Studies and direction

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I need some serious advice here…

A few years ago, I mosied on down to university. Technically speaking, I was a ‘mature student’, but as it happens I was a naive 23 year old with no direction. After graduating with a mediocre arts degree, I found myself with ideas above my station and no job prospects. -I did what any self respecting art student does : I ran home to mummy, but as my mother couldn’t help me I ran back to university - complete with a loan of 10k. -The long and short of it is, I ran into a lot of trouble. I couldn’t balance the work and the difficult social/emotion of coming from a rather traumatic and up-rooted family. It occurred to me that I was going to university to feel safe and to run away. My family life has always been a myriad of alcohol fuelled disasters and accusations of abuse (my mother drinks and my step dad is a little bit controlling) - university seemed solid and dependable; it also seemed to please mum. Anyway, I dropped out of the Msc - econometrics is a hard module, which I kept failing, and so I just dropped out. GO ME. Now I’m indebted, all my friends are all abroad, I’ve cut ties with my family - and I’m rather at the mercy of circumstance.

I’ve managed to postpone loan repayments, as I’m claiming benefits now -but I can’t postpone forever. I’ve been applying for jobs left, right and centre - no luck. Cleaning positions view me as over-qualified, and graduate positions see a gap in employment and throw my CV out with the rest (I do lie on my cv… a little - I think everyone lies a little). It’s a confusing market, too - yesterday a company from the USA contacted me regarding some application I sent off months ago. Theyre called, Hanor Finance - and they are telling me all sorts of stuff : That they have immediate positions both P/T and F/T, that no experience is required, and that all I need to do is fill out another application form - this other application form has asked for my bank details. FRAUD? I think so. Fuckers. -Or is this the way US companies recruit? I’m betting it’s some hokey fraudsters trying to tap me for money - joke is, I have no money. Urgh.

I am aware that I need to carve some kind of role for myself. I’ve thought hard about gaining a vocational qualification i.e., retraining to be a nurse. I applied a few months ago, and I have an interview next week. I like nursing - it’s an honourable profession, it pays relatively well, and at the very least a nurse can go home with some semblance of self respect - a luxury that other jobs don’t afford. -Nursing is more competitive than you’d think, and I don’t hold out hope that I’ll get accepted (as a teenager, I was chucked out of home and subsequently got none of the lower level qualifications most folk have. -These lower level quals are a pre-req, and my degree/msc modules may not be accepted in lieu) - but IF I do get accepted, I’ll be over the moon. -I’ll get a bursary, and some other financial support - more loans, this time government run one you need not pay back till you get a income above £x - and this is the thing I’m worried about…MORE LOANS.

But what can I do if I’m simply not getting work - at a non-skilled, or a graduate level? My reasoning is: retrain. -It took me a long time to figure out the accolades that come with a good degree, are not worth squat. A few years ago, I would have turned my nose up at training to be a nurse - now I’m struggling to get into nursing school, and have started to realise that pleasing my mother from cambridge is a pointless affair.

Anyway…I’m lost. -Some of my friends are nagging me to complete my MSc before I retrain - but I have no idea how to finish the fucker! It’s expensive - and it doesnt guarantee a job at the end. -If I do nursing, I can go back to it with relevant experience for my thesis (on healthcare). -The modules are valid for 6 years - I have time in this respect.

-It’s just the money thing. Some of my other friends tell me I should go and teach English in South Korea -and I probably should have done this last year, instead of taking up a MSc. I’m scared of going to SK, and it involves risk - if I got stuck out there, I have no financial reserves to get a ticket home. I also would head out there after taking a massive chunk out of my overdraft in order to pay for the flight over. If I had savings, it’d be less scary, but I don’t - plus I’m naturally scared of travelling w/o money.

… these are just rambling thoughts. I am committed to nursing - it is something I will do eventually… by hook or by crook. I’m just finding it hard to face up to the mess I’m in.

Any thoughts?

2

No thoughts, sorry, just an “I hear ya”.

I trained as an actor, after that got a degree in theatre only to find that nobody in the whole world cares a fig for the theatre. People don’t even want to go. Seriously, do you even know anyone who goes to the theatre? What was the last thing you saw? Probably a school play when you were 14, and you only watched because your friend was in it. The whole TIE industry of forcing unwilling young people to watch plays and boxing them around the ears with Boal-nonsense is bigger than real theatre.

So here I am, I barely know anybody who works, let alone anyone who works in theatre, and I’ve decided to go back to uni. My problem now is that, though my degree is from a very respectable university, it doesn’t get me into any decent MAs. So I signed up for a random BA and I’m spending a year taking classes in the hope that I’ll be able to get a respectable MA at some point.

Yay. Crap degree, no future, endless loans. I’d marry a rich guy, but unfortunately my heart decided on a philosopher. Didn’t you meet a sexy econometronomist? I hear one in three is a milionaire :wink:

Sorry for the lack of advice. Commiseration is all I have. That and the ability to physically express our combined stories in a performance. Would that help? What’s that? It wouldn’t? Guess my only skill is pretty useless then. It only cost about £30.000.

