I thought I would write a quick update as I have been here in the UK since April 2016 and have finally landed a professional role in a field I very much want to work in. It took me 6 months to find anything to do for work, and at that point I accepted a nanny position as that was what I had been doing in the US before I moved. I worked that position for a year (part-time) and I spent a year volunteering for an organization in the field I wanted to be in (social services/ social work, specifically an organization working with victims of domestic violence). I got to go to lots of trainings and I got some basic UK qualifications that I needed as a nanny but are for working with children in general (DBS check, Paediatric First Aid, registering with Ofsted). I built up a great UK reference, and kept in contact with relevant US ones. I gave notice to my current nanny role, as I have been with them a year and that was my goal, and applied to 2 jobs with the hope that one of them would pan out. I just got hired as a Children's Worker to work with children in a refuge and schools who are affected by domestic violence. It is a post that will last up to 12 months covering for a maternity leave. So, I will be out of a job in a years’ time, but I am planning to go back to school then or to find another role in the organization I will be working for. I believe it will be much easier to find another job with this under my belt, so I am not at all worried.
I'm just writing this to give others who may be in a similar position to how I was a year ago. No job, everyone rejecting you, no UK qualifications or references, no hope. It got me pretty down. I will be making the same salary that I made as a new college graduate 13 years ago, but I am making a decent salary for my first professional UK job and I honestly don't care. I never registered with employment agencies, I think that would have helped, but I chose my own path and it seems to be finally working out.
