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Well, last Wednesday everyone from our group all huddled into a hotel in the sweltering heat. This was something we have sort of been expecting for a while now, after the group opposite us had moved their resources to Bangalore, it was only a matter of time before our group and many others went that way too.
So, what does this all mean? It means that I'm looking at leaving a company that I've spent 5 years working for. It means that I'm looking at providing training to graduates in India at some point next year. It means that I have 18 months to work out what the hell I'm going to do next after December 2005.
Ok, so many people don't get that much notice, and our bonus for staying and helping out with the training is fairly substantial (for the West Country, at least), but I have the prospect of looking for another job while providing for a wife and 1 year old (by the end of 2005) and it scares me a bit.
Do I change career paths completely? Go into Journalism or something else perhaps? Continue with finance? And, of course, the big one, could I consider moving to Spain to live instead?
It's all a bit confusing at present, but 18 months will fly by and who knows what the future holds? Perhaps this is my big life changing decision, who knows.
So, what does this all mean? It means that I'm looking at leaving a company that I've spent 5 years working for. It means that I'm looking at providing training to graduates in India at some point next year. It means that I have 18 months to work out what the hell I'm going to do next after December 2005.
Ok, so many people don't get that much notice, and our bonus for staying and helping out with the training is fairly substantial (for the West Country, at least), but I have the prospect of looking for another job while providing for a wife and 1 year old (by the end of 2005) and it scares me a bit.
Do I change career paths completely? Go into Journalism or something else perhaps? Continue with finance? And, of course, the big one, could I consider moving to Spain to live instead?
It's all a bit confusing at present, but 18 months will fly by and who knows what the future holds? Perhaps this is my big life changing decision, who knows.
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Well I'm just out of college (BND Media - 3 Distinctions which is equal to 3 A-Levels at A*) and am having a hard time finding work. I know my situation isn't as bad as yours, but it's still getting to me a bit.
With only Media qualifications, I have quite limited options and jobs in te industry are very hard to come by. I've been lucky to join up with a guy who runs his own company and is going into producing his first feature film. Sadly this is an unpaid gig and is only taking place on weekends (so I've had to pack in my Saturday job at Woolworths) and a two/three week block later in the year. Currently his newly setup company isn't at the stage where they're taking on new people, but it's going to be in the near future. So as well as getting experience on a film set as a Production Assistant, there's a strong chance of employment after it's finished.
But until then I'm going to need money. I've signed up at a temp agency for data input/warehouse work and they haven't found anything for me. I wrote to a company (a local company who make staff training videos etc) applying for an editing job, they asked to view my showreel of work and I didn't hear from them again. I've now applied for a job at a local industry park that doesn't really connect to what I want to do, but the advert said it was for someone looking for their first job at a creative company. I really hope something comes of it.
I feel like I did two years ago before I started college. As I had finished and everyone else was still at school or doing exams I found myself just hanging around the house. My girlfriends at work most days so I don't get to spend much time with her, I'm just around here all the time. I've already started to lose track to time and groove myself into a new sleep pattern. It's not like I'm being totally unconstructive though. I've started work on my first feature script which is going well (except from a small case of writer's block which I'm currently working my way out of) but it's making me feel the need for money even more as at some point I want to make this film and I'm going to need a paying job.
It's not just a problem for me, I don't know anyone on my course who has found work. My girlfriend was interviewed to be an intern at a crappy, local channel but the same day she was offered the position the company had some financial problems and had to get rid of a lot of staff. So that's fallen through which is very sad as it would have been a great start.
I hope everything turns out well for you guys.
With only Media qualifications, I have quite limited options and jobs in te industry are very hard to come by. I've been lucky to join up with a guy who runs his own company and is going into producing his first feature film. Sadly this is an unpaid gig and is only taking place on weekends (so I've had to pack in my Saturday job at Woolworths) and a two/three week block later in the year. Currently his newly setup company isn't at the stage where they're taking on new people, but it's going to be in the near future. So as well as getting experience on a film set as a Production Assistant, there's a strong chance of employment after it's finished.
