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BEIRUT: Lebanon has long boasted a reputation for some of the most prestigious academic institutions in the Middle East, training top medics, architects and engineers who have gone on to enjoy careers in Lebanon and elsewhere.
But now, as the country lurches under the weight of a ceaseless economic and political crisis, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut Port, university graduates of todays Lebanon are struggling to get their feet off the ground.
Nearly two years after the popular uprising of October 2019, which saw thousands of youths take to the streets demanding the overthrow of a worn-out establishment, Lebanons young have been unable to untangle themselves from the effects of a crises-ridden state.
With promising opportunities and salaries diminishing in parallel, Lebanons job market has little to offer qualified graduates with an American-style education.
As Lebanon grapples with what the World Bank recently deemed one of the worst economic crises seen globally since the mid-19th century, many graduates are racing to seek better opportunities abroad.
At this point I am working to survive, not to better myself or my way of living ... I cant do anything here, Mohammad Shbaro, 26, told The Daily Star.
Shbaro, a medical graduate from the Beirut Arab University is an Emergency Room physician at Al-Youssef Hospital Center in Halba, North Lebanon. Like most public health workers in Lebanon today, Shbaro believes emigrating is his only way to improve his long-term career.
Shbaro said he had always imagined his future in Lebanon, but conceded the instability of the countrys infrastructure and weak state makes it difficult for public health care workers to do their job.
Furthermore, Lebanons health sector has taken a battering over the last 18 months, juggling financial woes, the coronavirus pandemic and the brain drain of thousands of medical staff, who lured by incomes in a stable currency, flee to Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Since late 2019, many doctors and nurses have watched their salaries, in Lebanese pounds, lose over 90 percent of their worth against the dollar on the black market. I was making LL800,000 back in July 2020, but by July 2021 that amounts to only $44, Shbaro said.
Having studied for seven years to gain his medical qualification and now working 50 hours a week, the countrys economic depression has caused Shbaros monthly income to lose 36 percent in street value in a space of a year.
The pay is not enough, and it simply doesnt equate to the ongoing inflation.
My plan is to find an opportunity in Germany. After that I am never coming back, its not worth it from a financial nor socio-economic perspective. Once I leave, I leave.
Majors, like Shbaros medical degree, which were once considered doors to a promising career path, have now left current and future students with no guarantee of finding work or worthy pay in Lebanons declining job market, which has pushed more than 40 percent of the population into unemployment.
Yet some young graduates have been able to make the best out of a bad situation, like 22-year-old Christine, an economics graduate from the American University of Beirut.
Christine, who chose not to reveal her surname, told The Daily Star that after securing a job at the United Nations' Beirut office paid in fresh US dollars now a scarce currency thanks to the financial crisis her decision to remain was easier.
Fortunately, I am one of the lucky ones who is getting paid in dollars amid this crisis, so I have a good base here. This is a huge reason why I am still here.
With the pound maintaining its free fall against the dollar on the parallel market, this week stooping to a record low of around LL19,450/$1, life in Lebanon has become relatively cheap for those with greenbacks.
But Christine admitted she would still depart Lebanon if a job overseas appeared: If I do take an opportunity abroad, it's not because I gave up on my country but because I think everyone my age wants and needs that exposure for success in the future.
As for those who are yet to graduate, the prospect of finding work in their field of study has receded and is unlikely to improve with Lebanons social and economic downward spiral.
Despite studying at the Lebanese American University, one of the countrys top institutions, fourth-year architecture student Ramsey Hage told The Daily Star that he worries about his ability to find work in his field.
When I first got into the major, I was sure I would secure a job, but now Im living in doubt ... with the state of the country there arent many jobs.
Hage added that many graduates had resorted to accepting underpaid jobs, which has in turn pushed many to look in other fields outside of their major.
From an early age, students in Lebanon were encouraged to choose majors that offered a stable career path, like medicine, architecture, engineering, or economics, exactly as Shbaro, Christine and Hage decided.
But now Lebanons graduates find themselves overqualified in a market which can no longer meet the standard of opportunity and prosperity it once promised.
Moreover, the wider repercussions of the exodus of talent, along with a weakened workforce will only make Lebanons long-term economic recovery harder.
Likewise, if graduates are motivated to pursue careers for the sake of survival rather than self-fulfillment, Lebanons youth will find themselves at a cliff edge.
As Hage concluded: If by next year nothing has changed and the situation is like it is now, I guess Im forced to leave Lebanon, just to secure anything, just to start off with something.
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