ozzieeagle

My 2nd Oldest Daughter, had her last day at work here yesterday... She is of to England on a one way ticket, toting dual citizenship with aspirations of getting a high powered Job. She is aiming for Public Relations in A multi National. She leaves next Saturday, grand final day.

We have encouraged her all the way, as white collar work in this country, is 'supposedly' way behind in income and prospects for most people, compared to the rewards in the UK.

She'll be starting off, in Milton Keynes, as I have a very large extended family there, with about 5 households of people that she can stay with. She'll be starting off at my brothers place In Simpson MKeynes, Which makes the move very easy for her. My wife and I and her brother and sisters are going to miss her terribly. It's kind of reverse migration, she has no plans of returning, although we are sure she will eventually come back to Aussie, However that could be anytime from 6months to 30 years !!!! (or more )

I making sure we can communicate easily, by asking her to get a wireless laptop, and a 3G phone, thats basically the best I can do on the keeping in touch stakes, but at least we should be able to see and chat with her wherever she is.

In this first post about her move, I'm wondering in a similar fashion to people making the move to Aussie, what her prospects will be.

She, works in the fashion industry here, office admin, uses all the main office software, from MyoB through to excel, does spreadsheets, is highly sort after as an employee by other companies that she deals with, and is presently on circa 35,000 aud, which is not bad for a 20 year old. Her duties included accounts payable and recievable, daily banking, first point of contact for all clients and suppliers either by telephone or face to face. Handling most customer enquiries from short deliverys to account enquiry's, entering all the companys sales into their accounting system and invoicing out stock.

So on this first post, will she earn more than the comparative salary of 14K GBP, or is the high paying white collar work in the UK a furphy ?


One of the reasons I'm posting, is I'm sure she will struggle to get that income in the first 12 months, whilst she establishes herself in the UK, in much the same way that people that have tried and tested career paths in the UK struggle when they first come here.

I'd like to hear from anyone that has any tips, for employment around Mkeynes, what kind of industry she should be looking at, (Ive said, broking houses, FX places to her) and are there employment agencies that are better than others.

What is the going rate for experienced office admin temps in MK, does anyone know ?

Many thanks, and hopefully I'll keep you posted on some positive results.

ROBnCAZ

Ok, I'm no expert, but from my limited knowledge, I would say that the going rate for an office admin temp wasn't too great over here, especially in a town like MK!! I think 14K PA GBP would be optimistic to say the least....

Getting into PR with a multi national - again, this is going to be difficult. I don't know about your daughters formal qualifications or experience in this field but the competition will be stiff, especially from recent graduates, for any open posts! Add to this the fact that she will need to convince them she is here for good and not on a working holiday like most Aussies in London!

Regarding agencies, there are many in and around London. Most are members of the REC (Recruitment & Employment Confederation) and as such have to abide by a code of conduct. Get her to do a google search for agencies that specialise in media, PR and advertising - that should bring up a a good list of places to start!

If it's any consolation, it can be done.....I left the army seven years ago without a single qualification or skill of note. Two years later I was a Sales Manager for a blue chip in London, doing.........quite nicely thankyou!!

Sorry I cant help specifically, but wish her luck all the same!

Amazulu

Good luck to her, London is the place for those PR kind jobs. Does she have a degree?. I would think that competion for those kind of jobs will be fierce. A degree would be a minmum requirement & the UK has sh*t loads of graduates. She will have great fun in the UK, most young Aussies do.

Hutch

I've worked for PR agencies in the past and London and immediate surrounds are where she should be if that's the kind of job she wants. There are plenty of large agencies, but I strongly suggest she starts off with a small one to get some experience under her belt. These tend to be run by highly-experienced PRs who've moved away from big agency life to do things their own way. Having those kind of people close at hand is a great way of getting front-line experience fast. It's a strange old business though. I spent a bit of time at Lynne Franks PR and a weirder bunch of people I think you'll be hard-pressed to find. Larger companies which operate their own marketing/PR departments tend to use people with a fair bit of experience because they have to do a lot more themselves - it's the sort of job that journalists move over to, when they're tired of filling column-inches. She sounds highly motivated and I'm sure she'll do well and whilst I'm sure Milton Keynes will provide plenty of admin type work for her initially, to move forward in her chosen arena I think the city beckons.

