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GBP 45K annual offer it's importance

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hydviv
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GBP 45K annual offer it's importance

Post by hydviv » Sun Jan 30, 2011 4:28 pm

Folks,

I have had a very tricky situation..
I was offered a 45K job in Southern location Hampshire., (I knew it's a decent one for most persons in UK and have gone through the recession in the recent)

Was there someone around here who can give me a ballpark figure of how much will be the costs of living etc?
in few locations monthly GBP 1600-1800 per month were expenses mentioned but did not hear any from Hampshire though.

to give a little background about my current state in India., in PBS Tier1 application I got 135 points altogether.. (80 points are scored for Previous earnings)
Thus, I kind of reconsidering the decision whether to accept it as my savings in India are much better off to this one. Added to that this company is in no position for any relocation for me i.e., an added around 5K investment from me for setting up myself and my family up and running there..

On a single monetary basis comparision this offer would not stand with my current Indian one., But I wanted to know about other Pros and Cons before deciding on this offer one for all..
BTW I'm one of the last few who succeeded in getting Tier 1 Visa in Jan 2011 applied in Dec 2010.
Thus wanted to check since Tier1 gate is closed would be the possible future, few remaining Tier1's will have a less supply and overwhelming demand jobs or something?

could you please advise your suggestions/inputs for letting me more to conclude a decision..

Thanks,
HydViv

kenfrapin
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Post by kenfrapin » Sun Jan 30, 2011 5:56 pm

Hi HydViv,

Firstly, congrats on securing the job whilst being at home (assuming this from your post)
As you have a family, let me dive straight into the main issue at hand. While applying for jobs was your primary objective a new standard of life and experience in the UK with a long term plan of possibly settling here? Or was it purely for monetary gain? If you can answer this, then you will know what to do because running a family on £45k with no close family support will be expensive. If your partner can work as well, then keeping children in day care maybe an option but daycare too is really expensive.

Next to your question on living expenses. This is highly varied and very subjective so really no point in tabling it out. Even then, lets try to put a ballpark figure to give some idea
1. Furnished appts/houses - a quick check on rightmove shows plenty of flats/houses available in the range of £600 to £800
2. Council Tax and other bills - Council Tax will be around £120 to £140 based on the banding and is a fixed cost. Utilities like cable, broadband, telephone, mobile connections, water, electric/gas etc can be managed within £300 but thats completely down to your needs
3. Living expenses - I can safely say its comes to £100 a week for a couple and we spend well - eat out, lots of extra stuff, drinks, etc - For a family of 4 with small kids you can say this will be £150 or so a week so make it £600 a month.
4. Not sure why you may need £5k to set up life here? Rent deposit wont be more than 1.5 months rent and 1 month in advance so if you take a flat for £600 - you will pay a max of £2100 up front. Counting flight tickets into this then yes, you may need upto £5k

Checking on listentotaxman, £45k translates to approx £2730 a month and if you minus the above you end up with a saving of £1230 not counting any other expenses like holidays, buying accessories, trips, fuel costs if a car, travel to work etc. You have not mentioned if your package includes an annual bonus, performance appraisal etc which can add to your net savings.

Even assuming a savings of £1000 which is, at the moment, just Rs 63k, you can gauge if this makes financial sense to you. Keep in mind the 'hidden' cons of being far away from your family, much colder weather for family to get used to, different schooling system, quite expensive labour charges, expensive tickets during school holidays to go to India etc etc

The pros, not taking into account whether you are saving more or less, is a chance of a different kind of life, lot more family and personal compared to most Indian jobs (you may have a great work life balance in India now and if so then this does not count), a lot more opportunities in the long term for you and your children and better chances to travel/explore the world.

My advice would be to pay heed to the financial gain/loss as this is a major factor when you have a young family. If, however, you plan to settle here and are ready to take on challenges to get accustomed to a new way of life, then you can manage with £45k. In a few years, you will build your experience and can probably move to a job paying more - even today, skilled people easily get jobs for £60k so its not a lost cause. Also, in time, your partner too can work (of course, Im assuming she does not and wants to continue working)

Finally on what I would do - if I had a job that paid me a lot more being in my home country including more net savings, closer to family, an above middle class style of life, not too many invasive relatives eating my head and a good work/life balance then I would not make the move given I have a young family to support - mainly because this is just MY opinion and with all this, life in India is beautiful too. I may miss out on some luxuries and organized lifestyle that the UK provides but its not such a big thing that you cant live without :-)

Wish you the very best
KP

Mesam6
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Post by Mesam6 » Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:22 pm

Hi,

I am in a similar situation to yours in that I am being offered a job in Southampton in Hampshire as well with roughly the same salary.

