imn88

Hey, I'm a 26 year old Englishman and 7 weeks ago I returned from living 8 months in the north-east of Thailand. Everyday there, I had a real sense of feeling 'alive', everyday felt special, magical. I was teaching English in secondary schools, the kids were great, the Thai teachers were great, the ladies were spellbound at the sight of my blue eyes, white skin, and blonde hair, everything was cheap, the weather was reliably brilliant, the people were so friendly and determined to make you feel welcome. This was my first stint living abroad, so I wasn't sure what to think upon the inevitable return to the UK when the school year ended. I had big plans of finding any old minimum wage job to fund going back to college to apply for a degree in Nautical Science with a shipping company, so I could live 6 months on a ship, and 6 months in Thailand wherever I wanted on full pay. As soon as I laid down on my parents sofa (having given up the house I shared with friends 8 months previously), it dawned on me that this was it. The adventure was over.

The optimism I had has all but disappeared. Having been denied jobs at KFC, McDonalds, Tesco, and Aldi, and many other prestigious establishments of that cadre, the prospect of finding 'any old minimum wage job' as a platform for my grand plans, reality has hit home as to why I went looking overseas in the first place. When I was 16, I simply walked in to my local Somerfield and got a job there and then. These places, it's just not like that anymore. I have 4 A-levels, but missing the vital 'C' in GCSE Maths that all jobs seem to require for anything with A-levels. I have no trade, and previous work experience seems to amount to not much at all. I am stuck in a no-mans land, overqualified for the menial jobs, underqualified for the better paying jobs.

Having been out of the country for 8 months, I am legally barred from seeking jobseekers allowance; the only money I have to my name is meagre amount for tobacco generously given by my parents, and whatever profits I can spin out of betting the horses (I have not put any of my own money into any site, I got lucky on a free promotion bet and have been gambling/winning/withdrawing ever since, small amounts, and yes I know, it won't last!! Haha).

What is wrong with this country? I am a fit, able bodied, intelligent young man, and yet when someone advertises a job and I apply, they don't want me. Hilariously, I actually have people in Thailand contacting me offering me a job there. Really puts the state the UK is in into perspective, at least for me, anyway.

The shift from being perceived as a rock star everywhere I went in Thailand to the reality of being unemployed, poor, and with little to no prospects in my home country, is a hard change to deal with. I know life would be even better out there if I stick to my guns, but it's a real test of mental fortitude. Does it get any easier? I'm feeling, I should just go back the first chance I get.

BritInParis

Same thing happened to me when I returned from teaching English in Tokyo just as the financial meltdown started. Living the dream to minimum wage drudgery in a freezing cold warehouse. The only solution in the end was to go back abroad again, which I did, give or take, for another four years.

As for JSA, you are entitled, however you'll need to pass a Habitual Residence Test.

What were you doing for work in the UK before you went to Thailand?

michali

Normally, as an older, settled, wiser (!) person, I would say hang in there for awhile longer. And maybe I should advise that. In the UK it can take months to get a job and, once you keep searching, I suspect you will get one soon.

However, as you are only 26 with your whole life ahead of you and with no dependants, and because you enjoyed your time in Thailand so much, I would go back! Is it an option? Are there any restrictions on your going back to Thailand? Life is an adventure! And, at your age, you can afford to take risks.

bakedbean

I would say go back to Thailand if you've got a job offer but, from what you say above, it doesn't pay very well.

You're very young so does it matter? At the moment, maybe not, but you know we all have to do these drudge jobs and earn and save if we want to have any money for later life. Your parents will not always be around and the mentality of living on government handouts is really not a great idea.

Find something that pays and earn some dosh. You have teaching skills? So widen your horizons and have a good look around for something. I think there's a teaching section in the Jobs section of the forum. Go take a look.

dunroving

Go West (no, Thailand is East!), young man. You are of an age where you should be enjoying life. Sitting in grey, grimy, rainy Britain with no job isn't doing you any good. Even if you go back for just a year, it will get your spirits back up and you will know what to expect next time you return.

