discouraged by book's advice

Hi all.  I am planning on joining my wife in England next month if we can get the visa/ilr. 
I picked up a copy of Living and Working in Britain last night and stayed up until the wee hours with it.  The author seems to say that unless you have some sort of degree or other qualifications, you are SOL finding a job.  Especially if you are Chronologically Enhanced.  ( When I was little my mom woke me up to see Mr. Armstrong step onto the Lunar surface, on the B/W telly. I appreciate it a lot more now than I did then.)

Is the author correct?  It does seem that most of the forum posts I have read regarding quick hires have been by IT professionals and other degreed folks.  I have lots of work experience, but most of it is in manufacturing (might as well be a slide rule expert)printing, and shipping/receiving.    I have about 47 college credits here with a 4.0 GPA and planned to attend school part-time in the UK. If, however,  I can't get by until I graduate, well, sad to say, I guess it's time to start looking for another place here.  My wife has experience and excellent references, but really, the rate of pay for most of the available jobs there is, what's the English word? Oh yea, crap.

I am so bitter about being made redundant (along with 1200 others), that I repeatedly cut rants out of this post.  If it is still edgy, my apologies.  I need to go vent elsewhere.

A lot of people who wanted us to move to England said it wouldn't be hard to find a job, but of course they were speaking from their hearts and not their heads. They don't really have any leads or solid advice.  If anyone here does, it would be appreciated.  I don't expect job leads.  But if anyone has an encouraging personal story to tell, I could use one about now. 

Have a good day.  Time for me to turn in.

Job searching can be discouraging anywhere! I think it is so frustrating when we know we can do a job and can even be good at a job and just need someone to give us a chance! When I moved here (England) it took a few months before I could even get an interview for jobs that I had 8+ years experience. However; when it rained it poured. I ended up with a few jobs from which to choose. I think if you aren't too picky and want to get your foot in the door you will find a job---just don't expect it to be overnight. Good Luck with whatever route you decide to take.

Helena

I think if you aren't too picky and want to get your foot in the door you will find a job---

I dont know what sort of job you'd be looking for, but i have no degree, and no college credits, and i got a job (in a call centre) the first day i went out looking.   So, like the poster above said... if you're not picky, jobs are out there! 

If you're here on a visa that allows you to work, then it's not that hard.  If you, however, need work permit sponsorship, then it is much more difficult. 

Age discrimination can be more of an issue here, especially in certain fields, and there's no serious legislation to prevent it yet.  It does happen, particularly in corporate settings. 

I take it from previous posts you will be on a spouse visa right? which means you can work in any job.  So you should be able to find some kind of work. On the age factor, my husband is a similar age to you and has a good job here in his chosen field - although we moved to another city for it.  Of course it will depend whereabouts you are and what kind of work you want to do but it's possible to gte temp work straight away if you want to. 

I had no problem getting a job - and I'm not a "degreed" person.  Just someone who has been doing the same job for what feels like a very very long time...

Just keep in mind if you move over here, you are literally starting all over again, in more ways than you can imagine. Something to weigh when you are going over the pros and cons of making the leap.

Thanks to all for the advice and encouragement.  I may be receiving a job offer here soon, so the stakes have been raised considerably. 

When I was in my twenties, I followed my heart and was bold and adventurous.  I think that may well be why I am now in my forties and unemployed.   

There is a fine line between adventure and folly, and oft it cannot be seen until the outcome is clear.

Well ,as my dear Mom taught me, when the going gets tough, the tough get something good to eat.  Half pound bacon cheesebuger sounds good ummmmmmm....  Sometimes American excess is just what ya need.

Thanks to all for the advice and encouragement.  I may be receiving a job offer here soon, so the stakes have been raised considerably. 

When I was in my twenties, I followed my heart and was bold and adventurous.  I think that may well be why I am now in my forties and unemployed.   

There is a fine line between adventure and folly, and oft it cannot be seen until the outcome is clear.

Well ,as my dear Mom taught me, when the going gets tough, the tough get something good to eat.  Half pound bacon cheesebuger sounds good ummmmmmm....  Sometimes American excess is just what ya need.

I like the way you think!

Hi there.........

I didn't have any experience of anything when I came over..I worked in fast food places..a receptionist..

But when I came over here I worked in a gift shop and worked my way up to asst. manager...then moved with in the same company and became receptionist and customer service manager..then moved on to become a travel agent..and have been doing that for 5 yrs now..self taught and I can now claim the title of Senior Travel Agent...

So don't be discouraged..I bet you will find something great..

Hi there.........

I didn't have any experience of anything when I came over..I worked in fast food places..a receptionist..

But when I came over here I worked in a gift shop and worked my way up to asst. manager...then moved with in the same company and became receptionist and customer service manager..then moved on to become a travel agent..and have been doing that for 5 yrs now..self taught and I can now claim the title of Senior Travel Agent...

So don't be discouraged..I bet you will find something great..

Well done, and inspiring as well.  Thanks

Thank you very much........

You know in my case they never even looked at my schooling........I guess they assumed I was of average intelligence........ .......LOL big mistage on their part............ ......../jk

Well, I am 40 and just got hired in an industry in which I have no experience at all, although I do have a university degree.

One thing that I find nice, in my very limited experience here, is that there is a lot of vocational training/certificates available, and sometimes jobs (well, at least mine and my husband's) make attending training, or working toward a certificate or an NVQ (national vocational qualification) part of the job description.  So you don't have to come in with the knowledge, as long as you have basic intelligence, the company will provide you with the knowledge. Whereas in the US, you have to come in with a degree in the subject or they won't hire you, usually.

 I also find that on job applications and interviews here they seemed to be more interested in transferable skills-for example, 'give an example of how you fixed a problem', while in the US they seemed to be more interested in specific knowledge--knowing a specific computer program, for example. Although it is almost 18 years since I last interviewed in the US, so it might just be changing times everywhere.

I know this reply is a bit late, but I have been on holiday for a week.  Family reunion and last fling in the states.  Went to Vegas.  Had a good time drinking Guinness and chatting with all the English and Irish visitors.

Anyway, I went for an interview here today. Kind of a cyob thing in case problems arise with the UK plan.  It was two hours of "describe an occasion when this or that happened, what you did, and what were the results."

The career coaches here have sample questions to prepare for this now.

Did I get the job?

Well, after two hour-long interviews, I was told that I interviewed really well and would be perfect for the job, (I have 18 years experience) but they weren't hiring for that position and hadn't been for a couple of months.  I mailed the resume the day after the ad came out, and specified the position on my application.  I also had passed a three hour test session.

Oh, well.  It was good practice. 

Guess I'll start on the VAF-2

Did I get the job?

Well, after two hour-long interviews, I was told that I interviewed really well and would be perfect for the job, (I have 18 years experience) but they weren't hiring for that position and hadn't been for a couple of months. I mailed the resume the day after the ad came out, and specified the position on my application. I also had passed a three hour test session.

Hmm. That sounds like a bunch of bullsh*t to me.  Good on you for having an optimistic spin on it.

Good luck with the search.