Moving abroad...

[Chapeltom]

Afternoon all!

Well, this is something I didn't think I'd be talking about at the start of the year and yet here I am. I've finished/graduated from University, had three months with no luck on the job front and like most graduates had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my degree. Those who 'follow me' outside this forum will know I love to travel, and can't get enough of it.

I'm off to Thailand in a couple of months to do a TEFL course and an initial six months teaching English. The initial idea was six months and return to the UK but I'm starting to believe, that knowing myself well enough it will be a lot more than six months. Its only a realistic consideration, given the way this country is: poor weather, high cost of living, too much competition for jobs. I've spent 3 months of wasting my time, getting rejected from jobs I'm apparently over-qualified to do or don't have the experience. Most employers, I heard nothing at all.

I'm 21, coming on 22, I have to realise what I actually want out my life and the answer is actually, not a lot. Neither bothered about money, just to be happy. I have always wanted to live and work abroad, so I'm going to live the dream and know I will regret it if I don't go

I know to be realistic about things, but Britain for me in 2014 just doesn't seem the place to be. Even if I got a graduate job in this country at £18k and wanted to live independently, I'd barely scrap by. That's not a life to me.

Anyone moved abroad before, temporarily or more permanently and can offer any advice?

Tom

 

[yorkie]

... don't have the experience. ...

Out of interest, was your course a 'sandwich' course with a year in industry? If not, did you do any voluntary and/or part time jobs at weekends or during the holidays while studying that would have got you some relevant experience?

If the answer is "no" to all of the above, that's the problem. It's not usually possible to go straight from a degree to a relevant job, without any relevant experience.

 

[bangor-toad]

Anyone moved abroad before, temporarily or more permanently and can offer any advice?

Tom

Hi there,
Tried that, had fun, came home...

My advice would be to go and do it. You're young and there's lots of things you can do. Why not go and see what's out there?

You're unlikely to make a permanent move though at this point. So don't cut off ties with home. View it as an extended trip with an undefined end rather than going away. If you've got stuff here, try to get it stored with family / friends rather than getting rid of it. If you come back it's a useful re-start...

Do keep in touch with your UK friends & invite them over. It can be a welcome moment to see a friendly face who you know speaks the same language when they come to visit.

As rather boring but practical bits of advice:
1. Get a year's travel / medical insurance. (Make sure it's for being away that length of time rather than covering short trips over a year). If anything goes wrong during the first period then you've got cover to get help and maybe get back. After a year you'll either be stable wherever you are and can get that sort of thing sorted or you'll have moved on to a different plan.

2. Setup internet banking so you can control your money from strange foreign places.

3. Keep a emergency credit card with enough credit to allow you to buy a ticket out of wherever you are if it all goes wrong.


Above all, enjoy the experiences!
Cheers,
Mr Toad

 

[Chapeltom]

Out of interest, was your course a 'sandwich' course with a year in industry? If not, did you do any voluntary and/or part time jobs at weekends or during the holidays while studying that would have got you some relevant experience?

If the answer is "no" to all of the above, that's the problem. It's not usually possible to go straight from a degree to a relevant job, without any relevant experience.

I didn't do a sandwich course but worked in a tearoom for over 9 years, did nearly 3 years work experience at my local radio station and a year working for a company called Serve Legal.

I'm not alone, I don't know anyone who has got anything close to a graduate job (who finished this year) either from my Uni or other social circles.

 

[bangor-toad]

I'm not alone, I don't know anyone who has got anything close to a graduate job (who finished this year) either from my Uni or other social circles.

Just out of interest, what did you study?
There's some massive variation in job prospects across disciplines. Just as an example, we can't recruit enough UK students for some scientific MSc and PhD courses and that's with a full scholarship!
As the extreme example, I was trying to find a graduating Elec Eng student from one of our courses for a project. The Head of Department basically laughed as almost all graduating students could choose which job offers they were going to pick.

Of course, this is only for certain areas / subjects. I think that generally the competition for jobs is very hard but if you've got an edge, there are jobs available. There may well also be other options for further study.

It's not all doom and gloom, for example;
Got a good science degree and an interest in hard disk technology? I've probably got a funded PhD place available...

Mr Toad

 

[Pumbaa]

Out of interest, was your course a 'sandwich' course with a year in industry? If not, did you do any voluntary and/or part time jobs at weekends or during the holidays while studying that would have got you some relevant experience?

If the answer is "no" to all of the above, that's the problem. It's not usually possible to go straight from a degree to a relevant job, without any relevant experience.

Disagree - there seems (to me) to be a disparity between scientific and specific qualifications, and others. Generally stats indicate that scientific graduates do better at finding a job, even if it is generally expected you will continue in that linear vocation (ie do engineering, become an engineer; do pharmacy, become a pharmacist).
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
@chapeltom - don't stop travelling! Keep going, don't look back and do something with your time! And a practical piece of advice - always keep something on you worth bartering...

 

[Bevan Price]

Beware of so-called friends asking you to carry some of their property in your luggage into other countries. Keep luggage locked so that they can't sneak dodgy items into it if you are distracted.

 

[TheEdge]

Beware of so-called friends asking you to carry some of their property in your luggage into other countries. Keep luggage locked so that they can't sneak dodgy items into it if you are distracted.

Never forget that certain countries, I'm thinking Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia will happily (and do) execute foreign nationals for drug quantities that a fairly small.