Jeffery Savio,
All posts have addressed the current situation aptly and I guess you are not realizing a few hard truths
1. First and foremost, the UK is not what you only hear about on the TV and read in books. There is a lot more that is not seen or known but still quite nice or quite bad depending on what those are - London is a city where everyone wants to get their big break. If you have a job for £40k, the lower side, its certain you may not work long hours and its a standard job role. If you have a job for £80k, there are long work hours, bigger commitments and goals and very little time for personal life. Couple that with office politics, stiff competition and back stabbing, a person getting paid £100k surely goes through hell to earn that amount. This is very similar to all big metros
2. Yes, there are a million adverts on job portals. What you are not factoring in is that there are so many MBA students graduating from good UK colleges who also look at the same jobs on the same portals. So, for a nice plush £70k job, that matches your profile, there are atleast 50 other MBA profiles in London itself looking at the same job and hoping they get it
3. From above, competition is tough and in most posts from sensible forum members you will see this being repeated over and over again. There are always great jobs here for a good candidate. As one poster so rightly said, you can land a job within 1 week or end up waiting 6 months for your right job - it all depends on you and how good you are
4. If you get fed up waiting and run out of money, then you have to work to be able to pay off monthly bills and buy your food so picking a part time job either in retail or services is not uncommon nor is it bad
5. Many people prefer to keep trying to get a good job for £60k - I am talking of an MBA candidate trying in London now - rather than settling for a £40k job without any challenge. So the competition for the plush or well paid jobs is always a lot more
6. Even if you want to start off with a simple office role there is competition. But with your MBA and exp you stand a better chance in securing that offer. Keep in mind that just like you, there are many more people here who have experience but made redundant and dont mind taking up any job just so to earn some money to keep things going.
Finally a very important point which I keep stressing - Why do you want to come to London?
1. If you plan to settle down in UK and live here for the next 10-15 years, then you can start off in any job and as you gain experience and build contacts, you can move to much better roles
2. If you are just coming to make quick bucks then think twice. 3 years exp with an MBA degree may not help you land the best of jobs because there are fresh grads from the top 10 UK colleges who may have the upper hand and steal the job you want. Senior level MBA jobs are given to people with solid work exp of 10+ years
Given the current economic situation, the huge influx of skilled workers from Europe and Asia, a smaller job market compared to the one pre-2008, it does not make sense to leave a good and well paying job in India and come here. Again, in your specific case, 3yrs exp may be less for a senior MBA role.
In the end, it is all upto you how you shape your success in London. If you have the skills and are determined you will succeed, there is no doubt about that. But you need to have the patience and the grit to put up with all the hurdles and dont give up half way through.
All the best to you - and if you want to give London a try, you have to come over and experience it - no amount of information is ever enough. Things are definitely difficult but there are people who still get really good jobs everyday!!!
KP
