[Vivelle]

Hi, I'm new to this and happened to have found this interesting discussion on the internet while I was browsing. I know it's been a couple of months (RE: Botox's July posting) and I just wonder if anyone checks back here still?!

Botox - I am glad that you're enjoying the cultural shock and your gf (no details please)!

Anyway... I'm a recent engineering grad and am wondering about my employment prospects. The job market in Canada is pretty poor at the moment so I'm wondering if I should go overseas. I've the option to go to HK coz I believe I've the right to work there since that's my place of birth! My cousin has just accepted an employment offer from HK actually, to join her bf there (even though she can't read Chinese, she can speak Cantonese!). So she's about to resign her post here in Toronto (she's still waiting for her VISA from the efficient HK gov't). I wonder if I'd have an edge over others because I'm fluent in English and Cantonese?! But the prob is, I lack experience in the industry!!!

Anyway, in the meantime, I'm also considering jobs in the UK coz that's where my bf is! I once was a bearer of the BNO (before I got my Canadian citizenship) but I don't think it does me any good! I really liked England while I was there (minus the expensive living expenses). I'm just unsure about how welcoming the Englishmen are to recent Canadian grads. Just like everyone else's concerns, why would they hire an overseas grad when they can hire a local grad so they don't have to go thru the paper work of obtaining a work permit for me?!

In terms of lifestyles, I really don't think I can stand having to live in HK again. I think Canada does boast the reputation of having good living standards - whether it be welfare or costs of living (ok, minus the taxes). But I'm just kinda sick of Toronto and am in need of a change! I thought about the U.S. as well because it's so convenient (just like how you can easily work in the EU as a UK citizen). But I figured it's not that much different coz I'd still be in North America. So my instincts tell me that UK would be a nice place to go to, for getting my masters (very expensive indeed for an international student) or finding employment!

Inputs, anyone???

Oh, Botox, in reply to your previous msg, I'm glad that you found cute girls there?!?! As for the air con thing... as an English/Irishman, what are you complaining about?!?! Ever been stuck in the Tube during rush hour in the summer time??? How about drinking warm ale with sweaty Englishmen around you in the pub? (Never mind, actually I quite enjoyed the pub scene!) =Þ

As a Gwai Lo, I'm sure you can find a job teaching English there. It's very popular in Asia (more so in Japan and Korea). As long as you look white, it doesn't matter what your qualifications are, they'd like you for it.

[KnowItAll]

I really don't think I can stand having to live in HK again

Then why bother with Hong Kong? Plenty of jobs available in most countries in the world if you look hard enough and are willing to be a grunt / taking a low salary to beef up your experience.

[Botox]

Hiya. Yep, still in Hong Kong doing the job-hunt thing and enjoying the place. Haven't found a job as quickly as I'd have liked, but I'm still good will hunting - I've got an interview for a very appealing job tomorrow morning actually.

As for the environment - well, I'm more of an Irishman, and I've been living in fresh breezy northern Scotland for the past few years, so the humidity and air conditioners ARE really annoying I very rarely used the tube - I lived in London working for a year, which involved commuting on the tube. For the first few months I took the tube every day (almost an hour each eay). After that, I decided to add 30 minutes onto my journey, avoiding the tube and going *around* London on the normal trains. After that, I quit (well, to enter Uni), partly inspired by the appalling tube journeys - it's not something I can live with. The MTR here doesn't seem so bad though - but I'm in Causeway Bay so if I get a job around here or Wanchai, I'll probably just walk to work anyway.

I looked into some teaching jobs shortly after I got here, but I'm not too sure - I haven't completed my degree, and most positions want a degree, a TEFL cert, and preferrably 2+ years experience. I could probably get by without the experience, being a native English speaker, but still I don't think it's *that* easy. The school term has started now though, so I may have missed the boat. But I don't really *want* to teach anyway, I think I'm too young (20) - if I was teaching 17 year old schoolgirls, I could get into trouble ^_^

As for your situation - in Hong Kong, I don't think you'll have a massive advantage speaking both English and Cantonese - all of my girlfriend's friends speak Cantonese and pretty good English - some speak Mandarin too, and some speak Japanese as well. And some of them are actually still looking for work... But if you have money to support yourself to job hunt for a while, you'll be fine. If you've got a visa to live here too - finer still.

As for working in the UK - there's no bias against Canadians really. There's lots of them in London, and my ex work colleague was a camp Canadian graphic designer. If you've got a degree or experience in an active industry (active in London) you should be fine. I don't hear much about Canadians/Americans having trouble with work permits in the UK - but most that come have experience under their belt so can easily get sponsored to stay by companies.

