Heading to London to work, desperately seeking advice

Joxer Brown

Hi all,

I'm a recently qualified technician with 1 years experience in a small firm working on domestic and small comercial projects. i have recently been let go and have decided to head for pastures greener to stay in touch with architecture.

I am proficient in cad, 3d cad and Photoshop.

I am curious as to whether the cross over will be tough and will i find it hard to get work as i was trained here. I have worked briefly with british standards although mostly TGD's.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

sinnerboy

I lived and worked in London for 10 happy years -just go for it . Your training here will serve you well . Things are not great in London either so be prepared to be flexible and patient . Budget for at least 2 months job seeking . House sharing is how most start out to keep costs low . Go online to check out costs of everyday life - rents , bus and rail fares even groceries . And prepare . Good luck .

No6

There appear to be at least a few jobs being advertised for Arch Techs in the UK, the CIAT & RIBA website have a few, good luck, Hays Uk usually has a few too altough the pay rates are considerably lower than they were here.

Bobon

You could always get an english simcard and an english address to put on your cv. That way you can apply from here and according to your cv, you're living in london. If you get an interview, just book a last minute flight. This is what i've been doing as i've been applyin for jobs in london for the last 6 weeks. Unfortunately I've only had one phonecall back after applying for countless jobs and that was from an agency. I have 3 years experience myself.

Mellor

How do you have an english address?
Surely you aren't paying rent without being over there, would be a bit silly.
I'd guess it's a relative or similar, might not be an option for the OP.

Joxer Brown

Thanks for replies, i have bar experience so am planning to get a job in a bar while im looking for work if need be.

I'm nervous enough about landing in an office and being unfamiliar with their system (square pegs and round holes). But if worst came to worst i think i'd try and get in somewhere as a cad technician.

Mellor

Joxer Brown wrote: »

Thanks for replies, i have bar experience so am planning to get a job in a bar while im looking for work if need be.

I'm nervous enough about landing in an office and being unfamiliar with their system (square pegs and round holes). But if worst came to worst i think i'd try and get in somewhere as a cad technician.

Don't worry about this.
The UK regs are unbelievable similar to our own TGDs. Both were originally based on the same BS codes, we now have some IS codes that have taken over, but this are essentially copy and paste jobs.
The similarity in climates, and identical construction methods mean that there are little differences in most of what you do.
They may have a few extra regs, but these are common sense, or the natural thing to do most of the time, and if not will be pointed out to you.

London/UK is probably the best city/country to be in for similarity to Irish regs, not everywhere is so similar

Bobon

Mellor wrote: »

How do you have an english address?
Surely you aren't paying rent without being over there, would be a bit silly.
I'd guess it's a relative or similar, might not be an option for the OP.

I'm not that stupid to be paying rent somewhere and not living there :P. It's my mates address in London. It's just one way and not necessarily the only way of doing things. I'm not spending any of my savings doing it this way. If I get no replies, I can look elsewhere, which is what I'm considering now as you know Mellor. I suppose if they OP is fully committed to going to London, he could get any job until something comes up.

Bobon

Joxer Brown wrote: »

Thanks for replies, i have bar experience so am planning to get a job in a bar while im looking for work if need be.

I'm nervous enough about landing in an office and being unfamiliar with their system (square pegs and round holes). But if worst came to worst i think i'd try and get in somewhere as a cad technician.

I'd kill for a cad technician job in London, nevermind if worst came to the worst. My advice to you is to apply for both cad and arch tech jobs. Hope you have better luck than I've been having.

Mellor

Bobon wrote: »

I'm not that stupid to be paying rent somewhere and not living there :P. It's my mates address in London. It's just one way and not necessarily the only way of doing things. I'm not spending any of my savings doing it this way. If I get no replies, I can look elsewhere, which is what I'm considering now as you know Mellor. I suppose if they OP is fully committed to going to London, he could get any job until something comes up.

HaHa, sorry, I knew you weren't actually paying rent. Was just highlighting the need for a mate/relative.
I think you're right to keep options open, looking at london and further afield if needed.