Just keep a weather eye on old age and long-term finances - it's all well and good having a Jolly in Thailand for a while but if you plan to eventually end up in the UK, you should be thinking about property prices and pensions long-term.

[I effectively didn't start paying into pensions until I was about 39, and didn't start paying into a mortgage until I was 41, neither of which is a great idea if you want to retire on at least a modestly comfortable pension, and with a house of your own]

SanDiegogirl

What were you doing before your 8 months in Thailand? The situation in the UK has not changed since then; so,unless you have travelled since leaving school at 17, I wonder why you are so surprised.

It is not so much that employers don't want you - it's that they have a plethora of people to choose from for their jobs. Low paid job employers know you are only 'spinning your wheels' with them and therefore choose others who really need the work and are going to stay with them.

You were lucky getting work in a secondary school with just A levels. Unless you improve your education level you are not going to land another job like this in the UK.

Evening school would get you the C in maths you require so no problem there, if you feel this is holding you back.

scot47

Happened to me
I returned to Britain aged 30 in 1977 after a few years teaching in Africa and the Middle East. Got a few dead-end low- wage jobs and had spells of unemployment. Went back to work in Middle East in 1990 and spent the rest of my working life there.

Things are a lot grimmer now than they were in the seventies ! This country is fine if you are Jeremy Clarkson or from his caste. For the plebs..........................

spouse of scouse

Nothing's 'wrong with this country'. What the problem is, is that your expectations don't match your experience/skills. There aren't many jobs for a 26 year old that give you rock star status The 'menial jobs' that you get knocked back for are being given to people who've been judged either better qualified for the roles (yes, there are skills involved in customer service roles!), or better suited for them.

Of course it's a big change for you, and no doubt not an easy one. You need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and make a plan for your future. Whether that involves returning to some sort of study, moving back to Thailand, keeping applying for jobs (without the 'menial' thing stuck in your head, because that attitude probably shows) - you need a plan.

How far you get has very little to do with the UK, and everything to do with your guts, determination and hard word. Good luck.

Jerseygirl

Mummy in the foothills

At 26 with no real skills it's time to get yourself signed up at your local college for some sort of education, at least that way you'll have something on paper to get a job.
Now is the time to find out what they have and sign up ready for september. You can still access it all for free you haven't been gone 3 years. Stick it out and if you still want to leave again then go for it.

not2old

OP, you are truly having us 'all on', if fact, I fell off my chair laughing reading your post.

Having said that, then taking you're being serious, since you haven't asked a question, what more can you tell us about your 8-month adventure, your future plans, or maybe you have a question you'd like us to respond too?

Seems your parents are providing you with free 'room & board', cig & betting money, that you're likely looking for further 'hand-outs' for those same habits, all while your dreams of that short lived 'blue eyed rock star' are lost forever.

On your 'feeling' to go back to Thailand - that's something only you can decide to do.

cappuccino

I'm amazed the the OP got an English teaching post in a secondary school without a degree or a TEFL/TESOL qualification!

not2old

well, we'll likely never find out from the OP, if, and when or how the rest of his story, since the BE members are doing most of the 'posting'

Anyone take any notice the title of the thread, then the way the OP ends his first post?

not2old

well, we'll likely never find out from the OP, if, and when or how the rest of his story, since the BE members are doing most of the 'posting'

Maybe the OP was on something such as a VSO assignment or with another volunteer or paid organization?

http://www.vso.org.uk/volunteer/oppo...-and-education

http://www.teachingthailand.com/job/...rams-thailand/

Anyone take any notice the title of the thread, then the way the OP ends his first post?

He could be back in Thailand for all we know.....

quoll

Think some quick growing up here is required. Get off your bum and sign up for further education, sign up for voluntary work (join the Navy Reserves, become a Special, join the Red Cross, whatever) and stop thinking that the world owes you a living, you're not a rock star. Maybe (and one hesitates to say this) you're not getting menial jobs because you're coming across as a wannabe rock star. I'd be pounding the pavements with cv in hand and visiting the agencies every morning at 9am sharp, not lounging on a parental sofa! Good luck, you live in one of the best countries in the world - get your plan for fixing your education gap plugged and get on with it!