winterbadger | (no subject)

Just in case I had any second thoughts...

One person posted:

Even as a student, once you graduate, it's becoming increasingly difficult and nearly impossible to remain here and work. I have a lot of friends who are recent graduates of universities in Edinburgh that are leaving and returning to their non-EU home countries due to this right now. A few completed their MBA's and were working with Edinburgh companies at the same time, and they found that even with MBA's from one of the UK's top universities and secure jobs, they still had no way of staying here. I do know one person that was asked to stay and teach at the university after he graduated, and was sponsored by them, but this is rare. So, even if you do move here to study, the chances of being able to stay after your degree is complete are very slim. Getting married at that point could be your only way of staying here.

Unfortunately, companies can't just sponsor anyone to work here. You need to possess a high level of skills, and generally those who do are transferred by their current company to a position in the UK. A high level of education isn't enough, as you need a great deal of experience as well.

And another posted:

I'm a UK citizen and I graduated with a masters in Theoretical Physics in 2005 and a research masters in Geophysics in 2008. I started looking for a graduate job in Science in August 2008 and I finally secured a job in October 2010!

Between August 2008 and October 2010 I had to settle for working in retail at just above minimum wage in order to make ends meet (and even then there were very few retail jobs available - I was lucky to have been employed just before the recession hit because I would have most likely been out of a job for the whole time otherwise).

There were just no positions available for recent graduates... at one point I searched through 500 science jobs online and couldn't find a single one I was qualified for - because no one wanted graduates, they all wanted people with a minimum of a PhD and/or 10 years of experience working in the field.

And that was just UK citizens applying for jobs... and we're supposed to get priority over foreign applicants, so if even the UK graduates can't find work, then what hope do foreign graduates have?

Plus, of course, there's this lovely speech from PM Cameron, essentially reiterating the Tories' pledge to cut immigration by 90%.

For me, it's like falling in love with someone who not only doesn't like you, but does everything she can to drive you away. I had my chance, back in 2007, and I passed it up for a variety of reasons that had to do with what I felt my responsibilities to other people were. Maybe another chance will come along for me some day, but for now that door is closed, and I need to accept that and move on.