Banksia

And does 14k GBP go as far as $A35,000? The Economist's McDonald's Index suggests it doesn't.

ozzieeagle

Many thanks for your replies, FYI bankisa, I did that FX calculation of the top of my head, and decided to check with westpacs, fx calcuator, 35,000 aud came out to 14,416 quid in notes.


I do realise that MK isn't the epicentre of commerce in the UK, but it is a nice place to start, modern houses, easy to get around, close to London, and most importantly, plenty of family with the same surname .

Just a brief background on my Daughter, she was supposed to do this move about 2 years ago, however one of her freinds suggested 3 months before she was due to leave, to take a summer holiday in Lorne, having fun and waitressing/summer working, Needless to say, she came back from that little adventure, heavily in debt, with a smashed up car, and basically dead broke. Hence the 2 year delay. Consequently all she has in the way of education is her year 12 VCE, which equates to University level entry education, however she does have 2 years of good office experience here in Melbourne. If she has to do further education in the UK, she has Leeds University business studies courses, in her sights, which apparently are the best available in the UK.

I'll repeat what I stated in my opening post, that people crossing the world, really step back a lot in what they can expect in comparison. She basically has the working world at her feet here in Melbourne, but feels quite strongly that she can do better. I concur, but reckon the going will be very tough. As it is for most Migrants coming here. She doesn't really have a much to lose, and so much to gain.

Let serendipity take it's happy course. (hopefully)

Banksia

Ozzieeagle, It does not sound as if you are familiar with The Economist Big Mac index, which lists how much it costs to buy a Big Mac in the local currency of each surveyed country. I don't have the current figures, but traditionally it has shown after allowing for current exchange rates AUD go further in Australia when it comes to keeping body and soul together than pounds do in England. And by a fairly substantial margin.

Vic&jase

I'll repeat what I stated in my opening post, that people crossing the world, really step back a lot in what they can expect in comparison. She basically has the working world at her feet here in Melbourne, but feels quite strongly that she can do better. I concur, but reckon the going will be very tough. As it is for most Migrants coming here. She doesn't really have a much to lose, and so much to gain.

Let serendipity take it's happy course. (hopefully)[/QUOTE]

Milton Keynes in not so bad, developing fast and very young. It also has a great train link into London. I live very near to it and have just looked in the local paper for you at salaries. I think you are spot on at circa £13 k. Jobs in administration range between £12 and £16 depending on the size of the business. Any local authority(borough council) pays better, but not that interesting for young folk, PR & Marketing positions will probably suit your daughter as they like gutsy, have a go people and lets face it, it is gutsy to go to another country when you are young. If your daughter has a great personality, she will not be without a job long. Best of luck to her x

Vics x

ozzieeagle

Ahh I saw that comparison ages ago, but havn't seen that index recently. If I recall correctly it was how many labour Minutes one has to work to buy the item(s) in each comparitive country.

I wonder how long it takes, to work out which country is dearer, because everyones needs are different, they would have different priorities, IE: my Daughter would obviously rate live concerts and seeing bands a lot higher than I would, and they are a lot cheaper in the UK I think ? I also think she won't be as concerned about accomodation standards, as much as a family would, so any differences there will be glossed over. I've already told her not to bother going out to eat much, as the comparative value will make the UK experience seem like a rip off. People of different ages, and status, would have very different requirements.

I wonder how she will react to the first 'real winter' in her life lol, having two in a row, isn't going to be much fun.

Oh well she will always be able to warm up in that 'snow dome'

How long does it take for one to feel established ? Thats almost a how long is a piece of string type of question, also is it easier to set up in the UK, or Aussie. It should be interesting to compare.