3

Bless you!<3

-That sounded a tad ‘lovely’ , didn’t it? I mean, ‘thanks’

Plays, theatre…Don’t get me started! I fucking love all that stuff! went to the Gielgud once a month when I was at uni - we used to get cheap tickets because of friend in Rada. The best thing I ever saw was Patrick Stewart as Macbeth - got the ticket for £1! ONE POUND - OK, I was behind one of those maasssivvveee pillars, and had awful neck ache at the end, but it was worth it for one pound.

Hmmm, anyway…

My mate is a pianist, but also a god damned ploymath - speaks 5 languages, and has the intellectual ability of an entire planet. What did he do? - Retrained to be a teacher - he doesn’t like teenagers. He’ll be great at it, of course - always is.

-You thought about teaching - if you’re from the uk, speak a language, and got a 2.1, you can get a fat old grant…I don’t speak any languages at all, so sadly cant follow suit.

4

Given your chosen degree, the outcome is not too surprising. When you began college, did you have some idea of what kind of career your degree would prepare/qualify you for?

Now you’re on the right track. Not nursing per se, but thinking about what you want to do (in a general sense, get a job that pays a decent living) and then choosing a training program that will get you there.

Bravo. The world needs historians, writers, artists and actors - but not as badly as it needs engineers, pharmacists, doctors, nurses and scientists. People who are passionately interested in the former careers should head in that direction with eyes open, knowing that their chosen career path will be extremely competitive, with low salaries and scarce job openings for all but a very few at the highest levels.

I think there are ESL programs in several countries. There’s one in Japan, for example. If South Korea in particular is a concern, you might check out Japan. If you’re scared of foreign travel in general, well, beggars can’t be choosers. You are desperate for money, these folks are offering to pay you. Besides, I’m struggling to understand the risk: I would think that if you have secured a job as an English instructor, you could certainly earn enough money for a flight home before they fired you. Rent a shitty apartment, eat ramen noodles for a while until you’ve got enough money stashed for an emergency ticket home, and then you can loosen your budget a bit - but not much, if you’re trying to save money for your own education later on.

5

Thank you very much for the link! I’ll apply later tonight!
-I am just swatting up for my nursing interview at the minute.

SK isn’t a concern. Nor is travel - I used to travel on my own a lot. Nowadays, I’m a bit abated. I don’t know why I feel like this - I certainly have less to lose. As you say : beggars…

6

…basically, I think I’m just a bit lost and scared - which is silly of me, but getting advice is the first step, eh

7

First things first. Which city are you in? I’m trying to find work in London; apparently there are jobs here. I haven’t been here long, but I’m looking.
About HanorFinance; I got an email very similar to them. It seems most likely to be a scam. Their website has only existed for six days (according to www.scamadvisor.com), with a google search asking if you mean ‘honorfinance’ and pointing to this blog only. That’s how I stumbled across your post, through Hanor Finance.

There does seem to be jobs in London, I have a job interview with AtYourService who are currently recruiting in London.

As far as Teaching English as a Foreign Language in South Korea goes, I can actually give you some advice. I taught English as a Foreign Language in Taiwan for 2 years.

#1 You cannot work legally without at least a Bachelor’s degree. If you have anything less, you will work illegally. You will still get paid competitively, but will find it difficult to get enough hours to teach. Not having A-levels shouldn’t be a problem. There are few exceptions. I had no BA, but then again, I could get a work permit as I had a Taiwanese mother.

#2 Most foreigners I met there were also there because of an inability to find a job in their home market. Some of them enjoyed their time there and even found stable careers and girlfriends (they learned the language and spoke it well enough to get into translating).

#3 The Job market for TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) is large in Asia, but you’ll probably get a job teaching it to children. Some language centers are good, others will try to take advantage of you (check the foreigner forums of that country to find out). Taking children requires patience, energy, and determination. On the bright side, it’s likely that you will keep the job no matter how shitty of a teacher you are (unless you abuse the kids, refuse to work, etc). Even then, it can be difficult to teach children. The classrooms in Taiwan aren’t too big, generally, but as you’ll be teaching in private institutions, the kids know they can get away with a lot more.

#4 Your problems will not fade away. You don’t want to be teaching English to kids for the rest of your life. You can keep at it for 10, 15, or even 20 years, but your problems back here will still exist. You can attempt to improve your situation there (taking university and/or vocational courses online, gain valuable experience in working, etc).

#5 If you’re fighting inner demons here (abusive life), leaving your society and starting in a new one can help. This applies if you have pain in your life that resulted from having a horrible childhood.

#6 http://www.tefl.net/esl-jobs/faq.htm Accurate, helpful information.
I can’t offer any advice. I can just sympathize with you. I am 20 years old, looking for a job in the UK. I have a bit of savings to keep myself afloat, but once they run out, I’m royally screwed. I can’t get government help (UK citizen but not habitually resident), I can’t go back to Taiwan, and I can’t stay at my relatives place for over a month. A job in London is the only way I can succeed.

8

Thank you - and , yes, there are a lot of cons out there, so thanks for getting back to me.

It sounds like you’re fine : 20 is very young, and having savings is always useful. Here’s hoping you get a job before they deplete.

-If you don’t have a guarantor for rent, things could be sticky. -When I went to university, I knew a few people that rented boats to live in - it sounds peculiar, but it was actually quite habitable, and was relatively cheap.

20 is very young, and at the very least you have some savings. I really hope they don’t deplete too quickly.

Thanks for the tips on Taiwan.