If you don't like the Hong Kong lifestyle though, I don't think you'll enjoy the London lifestyle much either. They're not too dissimilar (except public transport works in Hong Kong and its safe to walk the streets at night). You might enjoy Manchester or Edinburgh though (or better still, Dublin in Ireland). It depends what industry you aim to work in though - IT is big in Dublin and Edinburgh, design is quite big in Manchester (and Glasgow), etc.


PS - Warm ale? No one outside of the west country/yorkshire drinks ale. It's crisp refreshing European lager all the way

[Botox]

Well woo and yay - I got a job today.

Working for a games development company as a junior games designer.

Still have the work permit threadmill to go through, but still - they've given me the job, that's a step in the right direction.

[Vivelle]

So you're employed, good for you!

Right now I'm in the process of applying to jobs that are more or less of interest to me. I've been applying to Canadian places but am moving on to HK, UK and eventually US. So I guess I'll just work wherever I can get employed for the next little while and see how things go. I suppose HK shouldn't be *too* bad. Once my cousin starts working there I'll have someone to chill with. After all I don't really *know* the HK nowdays coz I haven't been there for 10+ years.

I haven't really considered London. It's a good city to have fun but for living, it's a different story. I stayed in Cambridge for a summer and rather liked that. (It's a little too small still.) My bf is from Leeds and I think that's more like it. A bigger city yet not as polluted as London and overwhelmed with people. He went to Manchester and worked down south. Recently he's moved back north. He's considering going to Glasgow for med school or something like that.

As for me, I've considered going to Aberdeen for medical physics or UMIST for something more engineering-oriented (electronics or optics). But before I make up my mind to blow CAD$30K a year, finding employment is my priority. At least this way I can find out what I really like before going to grad school.

I'm working some office job (it's a "summer" job that I haven't quited) that I'm so willing to resign anytime. I'd love to visit HK during X'mas but as far as money goes, I think I'll be seeing my bf first, comes November or so. I haven't seen too much of Yorkshire so I suppose this time around I'll mainly be around in Leeds, Manchester and York.

Anyway, wish me luck in finding employment! Who knows?! I may end up in HK! (haha) And who says I don't have an advantage over others?! HK employers have the guts to ask for photos on an application (here in Canada it's illegal as it's thought of as "discrimination" against a person's age, sex and gender... but really I think they mean *looks*, don't you think?). So maybe they'll offer me a job based on my charisma! Haha, j.k.! Seriously, I think they just screen you the minute you step into an interview based on how "pleasing" you appear in their eyes. Ever wonder why I dislike female recruiters?!

[Botox]

Yep, it's good to have the job hunting out of the way. My girlfriend has a job interview tomorrow, which hopefully goes well for her - it's a female interviewer though ^_^ She got accepted for a teaching admin job on thursday too, but I think she's going to reject the offer, as it's 12pm-9pm weekdays, then 10am-8pm saturdays, which is just abit insane really.

Aberdeen - ooh, I live(d) there. Tiny tiny tiny place. But if you're in the Uni or oil industry, you might enjoy it's close knit nature.

If you need some assistance with your visa application let me know if it is a concern for you.

[Botox]

Emigra - do you run the emigra.com site? I read a whole load on that, very helpful.

Fortunately my employers have a good idea of what to do in the process, but thanks to checking your site hopefully I know some key things to add and avoid on the application. My only concern is my lack of a degree, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a problem at all... but I've gone over it a bit, and the job's quite specific and relates well to some specific experience I have, so I should be ok.

[kathleen]

Hi, without experience from what I know is that it is difficult to find a job in UK now unless you have studied there. As a Singaporean, I know that I am eligible to stay in Uk for 2 years under a work holiday visa thingy, this should might also apply for a Canadian.

According to friends doing engineering in UK, some have switched over into the finance and IT field where there might still be some opening.

[Botox]

To be honest, if you work in "media" and live in London, it's not at all difficult to find a job in the UK right now. Foreigners shouldn't have any problems either (provided they can get a visa). I worked with an Austrailian girl and a Canadian graphic designer, and they didn't have many troubles. If you've got *some* skills (degrees definitely not nessessary) you'll be fine - especially in the media sector, just being sociable and networking does far more than having a degree.

If you're in pure IT it might be different (a lot of it is being outsourced now), but London's quite open right now, and I know there are more professional foreign workers in London now than ever before, especially in media and design.

In Vivelle's case it's engineering, which I don't have any real idea about... my step dad's a chemical engineer working for an oil company, and a few years back all the oil companies moved out of London to Scotland (or, the London ones had cutbacks and the Scottish ones too up those people).

If you just want to work in London for a short while though, rather than build a specific career, you might as well jump in some media industry - it's much more fun and sociable, and very busy right now. And you won't get told off for turning up at 12pm with a hangover.

I view London very much as a short term thing though. Wouldn't want to stay there more than a couple of years (the same might apply to Hong Kong... if you get sick of the hustle and bustle).