But until then I'm going to need money. I've signed up at a temp agency for data input/warehouse work and they haven't found anything for me. I wrote to a company (a local company who make staff training videos etc) applying for an editing job, they asked to view my showreel of work and I didn't hear from them again. I've now applied for a job at a local industry park that doesn't really connect to what I want to do, but the advert said it was for someone looking for their first job at a creative company. I really hope something comes of it.
I feel like I did two years ago before I started college. As I had finished and everyone else was still at school or doing exams I found myself just hanging around the house. My girlfriends at work most days so I don't get to spend much time with her, I'm just around here all the time. I've already started to lose track to time and groove myself into a new sleep pattern. It's not like I'm being totally unconstructive though. I've started work on my first feature script which is going well (except from a small case of writer's block which I'm currently working my way out of) but it's making me feel the need for money even more as at some point I want to make this film and I'm going to need a paying job.
It's not just a problem for me, I don't know anyone on my course who has found work. My girlfriend was interviewed to be an intern at a crappy, local channel but the same day she was offered the position the company had some financial problems and had to get rid of a lot of staff. So that's fallen through which is very sad as it would have been a great start.
I hope everything turns out well for you guys.
It's kind of a no brainer to go to Spain.
Spent about a month so far looking for a job and they (at least the ones I'm applying for) all fall into roughly three categories;
1) Jobs I really like but are flooded with people applying, and thanks to Mr Blair's "I want everyone to work until they drop" policies are full of "mature" applicants which invariably have more experience than about 50% of the other people anyway.
2) Graduate only jobs, again filled with people, and for which you have to be "mobile" (for mobile read "go anywhere in the country they tell you to for the next 2-5 years of your career whilst living on about £14000 before tax, student loan deductions etc) and will, if successful, end up in a job which pays about 16-20K.
3) Jobs you could have got with A Levels anyway, and which there is a good chance of working your way up to a level way past what the graduate schemes offer, which kind of makes you wonder why on earth you've spent three years at university and ran up a debt.
All the above also offer the knowledge that, should you get employment, and get promoted several times in fact, you will still never be able to afford a house until you're about your mid thirties or marry someone so you have dual incomes. Plus, because you've effectively missed 5-6 years of work, you're gonna need to put at least a £100 a month into a pension, in addition to any company pension, to stand a chance of retiring at something reasonable.
And finally, even if I get on one of the graduate schemes, I won't actually ever use about 95% of the content of my degree anyway, hurrah!
The fact is that, had I forgotten about university back in 2001 and stayed at Woolworths I'd have been a store team leader by now (15k) and eventually assistant mananger within a few more years, I'd have a pension started, I wouldn't owe Mr Blair about 10K (and rising thanks to his unchallenged increase of the interest rate last year...as in he tripled it).
Still, at least I'm now adding to the unemployment statistics and taking money from the government :)
So yeah, get away to Spain whilst you still can!
Spent about a month so far looking for a job and they (at least the ones I'm applying for) all fall into roughly three categories;
1) Jobs I really like but are flooded with people applying, and thanks to Mr Blair's "I want everyone to work until they drop" policies are full of "mature" applicants which invariably have more experience than about 50% of the other people anyway.
2) Graduate only jobs, again filled with people, and for which you have to be "mobile" (for mobile read "go anywhere in the country they tell you to for the next 2-5 years of your career whilst living on about £14000 before tax, student loan deductions etc) and will, if successful, end up in a job which pays about 16-20K.
3) Jobs you could have got with A Levels anyway, and which there is a good chance of working your way up to a level way past what the graduate schemes offer, which kind of makes you wonder why on earth you've spent three years at university and ran up a debt.
All the above also offer the knowledge that, should you get employment, and get promoted several times in fact, you will still never be able to afford a house until you're about your mid thirties or marry someone so you have dual incomes. Plus, because you've effectively missed 5-6 years of work, you're gonna need to put at least a £100 a month into a pension, in addition to any company pension, to stand a chance of retiring at something reasonable.
