I am seriously considering leaving the UK!

[Jon]

Hell yes!

Didn't enjoy it at all. The fees agencies charge are scandalous. 15 - 20% of the candidate's starting salary. So if you've got someone starting on ££30k, that's £4500 - £6000 the agency gets. No wonder it's so cut throat.

Yeah I picked up to the industry and its dirty tactics very early on thanks to the ukcontractor forum and just flat out refused to give over any information until I had been offered a job

I know at some places they were creaming £9 an hour off my hourly wage and that went on for over a year!!!

 

[Chammy]

I'm forever considering moving to the Isle of Man, and have come close a few times.

The husband would love for us to move to Canada but not a chance I would be that far away from my Mum. I don't think I could ever move out of the UK for fear of not having the NHS, school system etc.

We are lucky enough to be in social housing though the annual rent increases are bringing our rent closer to that of private rental. At the moment we could spend £100 a month more to be in a more desirable area in a private house (and the rent is due to go up again in April); we often considered giving the house up.

As to other things in life.

House: Already said we don't own, hope to start saving over the next few years
Car: We do own but after 4 years of finance was paid off
Holiday: I haven't been on one in almost 5 years, not even a week away in the UK. Husband went to Tunisia last year for 2 weeks but only because his mum passed away and his Dad paid for him to take her place.
Baby: We have one, the other has been in the making for 5 years and as of this week has officially been taken off the cards.
Marriage: We did it for £5k, it was a nice mid-budget wedding which my mum forked up about £3k of it for (she paid for catering, my dress and my sister's dress).

 

[Chammy]

Get him to take to take the less pay but more secure jobs

Play the long game - he won't be on that wage forever and it is in the area he wants to work

I couldn't recommend this more!!! 5 years ago my husband made the drop from £16.5k+ (with as much overtime as he wanted) at McDonald's to around £13k on an apprenticeship with BT. He has just applied and been accepted onto a new role within the company that will see him on more than double what he was on 5 years ago.

 

[sparkleandshine]

Yes that's what he's had to do to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. We can't afford for him to drop any lower than what he earns now though. Were only just scraping by as it is!

I saw a job today that would have been perfect for me as an add on to my current 10 hours a week, as a social media and events manager, 7 hours a week, but the deadline had passed! But I applied for it anyway, you never know, sometimes jobs seem to have your name on them and you end up getting them, against all odds, so who knows, maybe its one of those!

I worked through agencies for years in secretarial roles. I remember the pay being quite good, but it was frustrating not having the same sickness, pension, holiday and maternity pay rights as permanent employees had. I spent years looking for a permanent job and never managed to get one! That's why I ended up ditching secretarial work and going into sales instead

 

[Jon]

I took a MASSIVE drop in pay when I went from contracting to perminant work

I accepted that and accepted that I could work my way up the ladder. I also accepted that it wasn't going to happen overnight and it may be a few years until I get the pay I want.

If he has spent a few years getting the degree then a few more year working in that sector, maybe at a lesser pay level than he wants at the start will be nothing

 

[Jon]

Yes that's what he's had to do to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. We can't afford for him to drop any lower than what he earns now though. Were only just scraping by as it is!

I saw a job today that would have been perfect for me as an add on to my current 10 hours a week, as a social media and events manager, 7 hours a week, but the deadline had passed! But I applied for it anyway, you never know, sometimes jobs seem to have your name on them and you end up getting them, against all odds, so who knows, maybe its one of those!

I worked through agencies for years in secretarial roles. I remember the pay being quite good, but it was frustrating not having the same sickness, pension, holiday and maternity pay rights as permanent employees had. I spent years looking for a permanent job and never managed to get one! That's why I ended up ditching secretarial work and going into sales instead

Ok but currently he is unhappy and not earning as much as he wants

Would it not be better if he was happy but maybe earning less but only at the start

 

[sparkleandshine]

It was a history degree Jon, they all want you to work for free! Its all unpaid internships in museums on no money whatsoever! He was badly advised he should have done history and...something which would help him get a job...history and it, history and teaching, history and accountancy, something like that. But what's done is done. If I was working more he could take an (even) lower wage or do another course I suppose.

You sound like you're in a similar place to me chammy I hadn't thought of the isle of man or Canada, both have the advantage of being English speaking!

Are apprenticeships even an option for 40 something year old graduates?

 

[Chammy]

It was a history degree Jon, they all want you to work for free! Its all unpaid internships in museums on no money whatsoever! He was badly advised he should have done history and...something which would help him get a job...history and it, history and teaching, history and accountancy, something like that. But what's done is done. If I was working more he could take an (even) lower wage or do another course I suppose.

You sound like you're in a similar place to me chammy I hadn't thought of the isle of man or Canada, both have the advantage of being English speaking!

Are apprenticeships even an option for 40 something year old graduates?

It depends on the company, the ones you see offering £3-odd an hour are best avoided if you're over 25 and have a level 3 qual or above but some companies such as BT & IBM offer them to all as they pay above the apprenticeship minimum. It's a case of doing your research.