The figure of 1600-1800 seems to be a bit over what my calculations are but then it depends. In my case it is just me and my wife so there are no childcare costs and we can make do with a 1 bedroom apartment. In case you have kids, the figure seems about right.

Most costs in Hampshire would be the same as elsewhere in UK however apartment costs are a bit lower. The average 1 room apartment in Southampton is between 450-600 depending on location and other factors like wheter it is furnished or not.

As to the question of whether to move or not, it really depends on what you want for your future and what kind of career path you envisage having in the Uk vis-a-vis what you have in India and how does the job in question support that. Also look at the kind of company you will be working for and how big it is. In my case, it is a big one with a good career path with lots of opportunities and stuff like regular rotations and professional development courses as you progress. Moreover, as Ken rightly pointed out, being in the Uk just opens up a lot more doors for you and, more importantly, for your kids.

Best of luck with your decision.

Regards,
Mesam.

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ashishashah
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Post by ashishashah » Mon Jan 31, 2011 8:04 am

out of 2700 Odd, you can save 800/900 GBP with 1 BHK flat...That includes every thing...(I won't be breaking down the 1900 GBP expenses ,but i have statyed in Uk for close to 4-5 years at various locations ,so you can count on me)..

I have repeated this several times on this forum,DONT COME/GO TO UK ONLY FOR FINANCIAL PURPOSE..YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED...Some one with a packahge of 15-18 lacs per annum in India can save more..

HOWEVER, not slogging for for 14 hours a day,almost zero office polictics, cleaner air, more time for family/kids etc are few of the benefits there..
You will really LIVE your life(In India , i see techies just slogging and comparing their salaries and jumping jobs at gthe first instance ..No green space for re-creation..Even in lunch times, weekends people discuss about their bosses etc)..This wont be true for ALL indian IT cos, but hey, ihave spent 14 years in IT (with some of the 'big' Indian IT cos),so can vouch for this.
So its your call ,Personal time versus staying away from family/friends/parents (money is almost same in UK & India)

gotcha
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Post by gotcha » Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:18 pm

ashishashah wrote:out of 2700 Odd, you can save 800/900 GBP with 1 BHK flat...That includes every thing...(I won't be breaking down the 1900 GBP expenses ,but i have statyed in Uk for close to 4-5 years at various locations ,so you can count on me)..
Ashish, have you considered that, offer is not in London. If somebody requires £1800 to £1900 per month outside London, he/she is definitely living life king size, not in 1 bedroom.

In my opinion, £45 K is quite good in this scenario and outside London. As mentioned by other posters.

It's a different matter if OP is earning significantly high amount in India. It boils down to personnel expectation, then.

hydviv
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GBP 45K annual offer it's importance

Post by hydviv » Mon Jan 31, 2011 4:54 pm

Folks,

Thanks for all your responses.. They were indeed very good gestures..
Special mention to KP/Ken who gives thought provoking responses to many of such queries..
I love one of his post that reads "whether you want to being 50 when your actual age is 30 and vice versa.."

BTW I was there in UK for 3 weeks and returned with
this offer!! (Had this been 50K offer or 5K additional relocation bonus.. I would not have posted this query.. I wud have been in UK returning to Job)

My intentions initially were to work there for 5 Years and come back for good when my Kid is ready to go to high school..

Having said this., The offer is still like a hole in my pocket!!(There are no Bonuses etc)

The extra 5K(savings after tax) I need to put for initial settlement (Visa fees for spouse, Kid, Flight tickets, Advance for Rent etc) were straight forward ripoffs and with these in mind, 45K soon became like a 38K offer.
Besides for a Visa extention in 2013 I need a package of 55K or above otherwise I dont qualify..

As the Visa is valid for next 2 Years I decided to let go this one now and possibly find few that offer Relocation (there are few large companies that pay generous relocation around 5K) in the coming days/weeks..

Cheers,
Hydviv

vp77
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Post by vp77 » Tue Feb 01, 2011 11:12 am

Friends - hydviv and Mesam6


Request you to please share your job search and offer experience. I am trying to search a job there from India.

Mesam6
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Posts: 57
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:22 pm

Post by Mesam6 » Tue Feb 01, 2011 12:42 pm

Rules for the road for searching for jobs from your home country:

1- Have your travel documentation, i.e. passport and TB certificate ready and up to date in case you are called up at any time.

2- Get a UK sim. Here I think there is a divided opinion as to wether you go for a Skype number or a UK mobile operator. Skype happens to be a bit cheaper but recruiters can figure out that in most cases, a Skype number means you are outside UK. In my case I went with a Vodafone sim. It is expensive but definately worth it.