And finally, even if I get on one of the graduate schemes, I won't actually ever use about 95% of the content of my degree anyway, hurrah!
The fact is that, had I forgotten about university back in 2001 and stayed at Woolworths I'd have been a store team leader by now (15k) and eventually assistant mananger within a few more years, I'd have a pension started, I wouldn't owe Mr Blair about 10K (and rising thanks to his unchallenged increase of the interest rate last year...as in he tripled it).
Still, at least I'm now adding to the unemployment statistics and taking money from the government :)
So yeah, get away to Spain whilst you still can!
Well, my reasons for going to Spain are:
My in-laws are very supportive,
It's a better lifestyle for a kid to grow up in
I feel that my wife would be happier not being treated as stupid by
frankly stupid people who think anyone with a different accent to them is not worth their time,
and the food is better.
And before you say anything, yes I still love the UK as well and there are lots of things I'd miss. I'm also not going into this blind like those laughable people on the TV who think they can drop everything, move to another country and have an easy time of it. But we would have somewhere to stay until a house was sorted out, a range of places to go for a job and experience of the country too.
I still can't believe people who think it doesn't snow in Spain though. I mean, they see 2 weeks of summer and think it's like that all the year round! Try living in a house with no proper heating in the Southern Spanish winter!
My in-laws are very supportive,
It's a better lifestyle for a kid to grow up in
I feel that my wife would be happier not being treated as stupid by
frankly stupid people who think anyone with a different accent to them is not worth their time,
and the food is better.
And before you say anything, yes I still love the UK as well and there are lots of things I'd miss. I'm also not going into this blind like those laughable people on the TV who think they can drop everything, move to another country and have an easy time of it. But we would have somewhere to stay until a house was sorted out, a range of places to go for a job and experience of the country too.
I still can't believe people who think it doesn't snow in Spain though. I mean, they see 2 weeks of summer and think it's like that all the year round! Try living in a house with no proper heating in the Southern Spanish winter!
Ah, the job market :^(
Meka's advice sounds good. To add to that, to be honest I think you'd have a tough time getting a decent career in Spain. I could be wrong, but that's a strong impression that I get. Have you looked into potential work over there?
I might have to give up on my masters next year, which means I'm looking to find a career-type job a.s.a.p.
Don't suppose anyone has any suggestions for decent careers do they ?
I'd like to find a job I enjoy, but I don't know where to begin..
Meka's advice sounds good. To add to that, to be honest I think you'd have a tough time getting a decent career in Spain. I could be wrong, but that's a strong impression that I get. Have you looked into potential work over there?
I might have to give up on my masters next year, which means I'm looking to find a career-type job a.s.a.p.
Don't suppose anyone has any suggestions for decent careers do they ?
I'd like to find a job I enjoy, but I don't know where to begin..
pb wrote:
> Thanks for the support everyone!
>
> I'm thinking of moving to Spain because, for those who don't already
> know, my wife is Spanish and, quite frankly, I feel much healthier
> out there.
The Spanish are more family orientated too, from what I gather. My parents now live in Spain and everyone they meet regard their family as being of primary importance. And there's nothing like a bit of sun to make one feel healthy.
> Thanks for the support everyone!
>
> I'm thinking of moving to Spain because, for those who don't already
> know, my wife is Spanish and, quite frankly, I feel much healthier
> out there.
The Spanish are more family orientated too, from what I gather. My parents now live in Spain and everyone they meet regard their family as being of primary importance. And there's nothing like a bit of sun to make one feel healthy.
Thanks for the support everyone!
I'm thinking of moving to Spain because, for those who don't already know, my wife is Spanish and, quite frankly, I feel much healthier out there. However, there is a worse problem with job availability there and I haven't cracked the language completely.
Also, because we are paid a completion bonus for seeing it through and redundancy, I can't leave until the end of next year, even if I do find a job.
Still, everything should turn out ok.
I'm thinking of moving to Spain because, for those who don't already know, my wife is Spanish and, quite frankly, I feel much healthier out there. However, there is a worse problem with job availability there and I haven't cracked the language completely.
