Archive » United Kingdom » American seeks work permit
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| YellowRose Junior Member Member # 5661 | Posted October 03, 2002 08:35 AM I have been in the UK for a year and a half as a student on an MA programme. I desperately want to stay in the UK, as my boyfriend is British and we (at 23) do not want to be forced to get married by immigration authorities. And of course it's almost impossible for him to get into the US. I have recently been granted a terminal 6-month extension so that I can 'finish' my dissertation; so now my focus date has been moved to 31 March 2003. I have been trying to find a job for about four months now seriously, and having sent about 200 applications plus numerous cold letters out, I have not gotten a single interview, although I did land a freelance job for two weeks (I am trying to get into media/publishing, as I am an English grad -- frown). I am NOT willing to work here illegally as a babysitter, and I am not eligible for Bunac, having not graduated from a US university in the past 6 months. I also cannot afford to take any more courses as the cheapest overseas fees hover around £2000 and I have about $40,000 in US federal loans looming over my head about next November. Also I don't see what the point would be to do something stupid just to stay here when it would in no way further my career. It would just be staying to stay, waiting to get married in about three years! Which would be ignorant. Does anybody know ANYTHING that might help me out of this quagmire? If I didn't already owe so much, I would go to seminary and become a priest in the CoE! Seriously!
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| Deleted Member Member # 128 | Posted October 03, 2002 11:17 AM It seems like your only option is to keep on trying to land a job. Unfortunately, the market is really bad at the moment for everybody (not only foreigners). |
| Nishant_111 Member Member # 4406 | Posted October 03, 2002 12:48 PM Hi there I am also in the same position as yours apart from the fact that I am a guy with no british girlfriend! I have also been granted to live here till May'2003 on the basis of my dissertation. I have been looking for job seriously from last 6-8 months but no good. Not even a single interview call! You have to find a UK employer who is ready to apply for your work permit and I think that it is literally impossible to find one. All I can say that keep looking! Thats what I am doing. I do not want to sound as if I am criticising but the work permit system in this country is not very supportive for people like us who have done a masters degree in this country! Wish you all the very best! -------------------- Many thanks, |
| Thorsten von Thyssen Member Member # 4397 | Posted October 03, 2002 02:48 PM quote: ... you still have five months to find a British girlfiend. -------------------- ----------------------------------- |
| lastman Member Member # 2776 | Posted October 03, 2002 04:25 PM With his ethnicity, five months is not enough.
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| Thorsten von Thyssen Member Member # 4397 | Posted October 03, 2002 04:45 PM Lastman, Why do you think that? -------------------- ----------------------------------- |
| YellowRose Junior Member Member # 5661 | Posted October 03, 2002 05:13 PM Thanks for responding -- I am glad to know someone else is having the exact same problem as me. It really sucks, doesn't it? But at this point, I'm going so out on a limb, I know I'm only doing it because of my boyfriend. Other than that I would go home where I could at least get an interview... and the weather and Mexican food wouldn't be too bad, either. |
| 18 Junior Member Member # 5654 | Posted October 03, 2002 06:15 PM Hi, YellowRose. Thanks for replying to my questions in the other post. I am also an English major, which doesn't seem to have many possibilities in the UK... I was thinking about Bunac, but I decided to try to find something more permanent. After reading about everyone else's hard times and looking at a few job sites, it seems the only way for me to stay in the UK longer than 6 months is go to school. (Or find a husband ) So I'll go for my Master's and see what happens after that. Just curious- where did you get yours? Someone sent me this website in one of my posts- I looked it over a bit, don't know how reliable it is, but you might want to check it out. They try to make potential employers more at ease with the work permit process by sending a letter- for a fee, of course. I think that you could do the same thing- just do a little browsing and find out about the wp process and forms, then compose your own letter and include it with your cv or application. Good luck! 18 |
| herman Member Member # 12 | Posted October 03, 2002 08:28 PM YellowRose: I know the IT market is currently in the pits, but there might still be a shortage of teachers. Have you considered investigating that? |
| YellowRose Junior Member Member # 5661 | Posted October 04, 2002 07:46 AM The deal with getting a master's is that, unless you plan to get a PhD, or at least teach English at a pretty good high school somewhere, you won't really get much bang for the buck, and that's a really expensive option (it's cost me about $30,000 for a one-year MA). However, it is cheaper than going to US private schools and cheaper than most state schools (unless you are in a state where it's really cheap and you want to go to that state's university). Especially as it only lasts one year rather than two or three. However, I think that overall this was a mistake (financially and career-wise, not knowledge-wise). I originally wanted to get a PhD and teach in a university but having done the MA I've realized that's not what I should be doing. But it's been SO MUCH money. I now owe a total of about $40,000 to the US government, and I see no job prospects at all. You might also check out one-year programs at smaller college-type places (sort of like our junior colleges). They are all over the country and you can get a qualification in something like multimedia design for about $2500. Much cheaper way to buy a visa. As to teaching to stay in the UK, it's my understanding that you have to be qualified wherever you came from or else get qualified here... another one-year course. And the reason I didn't go for qualification while I was doing my BA is that they pays sucks and I hate kids. :/ And I think I might get trapped there and never move on to something I am more interested in. I would rather go home. |
| YellowRose Junior Member Member # 5661 | Posted October 04, 2002 07:47 AM Also, Nishant, what sort of field are you looking to get into, just out of curiosity? Because if you've been looking for, say, an IT job for 8 months, then I can forget anything having to do with English. |
| Nishant_111 Member Member # 4406 | Posted October 04, 2002 10:46 AM Hi I am not looking for a job in hard core IT but yes something to do with IT. I am looking for a job in CRM which is a mix of IT and business strategy. I have had no luck so far but hope to get a job (only if the work permit rules ease a bit for people like us!). I wish you all the best for your future. By the way, if you come across anyting which might be of interest to me u can contact me at -contact_nishant@hotmail.com! Good Luck! -------------------- Many thanks, |
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