3- Work on your CV and cover letter. Your CV is the one thing that will set you apart from the legions of other candidates. Moreover, don't apply for every job under the sun. Apply for the ones that you know you specialize in. For example: While i can probably do an Auditor-related job, I would never apply for one as it does not align with my desired career path and it is not somthing I can add as much value as I could in job like a financial modelling expert.

4- Be systematic about your job search. In my case, I made a list of companies on excel and checked each after i went through its careers website and made a note of which positions I applied for.

5- Identify the top specialist recruiters in your field and focus on the vacancies they advertise as these are the ones the actual employers are likely to use as well.

6- Ensure that you can come to UK for an interview at a 1 or 2 week's notice and set aside some funds for this purpose. In my case, I was called on 29th Dec. and told I had to attend an assessment center in one week's time. Luckily I had planned for this so I had the money set aside to fund the ticket and hotel stay costs.

7- Be sure that you can financially manage going to the UK a couple of times for a series of interviews. I was lucky enough to get selected during my first visit so it worked out ok in the end but had it not worked out, I would have quit my job and come to the UK in 3-4 months time once my CIMA was done as applying once you are in the UK is much easier to manage.

8- Keep on enhancing your skillset in relation to what is in demand in the UK. My field is Finance and I started with my CIMA qualification 2 years back when I didn't even have a visa. The result was that during the time when i applied for my spouse visa and then fought to appeal the initial decision of the ECO to deny my visa, I was enhancing my skillset by passing all my CIMA exams. End result: Once I got the visa, I had the right skills, experience and professional certifications that made me stand out in the candidate pool.

9- Work on your communications skills. This includes verbal, non-verbal and written communication. This is especially important if employers assess you in relation to key non-technical compentencies, in addition to technical ones.

Apart from this, I guess you just have to apply and adapt your actions based on what your experiences are.

Best of luck with your job search.

Regards,
Mesam.

mrnngmist
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@MESSAM

Post by mrnngmist » Sat Feb 05, 2011 10:26 am

Hi Messam, can you please clarify about the TB Certificate ?

Mesam6
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Post by Mesam6 » Sat Feb 05, 2011 1:27 pm

Hi,

When you enter the UK, you need to show a certificate stating that you have been checked for TB (Tuberculosis). The check normally just invloves getting your X-Ray taken. Here in Pakistan, the TB certificate is issued by the IOM (Intl. Organization of Migration) and is valid for 6 months.

My reference to the TB certificate was in relation to it not being expired. In case your TB certificate is nearing its expiry date, I strongly recommend you get it renewed.

Regards,
Mesam.

rajmycontact
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Location: UK

Post by rajmycontact » Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:05 am

Hi Hydviv,

I am assuming you are working in IT sector and hence my answer is based on this assumption as I am also working in IT and know the UK market quite well.

First of all congrats for being the lucky one to catch the train to Tier1. I do not see that in future you will get this opportunity to catch this train again as the route is closed for ever...(Magic could happen ..no gaurantee as one shd see present!!)

Now coming to the point...with 20LK per annum package in India is it good to come here on 45K?

You have to ask yourself few questions which can help to identify your long term goal?

1) What life you want to give yourself and your family? Do you feel happy to see yourself struggling in traffic for 1 hours or fight for a space in first class compartment in mumbai train for daily travel to work in south mumbai and not alergic to dust?
2) Do you want to struggle for your kids quality education by running from pillar to pillar for best school (as u can afford) but still have to pay hefty donation?
3) Do you want to help your wife to pursue her career even when you do not have family support at home meaning even when nobody from urs or ur wife family side can support u to raise kid?
4) Do you want to enjoy a quality time with your wife and kid even when ur wife is working and u are working and kid is at crash?
5) Do you want to be close to india but still want to earn forex with good multipier?
6) Do you want to see many prospects and avenues being open to you...for upcoming opportunities?

and the list goes on...

If the answer to most of the question is yes then ...would say do an introspection ..as UK calling is ringing.

In UK all permanent jobs above 50K are quite difficult to get ..but once you in 50K bracket ..there is no way for you to turn down ..u will climb up and up ...what I have seen in the market is ..u will earn more as a contractor then u would earn as permanent employee but it depends on the stream which you working.
I guy with 7+ years of experience in Siebel, SAP working as developer or functional analyst as a contractor is earning 550 pounds a day ..this is the invoice which is paid to contractor ..(very authentic info) now ..out of 550 the agent wud take 7-10% cut and govt will take 30-35%cut as tax ..this will atleast make u earn atleast 6K and above per month INHAND
If you open up ur own company then u can save tax liability and being self-employed can have more share of what u earn as contractor into ur account.