ELLJAY

[QUOTE=ozzieeagle]My 2nd Oldest Daughter, had her last day at work here

Hi ozzieeagle,
Great to read your post, but hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions. As a mother of 3 children in the migration process, we are hoping to go to give our children a "better life". How long have you been there? Why does your daughter want to return to Uk (I know you say better job prospects - but what about quality of life)

It worries me to think that we may go through all this hassle (and lets face it -it is a lot of stress n hassle )) take our 3 children half way around the world, then in 10+ years time, they all may return to the UK....and we grow old alone and lonely :scared: :scared:

Do we pull out of this immi nightmare now and save everyone all the airfares!!!!!

look forward to your reply. Thanks

L-j

ozzieeagle

[QUOTE=ELLJAY] This is the kind of question I was hopeing for. All of my children were born here in Aussie. They have only visited england once, My 20 year olds only visit was when she was 18 months old. (we didn't take the older two adult children on our recent visit) So this trip, is basically a trial, unless England suits her better.

Her dual nationality gives her the choice of living in England and Europe, or living here. As she is primarily a white collar worker, with high aspirations and expectations, It is very probable that she will earn a lot more in the UK, and have much better prospects. Defining quality of life is a relative issue, and from that point of view, she will decide for herself. I've got no idea, however I suspect that a 20 year old will find the UK, a much more rewarding place than Aussie in all areas, including what she would call quality of life. It's once one has a family that things change, however she has the choice of living in both countries, and she is now exercising that choice.

A lot of people migrating are probably going to face the same issue as me, with at least some of their children, wanting the perceived better prospects and choices that the UK, and most importantly now Europe offers.

I'm suprised that I havn't seen anyone else in a similar situation to our familys with this issue with my 20 year old, as other BBS's that I visit have some very transitory white collar workers, that flit around all over the world.

Just to go back to the first part of your post, I migrated here, with my Aussie born wife, back in 1980.


If I were in a similar situation to yourself, I wouldn't let the prospect of one of my kids going back to the UK deter me, I would see it as a choice of having two areas of the world in which I can spend the latter years of my life.

ELLJAY

[QUOTE=ozzieeagle] Thanks for your reply. I must say your post yesterday got me and hubby talkin...and thats whats great about this forum. It gives you issues to think about that you may not have. We decided like you say, once the kids are older, its THEIR choice where they choose to live their life (NOT OURS). We are merely giving them a couple of choices. Thanks again for your post. I'm so glad it raised this issue.

L-j

OzTennis

I thought this was going to be a thread about a song (great) by the La's.

The Economist Big Mac Index is interesting stuff:

http://www.economist.com/markets/Bigmac/Index.cfm

Click on Big Mac index June 9th 2005 to take you to the latest results:

http://www.economist.com/markets/big...ory_id=4065603 then click on detail.

It suggests a Big Mac in Australia is 18% under $US value whilst in Britain it is 12% over.

OzTennis

ozzieeagle

Oh well, we did it, Said goodbye to my Daughter today. I can understand implicitly now, what it must be like for people saying goodbye to people migrating this way.

At least I expect my Daughter to come back, so it probably isn't quiet as bad as what family have to go through, particuarly those saying goodbye, when one actually fully migrates.

We've got no Idea if and when my Daughter will return, however if the tears streaming down her cheeks at Tullarmarine, as she forced herself bravely through those doors that look so similar to a crematoriums ensemble, It could be a lot sooner than expected.

There aint nothing like people departing for an unknown life, with lots of freinds and family present for bringing out raw emotion. I was very suprised at the strength of feeling in what occured today.

For those of us that have and are thinking of migrating, try putting the other shoe on, I've had just a smigeon of a taste of that today.

Sorry to put a downer, on things but today, was a pretty horrible day.

PS... there's always a silver lining somewhere, I've just got to see through the mist to see it.

Badge

One of the things about white collar adminy jobs in the Uk is that it all depends on where and who you work for. You could earn anything between GBP14k and GBP30k depending. I've heard of spreadsheet girls good with managing schedules and 'running' things for a blue chip bank earning 30k, almost as much as a middle ranking programmer, on the other hand they might get 14 working for the civil service.

Badge