How to find a job in Glasgow above £20,000

Unfortunately, north of England and Scotland in particular have much lower wages than Australia.  The trade off is much cheaper living costs, so swings and roundabouts.   We moved the other way and have saved so much in 5 years its incredible.  If the exchange rate holds up will move back with a substantial deposit on a house.    But our problem is just having hit the big 50, job opportunities may be limited with younger cheaper labour more appealing to  employers .     If we stayed in Australia buying a house in Melbourne would be impossible even though we earn more than double.  Always a compromise, but enjoy that Beautiful country.   You can always hire a car when needed, much less hassle than owning anyway.

Thanks unclehenry. I appreciate your thoughts. Car hire is definitely an option although not on our current pays. Glad to hear you're doing well in Melbourne. Property is so much more affordable in Scotland than in Melbourne or most other places in Australia for that matter.

An update. I've been applying for £20,000+ jobs that are ideally suited to my CV however still I'm not able to get to the interview stage.

I suspect that the Brit's value on loyalty and tenure and climbing up the ranks means that most promotions are internal and you need to start out at entry level and then either hope you are successful within an organisation or wait to get invited to apply from networks in other organisations in same or similar industries.

I also suspect that having a visa with an end date - in my case a UK Ancestry Visa - implies they may invest money and time for maybe only a few year's in return.  So they just don't bother with you unless it's a high turnover business and they've got nothing to lose.

After all, the UK gov may not grant me ILR at the end of the day or I may return to my home country sooner than later. Who knows? My intentions are to stay for many many years but until I get dual-citizenship anything could happen.

My husband just got a promotion to £21,000 after 9 months at base £18,000 in a growing global business. Perhaps my selection of a UK only business was not so good in hindsight. Anyhoo. I keep applying and keep working my tail off where I am hoping for the best.

£16,240 salary does not give you much more than cost of living. A new pair of sneakers every 6 months and that's about it. As much as I enjoy my job, there is very little chance of a pay rise to £21,000 or above in the next 3 years so leave sooner than later from my current job I must do.

Another update. One day before our one year anniversary in Scotland, I will be starting a new job and will break the £20,000 mark. £19,000 base plus £2,700 shift allowance - taking it to £21,700.

While I made my minimum income goal in the first 6-12 months, I will have to work 37.5hrs a week across 7 days including bank holidays, even Christmas Day. A bit like an emergency worker.

So not the greatest family-work balance but I do have weekdays off to get things done. Being a former emergency worker I don't mind shift work.

Working in a call centre demonstrates and strengthens several skills including: ICT, customer service, policy and process, decision making, analytical and creative thinking, team dynamics and time management.

So while working in a call-centre may not be everybody's cup of tea it certainly spotlights you as a valuable, productive and personable prospective employeee. Your primary skill is people pleasing - a skill always in demand. 

Next step now is working my way back up the management ladder - in my squeaky new growing global organisation. My goal is general manager, operations manager or a specialist management role in areas such as capability development, training, continuous improvement, innovation, risk or intelligence.

Next financial target is £25,000 to £35,000 in the next 12-18 months.

Hi Daretodone, did you manage to achieve your next target?

Hope its ok for me to ask you this, but for a family of 5, what would you suggest as a household annual income?

Still £21,700 but roster is 4 days on and 3 days off so more time to explore with an overnight away.  Difficult to move to a new organisation with a visa with an end date. Existing employer more likely to risk a promotion. We’re still looking.  Fam of five can survive on these incomes.  Fortunately our two sons have part time work to earn their own pocket money.  Would be tougher without them doing that.  I’d recommend being careful with your rental property. Don’t over burden yourself with rent and council tax.  Every £ counts.

Thanks for the reply, sorry to hear you still stuck on the same income. Hope the visa gets renewed quickly and a promotion happens soon.

would you say 40K combined income for a family of 5 is sufficient or would it need to be 50K or even higher?

£40k is a good salary for the UK; the current National Average is £26.5k and people live on that.  Whether a family of 5 can live on £40k will, of course, depend on your lifestyle, but I think it's doable.

Cynic
Expat Team

£40K combined is what we started with basically. We're surviving okay but limited left over to cover the cost of purchasing and maintaining a car.  We've learnt to live without a car. One of the tricks to extending your £ is to watch out for transport costs. For example, if you travel by train your partner and yourself will save 33% with a 2 together pass for when you travel together. If you go away to say Inverness on the weekend by train, you will save ££. Buses are cheaper than trains. Certain taxi companies are cheaper than others. Groceries are cheaper at ASDA compared to M&S. Shoes and clothing are cheaper online than in stores - often but not always.

I am 55 now and am battling to find a job in Scotland, I have 23 years experience in financial services in South Africa but that seems to not count at all, I am married with 2 daughters age 12 and 14 and am ideally looking for a job in or around Glasgow that would pay GBP30000+. any ideas or help would be appreciated.

I changed jobs again. After 16 mths in my last job earning about £21,500 base and another £2,500 in bonuses over the year, my annual gross was £24,000.  But I was still working 4 x 10 hr shifts across 365 days including weekends and bank holidays between 8am and 9pm.