You can see even for business analyst with 3-5 years of experience they can make minimum of 350pound a day (I am considering you to be atleast 10 years exp..so u will be on higher side)
The same is the remuneration for Project managers with 8-10 years of experience ..in case u r arthitect u can make 700-800 pound a day.

Now if the same 10 years of experience guy who is architect goes and hunts permanent job then he can go max upto 70K...
So my suggestion wud be don't baselined 45K as what u can get ...if ur skills are unique u can really dig the gold here ...and due to restriction now on tier1 such skills will already be in demand.

Point2:
Schooling is pretty straight forward ..say u r going to work in South hampton...then select few nearby sub-urbs and do a research on the school
Go to this site and do research on the best schools
http://www.upmystreet.com/local/schools ... mpton.html

Look at the grading of the schools and also see ofsted inspection report for the selected schools ..choose the best graded school being mentioned in ofsted and make sure they are public or funded by govt. Call the school directly to see if there is a place for ur child ..and then contact ur local council representative to get ur child place booked in that school...and based on the school make sure that u rent an apartment in nearby zipcode which are served by that school. (Choose school first and then rent an apartment based on the zipcode served by school)

Point3
Ur wife can work and still can manage home ..as here u will find flexible hours ..people come early at office 7AM and can leave for home by 3PM-4PM and u can choose to go late by 9AM after dropping ur kid and ur wife can pick the kid up while u can come late and leave office by 5PM (9-5PM). Note most of the schools here have crache ..and they charge additional 20 pound per day if crache is in school. In case crache is managed separetly by another organisation then u can assume it would go max upto 50 pounds a day.

Point4
I consider this to be the most important point ...to be true we have already spend half of life struggling ..i mean 30s already passed now i believe atleast give 10 years of best life to ur family ...quality life ...clean atmosphere, secure atmosphere...and add ons...

Point5
Conversion of 70+ really counts when it comes to savings in GBP ..if both of u r working and having quality time with ur kids then..its like jannat !!

Point 6
I see many opportunities in UK with respect to work..if u r proven and have good experience ..u can excel here ..initial hiccups are everywhere but once u gain momentum ...there will be no looking back. Don't baseline and assume that 45K is what u can get ...just take that as starting fuel ..once u reach here and get settled then start hunting again ..relocation is not a problem for u or kids as school can be transferred in middle of session...finding a good school and selection on area to live is big task.

If u need any additional inputs ..let me know i can pm u my mobile number. Between Me and my wife both are working ..with similar attributes as yours ...but I see uk as destination from long term perspective.

Cheers
Raj
Last edited by rajmycontact on Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:20 am, edited 4 times in total.

rajmycontact
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Post by rajmycontact » Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:06 am

Sorry for the long post

hydviv
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GBP 45K annual offer it's importance

Post by hydviv » Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:22 pm

Rajmycontact,

Thanks for your lengthy reply.. I appreciate your patience..
Actually when I was thinking of not taking that offer earlier., the UK Company offered me few relocation incentives additionally..
<BTW I Posted another thread about Financial Year stuff and I confirmed my UK joining plans in that>
Add to it as you rightly said, my family also deserved developed nation living experience.. which so far only I'm experienced of ..

Only thing if at all my concern would be, that will kick in after 20 months..
When I have to renew my Tier1, I need a minimum 55K salary for that.. Possibly for that year I either work overtime every week or leave for good to India at the Visa expiry.. But it's still little far to think about.

For vp77 or others asking my experience of how I got job? Well I have lined up 2 interviews before that trip and I was offered in the second one..
., I used to seach my skillset in jobs sites and apply all those that match my experience.. <Just as a measure there used to be around 30 Jobs matching my skillset keyword everytime I seach> My CV has a Vodafone Pay as you go UK Number though>
Neverthless as mentioned in this forum., One needs to do the planning of attending the interviews F2F in UK. I did n't quite hear if any of the companies want to schedule just telephonic and shortlist for the job

Regards,
Hydviv.

faru22
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Post by faru22 » Tue Feb 15, 2011 11:00 am

hey rajmycontact,
just read ur post written to hydviv.it wazzz sooo good.i tottally agree to u.
i will be travelling to UK in april 2011,after resigning my job in india,Is this a wise decision ? m a .net professional.m just nt getting through jobs in uk from india.i have a good 9+yrs of asp.net experience.plzzz help me out:(
some good suggestions needed.if i dnt come nw,then i wont be able to arrange for the required amount needed for my tier-1 extension.plzz help.hwz the .net market in uk??

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