Hi I am interested in some information from other
travellers.
I am 22 and really wanting to leave my boring office job and
go see some of the world. I would like to go to the UK and
work and travel. I would like to know about the costs of
living in England and how easy it is to find work etc.
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There is heaps of work in the UK and you shouldn't have
any trouble getting a job. Pick up a free copy of the TNT
magazine (outside most tube stations) and there you will be
able to start a search for work and a place to stay.
As for accommodation - it is very expensive In fact, living in
England is very expensive. Bear in mind that the further
away you go from London the cheaper it gets to live, but
your pay could be quite a bit lower as well.
To live in London, I would say, you could find a dumpy
bedsit for about 110 pounds within zones 1 or 2. It won't be
nice or quiet though!!
If you go further out and share a place, you could pay as
little as 30 pounds. You just have to look.
I'm doing what you want to do - left my boring job and am
now working in London. It's expensive, that's for sure,
but easier to manage once you get a job that pays pounds.
If you can type about 50 WPM you can get a temp job for
about 8 pounds an hour at the least, which is enough to
survive and save a little for the next leg of your
journey. I've been here since Feb and am now staying at
least a year. It's an exciting place to live, come on
over!!
i am thinking of working in the u.k. too, so i can save
some money to see the rest of europe.
When you say type 50 wpm, is that all you have to do for a
temp job, or do you have to have clerical skills. I have
never had an office job, but i can type really fast (55-
60wpm) and am a fast learner. should i start practicing
typing now, take a class, what should i do to improve my
employment prospects.
Also, to work in pubs, do you need experience or do they
teach you on the job?
i would be interested to hear from people who have worked
in the u.k. and what are the rates of pay.
You can get temp jobs easily enough if you have the right
attitude (cheerful, flexible, willing) and aren't a
complete moron. They normally send you out on a few crappy,
short term jobs first to see how you get on, but if people
like you, then the agencies will soon start giving you
better jobs. You don't have to be a brilliant typist (I'm
not!) or super-experienced, but if you've used a few
different WP packages it will help you get a foot in the
door. "Word" seems to be the most widely used these days.
.
Remember the UK isn't just London, why not consider some
other cities such as Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Oxford,
Cambridge, Bristol, Brighton etc., etc.
I have loads of friends from your neck of the wood and they
are all loving it here. Some of temping; some have "proper"
jobs... The more skills you have, the better.
I spent a few months living and working in London. As it
was a last minute decision to stay in the UK, I did not
have a visa (I'm American)and this posed some problems.
Friends with visas got office temp work with decent pay, I
worked for a few weeks in a coffee/sandwich shop for an
awful boss who cheated me out of the little pay I was
supposed to get, and made my life hell while I was there.
Quit, but by this time had a flatmate from London who had
connections to get me a better waitressing job in Clapham.
London is expensive, but wonderful. Look for jobs and
flats in LOOT, a daily paper found all over London and on
the web. Good luck.