or volunteering opportunities, of other formation opportunities or about the job market. I was alone, having no examples within my family or friends.
Therefore I decided to enroll at University, and to study Political Science. After some months I saw that there was not what I was searching in University: I've had, in less than one year, courses of Law, Economy, Philosophy, Sociology, Politics, History, Statistics and Demography. But they were rather superficial, I'd never became a lawyer or an economist or a philosopher or … If I wanted to spend time and money on following a degree, I would require to learn to do something.
Following than another passion of mine, Physics, I then enrolled at the Astrophysics bachelor course at the Bologna University. It was in 2008, and I was already 20: you finish high school in Italy when you're 19 (quite late, compared to other Countries), plus I “lost” another year with my first try at University – my fault.
I could move to Bologna only thanks to a full scholarship, which covered tuition fees and provided accomodation. I was one of the last lucky ones, since in the following year the economical crisis and the austerity measures caused a cut in the amount of scholarships.
Most of University courses in Italy work in this way: you attend a bachelor course, that should last for 3 years, then you get the bachelor, called Laurea Triennale. With this Laurea Triennale you can do more or less nothing, and in certain cases is less worthy than a high school diploma. So you are forced, in a sense, to enroll for a master course, at the conclusion of which you'll get your master, called Laurea Magistrale. The problem is that, for some courses, you have a compulsory unpaid full-time internship that could last even for 6 months, and a long final dissertation also for the Triennale. It is a system that brings you to take 1 year more to get the bachelor and the same for the master. So, in the majority of cases, you study 6-7 years instead of 5.
The problem with internships is not only that they're unpaid. In most cases, they're useless: for specializing studies, enterprises that will take you as an intern won't trust you since you have no experience, therefore you'll go on in gaining no experience: they'll ask you to do some not-specializing tasks.
In my case, seen the difficulty in finding enterprises that want wannabe astrophysicists, the course council decided to cancel the internship from the course. So I haven't done any internship: this allowed me to get the bachelor in the foreseen 3 years, but I haven't had any kind of insertion into the job market.
Anyway, I went on searching new experiences and courses to feed my hunger for knowledge.
In 2011, then, I enrolled for a master course in Geophysics, considering it more “practical” than Astrophysics. I should have graduated in 2013, but I experienced some problems and I'll graduate in 2014. I'll be 26 (quite old, in my opinion), knowing Mathematics, Physics, IT, programming languages, geoelectric and seismic methods and 6 languages. But being “old”, as said, and having no job experience. Can I be optimistic?
Jaccopo Barbati
Italy
I am Odysseas from Athens , 22 years old and i study in Athens University of Economics in the department of Business Administration. I am half-turk, my father was a political refugee from Turkey, but i was born and raised here in Greece.
I chose to study business administration so that i continue the family business. As i was learning how to run a business , struggling with the greek bureaucratie and the unstable greek law framework, the recession started in my country and in other countries of the south. Our business collapsed , one among thousands of others small businesses, a really vital sector of the greek economy. In a few months i will finish my bachelor studies and i will find an environment very different from that i imagined as a highschool student comparing my options for the future. In the current crisis and the situation in Greece the options are fewer.
With the fear of compromising and abandoning my dreams, i dream of the north.I would like to pursue a master's degree, study in a northern european country and maybe find work and stay there.Wherever i end up, i know that i will have company, a lot of my friends and relatives have chosen the same path.
Odysseas
Greece
I chose to study business administration so that i continue the family business. As i was learning how to run a business , struggling with the greek bureaucratie and the unstable greek law framework, the recession started in my country and in other countries of the south. Our business collapsed , one among thousands of others small businesses, a really vital sector of the greek economy. In a few months i will finish my bachelor studies and i will find an environment very different from that i imagined as a highschool student comparing my options for the future. In the current crisis and the situation in Greece the options are fewer.
With the fear of compromising and abandoning my dreams, i dream of the north.I would like to pursue a master's degree, study in a northern european country and maybe find work and stay there.Wherever i end up, i know that i will have company, a lot of my friends and relatives have chosen the same path.
Odysseas
Greece
My name is Katerina Maragkaki, 22 years old. I am a student at university of Piraeus on International and European studies and I have also studied journalism. I find myself fortunate that my family owns a house in Athens so we don’t have to pay for rent otherwise I would probably not be here studing!!!!
I have one more year to finish my bachelor studies and for the last seven years I remember myself working, at list every summer, as I am from a touristic place, Lefkada, to have my own money to spend in the winters so I wouldn’t burden economically my large family. This summer I got lucky and found a job with very good wage, whereas the last yeas incomes! Guess what! I’ll be a waitress!!!!! It’s not that bad at all, as I’ll be earning 900euro every month witch will ensure me a comfortable winter as student! And it is the first time after all these years that I’ll get the legally entitled stamps.
In future I hope I’ll find a job related to my studies and even better in my birth place, but right now, it sounds utopian!!!!!!!!!!!
Katerina Maragkaki
I have one more year to finish my bachelor studies and for the last seven years I remember myself working, at list every summer, as I am from a touristic place, Lefkada, to have my own money to spend in the winters so I wouldn’t burden economically my large family. This summer I got lucky and found a job with very good wage, whereas the last yeas incomes! Guess what! I’ll be a waitress!!!!! It’s not that bad at all, as I’ll be earning 900euro every month witch will ensure me a comfortable winter as student! And it is the first time after all these years that I’ll get the legally entitled stamps.
In future I hope I’ll find a job related to my studies and even better in my birth place, but right now, it sounds utopian!!!!!!!!!!!
Katerina Maragkaki