The IOM appeals to me as I am Manx so a) we could move there without a problem (permits etc) and b) being 30 minutes away from the sea is a dream for me. The practical side though is what stops us; extortionate rents, utility prices and limited jobs. I'm waiting for my Aunt and Uncle to retire over there then we can pop over and visit any time haha

 

[Jon]

It was a history degree Jon, they all want you to work for free! Its all unpaid internships in museums on no money whatsoever! He was badly advised he should have done history and...something which would help him get a job...history and it, history and teaching, history and accountancy, something like that. But what's done is done. If I was working more he could take an (even) lower wage or do another course I suppose.

You sound like you're in a similar place to me chammy I hadn't thought of the isle of man or Canada, both have the advantage of being English speaking!

Are apprenticeships even an option for 40 something year old graduates?

Sounds to me the like the extra income needs to come from you - luckily because you only currently do 10 hours a week you are in a position to help

 

[Twiggy]

I would not recommend this unless it is in a person's heart, but if you have a degree you can do PGCE teacher training for a year (well about 9 months) to be a high school teacher. I did this in the 1990's and was paid a salary of £600 a month to train, and no fees. I am not sure if it has all changed now. Not a high amount of money, but then many schools in England are crying out for secondary school teachers and so the chance of getting a job with security at the end is quite high.

Science subjects were getting a 'golden handshake' of £6k upfront too because there was such a shortage at the time. This was over 15 years ago and under Labour of course.

I soon found it wasn't for me, but i did do some relief work for an agency and was going into schools as a relief teacher in the late 90's and being given a cheque at the end of the day for £130, and I just had to turn ap at 9 and could leave at 3. Of course this was higher paid due to no sick pay / hol pay etc.

It's not for everyone though!

 

[RickyRaj]

Interesting to read your comments on this topic and some good points made.

I'm holding off on a better paid job, which would greatly reduce the financial burdens, because I have great flexibility in this role (being able to work from home, come in late, leave early as long as I make the time up). My kids need me right now and I want to be there for them. I also get to travel a bit which I haven't been able to in previous roles.

About a year I became aware that I could earn more but the roles wanted and expected a lot more out of you. I decided that the trade off for a good wage over a good relationship with my kids (even if they are brats sometimes - see my other posts) was not worth it.

I hope things work out for you Sparkleandshine.

 

[sparkleandshine]

Well done on completing your pgce twiggy I did two terms of mine and then was asked to leave the course so clearly teaching wasn't for me! He's looked into it but again the money didn't add up, basically I would be expected to support him whilst he did it...and a scary statistic, apparently so many history graduates are now doing pgces your chance of getting a permanent teaching job after completing the course is only one in six, so a very different picture than it is for maths and sciences where they are crying out for teachers

 

[Jon]

Can you not support him while he does it?

I mean realistically you need to look at other work from home opportunities rather than running yourself into the ground doing MLM type stuff

 

[sparkleandshine]

I'm going to Jon, ideally what I really wanted was to move away from home working and find a part time job outside the home that was up to 30 hours a week during school hours but it seems to be like searching for the holy grail. I've got one that's 9 hours a week at the moment on a good hourly rate but its just not enough hours.

It sounds like we're coming from the same place rickyraj my daughter's well being comes first, hence the decision to only work during school hours, but its been a rockier ride than I ever imagined it would be!

 

[Jon]

Every Mum under the sun wants that term time only school hours job


What's more important - the job role or the hours? If it's the hours then look at working in school kitchens something

 

[sparkleandshine]

The hours. And I've actually done that, worked in a school kitchen, i only did a term, I hated it!

 

[Jon]

The hours. And I've actually done that, worked in a school kitchen, i only did a term, I hated it!

Oh dear - what did you hate? What about being a cleaner at the school or a lunchtime assistant

Sorry I don't know you background in terms of your working background

 

[sparkleandshine]

All the washing up!!! Its one of my pet hates in life anyway so you can imagine! Definitely the wrong job for me!

I'm in a school now as a lunchtime supervisor, looking after other people's kids isn't really my thing either but it beats washing up! And the little ones are quite sweet and they make us laugh, they come out with the funniest things sometimes!

 

[Stims]

I was considering recruitment as a career as its one of the only places i manage to land interviews! Changed my mind after doing some research.

 

[stellajose]

I lived in Spain for a few years and OMG, it is harder to live and make ends meet. Everywhere in Europe spends a larger proportion of their income on groceries. E.g. in the UK, we spend 20% or something, in Spain, Italy, France, anywhere, it's over 50%. Cost of living is way more compared to income.

Looking back, I don't know how we did it. I was working for 63336 and Lionbridge and DH was managing bars - he worked 16 hours a day with one day off a week, for 6 euros an hour! At the time we thought he was lucky - the bar staff were on 5 euros an hour and only worked a few hours a day, while my DH at least ran a few bars. But gosh, it was hard work looking back. We still struggled - the culture in Spain is to sit outside bars but that requires buying coffees etc and I couldn't afford to, neither could my English friends.

The one positive is that it is super easy to make friends. You can arrive there one day and have a circle of friends by the end of the first week. It's very Eastenders. I do miss the community feel, but I could never afford to live there, and I certainly wouldn't want to bring my children up there - every family I knew that lived there ended up with their grown-up children working in bars for 5 euros an hour, because the parents couldn't afford the uni education, anything like that.