In January I moved back into the insurance sector. Now on £25,009 base, working 9-5 Mon-Fri only and have weekends and bank holidays off. 

The day after I started, my previous employer announced my old office (about 350 people) would be made redundant. So I got out just in time.

It’s taken 2.5 yrs to move from £16,000 and shift work to £25,000 Mon-Fri. I recommend the following:
- be active on LinkedIn. Put your jobs / looking / show recruiters button on. Get your keywords right and tailor your profile to the job you want. Look at descriptions on jobs you’re interested in and adjust your profile so when you apply you can get through the Applicant Travking Software (ATS) to a human.  LinkedIn has lots of jobs. Follow companies that you’re interested in and look at their job vacancies.  Have a copy of your CV ready (adjusted for each job) to upload and apply using the button on LinkedIn.
- accepting a contract role may lead to permanent work
- when they ask at the interview what money you’re after, don’t say £30K without justification. Consider £25-£30K and share your rationale   
- visit Council, Scottish Govt and UK govt job sites - bookmark them, subscribe to them, set up job alerts for various keywords - govt/council pay more but are harder to get into without some awareness of the system they work in. But not impossible. 
- Font forget large employers in Glasgow. Get familiar with who they are and look for jobs within. Are they committed to employing in Glasgow, will their office possibly be shut down if they do not have HQ functions here. Majority managed from England, be wary of future closures.
- get jobs to add value to your CV to incrementally climb the ladder.
- get Any job
- get a Better job
- get a Career (again)

Good luck!

hi, i have been in the insurance game for 23 years in South Africa, how can i get into it in Scotland and do i have to do level 4 diploma's to get in? i have registered and paid for the diploma but need to know if i should pursue it.
what department are you in and which company, are they hiring?

hi, thank you very much for your help.

Scherius wrote:

hi, i have been in the insurance game for 23 years in South Africa, how can i get into it in Scotland and do i have to do level 4 diploma's to get in? i have registered and paid for the diploma but need to know if i should pursue it.
what department are you in and which company, are they hiring?

Hi again and welcome back.

A level 5 diploma is regarded as equating to a basic degree and generally regarded as not being education based; a level 4 version (like all non-educational qualifications) is worth whatever value the future employer places on them; at your age, you should emphasise your experience and notable achievements more than any qualifications (unless you are working in a regulated industry, where qualifications are essential).

The UK is currently restricting Immigration from outside the EU to workers in specific categories; so of more importance to you is actually getting a work visa.  There is a sticky post at the top of this Forum page titled "NON EU CITIZENS APPLYING FOR A UK WORK VISA"; I strongly suggest you find it and read it; to help you, this link will take you straight there.  You need to read the Shortage Occupation Lists in that post and see if you qualify in any of the occupations there; if you don't, you won't get a work visa, so won't be able to live or work anywhere in the UK.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Cynic, from another post he has a Dutch passport. But that could mean nothing as you know yourself that nasty word Brexit. I guess we will know more after today's votes in HoC.

SimCityAT wrote:

Cynic, from another post he has a Dutch passport. But that could mean nothing as you know yourself that nasty word Brexit. I guess we will know more after today's votes in HoC.

Aha - in that case, he can ignore the 2nd part of my post.  That is until Brexit happens; if it does, then any EU citizens who are not resident in the UK before we leave the EU, will be treated the same as everybody else and it will be very relevant.  Personally, I just hope we get through the next couple of days without falling out of the EU with no deal at all.

hi, thanks for this, it is a little depressing but it is what it is. if i chose to move to Holland, where i believe they are encouraging people to immigrate,  would my wife who has a British passport go through all of the same issues?

my wife was born in Scotland and as a result both of our daughters have British passports, does this help in any way at all?

Scherius wrote:

hi, thanks for this, it is a little depressing but it is what it is. if i chose to move to Holland, where i believe they are encouraging people to immigrate,  would my wife who has a British passport go through all of the same issues?

Very similar; the Dutch are more encouraging, but only if you're classed as a highly skilled migrant; if not, it's very similar to the UK, except they don't limit it to absolutely only those people, providing the sponsor earns more than the Dutch minimum wage, you can apply (you'll have to learn Dutch and pass the exam though).  So your wife, up until they announce Brexit, will get in no problem - you will have to apply for MVV and assuming your wife gets in before you and gets Dutch residence, she can then sponsor you; details are on the Dutch Government website; this link will take you there.

Scherius wrote:

my wife was born in Scotland and as a result both of our daughters have British passports, does this help in any way at all?

If you are a Commonwealth Citizen (South Africa) and you have a grandparent who was born in the UK you may be eligible for. UK Ancestry Vida. That’s what we’re on in the UK from Australia. No working visa required as you have full work rights.

Regarding the insurance industry in Glasgow, many entry level claims handling positions start on about £19,000 (and some lower). You have have to do a year before climbing up the ladder or jumping to another role/company.

my ancestry is dutch, i have a dutch passport but my wife was born in Scotland. it looks as though i am going to have to buy a business in order to survive. you cant come out on GBP19000pa.