Also, because we are paid a completion bonus for seeing it through and redundancy, I can't leave until the end of next year, even if I do find a job.
Still, everything should turn out ok.
I'm sorry to hear that pb, it must cause a bit of worry, especially witgh the little one on the way.
At least you do have time on your side, and the best advice I can give is to start looking right away. If you put it off, those 18 months will creep up on you.
I'd also suggest trying to squeeze in a couple of courses that might be useful to you in the coming months too, before the baby arrives and you'll not have as much time for such things.
Good luck with it all.
At least you do have time on your side, and the best advice I can give is to start looking right away. If you put it off, those 18 months will creep up on you.
I'd also suggest trying to squeeze in a couple of courses that might be useful to you in the coming months too, before the baby arrives and you'll not have as much time for such things.
Good luck with it all.
pb wrote:
> Do I change career paths completely? Go into Journalism or something
> else perhaps? Continue with finance? And, of course, the big one,
> could I consider moving to Spain to live instead?
The inherent problem with changing careers is that you often start at the bottom rung. However talented a writer you may be if you persued a career as a journalist you'd still be looking at a lowly paid job in a local or regional paper whilst you prove your worth. Of course you may choose to specialise but the outcome would probably be the same. Being a computer games journalist sounds great but the reality is pay in the region of 12-14k. Not that there's anything "wrong" with that sort of pay but it's not much good if you're already financially "encumbered".
Moving abroad with a young familly is also risky, as unless you are confident that you can integrate quickly and pick up a job that you want to do (thus you'll need to be fluent in the language; speaking and writing). That said you must have chosen Spain for a reason so why not go for it? You've got 18 months to start planning for the change in your circumstances and maybe this is an opportunity to do something you'd really like to do. Maybe you could consider moving to an English speaking country like Canada, New Zealand etc, where there are skills shortages and immigration might be made easier. That said the skills shortages are usually in areas such as plumbing and so on, thus retraining would have to be done before making any application(s).
I'm in a similar scenario myself as I've got two months left of my contract and the job I'm filling is being advertised to Gov staff only. I'm therefore out of a job and the clock is ticking. There is an opportunity on the horizon but I'm not sure if I want to stay in the London area anyway.
Anyway best of luck (if that's the right phrase) and I hope everything comes together for you.
> Do I change career paths completely? Go into Journalism or something
> else perhaps? Continue with finance? And, of course, the big one,
> could I consider moving to Spain to live instead?
The inherent problem with changing careers is that you often start at the bottom rung. However talented a writer you may be if you persued a career as a journalist you'd still be looking at a lowly paid job in a local or regional paper whilst you prove your worth. Of course you may choose to specialise but the outcome would probably be the same. Being a computer games journalist sounds great but the reality is pay in the region of 12-14k. Not that there's anything "wrong" with that sort of pay but it's not much good if you're already financially "encumbered".
Moving abroad with a young familly is also risky, as unless you are confident that you can integrate quickly and pick up a job that you want to do (thus you'll need to be fluent in the language; speaking and writing). That said you must have chosen Spain for a reason so why not go for it? You've got 18 months to start planning for the change in your circumstances and maybe this is an opportunity to do something you'd really like to do. Maybe you could consider moving to an English speaking country like Canada, New Zealand etc, where there are skills shortages and immigration might be made easier. That said the skills shortages are usually in areas such as plumbing and so on, thus retraining would have to be done before making any application(s).
I'm in a similar scenario myself as I've got two months left of my contract and the job I'm filling is being advertised to Gov staff only. I'm therefore out of a job and the clock is ticking. There is an opportunity on the horizon but I'm not sure if I want to stay in the London area anyway.
Anyway best of luck (if that's the right phrase) and I hope everything comes together for you.
Good luck to the both of you... there's a horrible balance between responsibility and freedom, all those dreams and stuff. Keep us informed anyway.
Pandaemonium - that sucks :s Hope something good happens for u soon.
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