Immigration to UK
Immigration vs Emigration
Just FYI – I was very confused previously about when to use “immigrate” and “emigrate”. To make things easy for anyone who does not know “Immigration” is used when we are describing a country where we are moving to permanently, “Emigration” is used to describe that country that we are moving out of . In my case – I have immigrated to UK and emigrated from Lithuania.
College Years and my arrival to Scotland
Upon arrival my friend met me in Edinburgh airport and helped me get my stuff to his place. At the time I had only one luggage and a backpack with me. I was ready to search for work. As it turned out – it was not as easy as I have imagined. Most places required me to have a National Insurance Card and a UK bank account. I had none of those. My only option that I was aware of was to find an employment agency and try my luck there with some temp jobs. A few sensible things that I have done were getting a local mobile number and registering for a National Insurance Number
I was a well built guy with a lot of muscles and a strength of a horse. I had three options for a temp job in my mind. I could either work in construction (which did not require a CSCS card at the time), security (again, no qualification was required back then), or furniture removal company. I tried to get any job, but I did not try restaurants, hotels, nor cleaning jobs. After registering with a couple of agencies I was waiting for a call.
My first ever job in UK was working for a furniture removal company. The agency called me and told me where to be at the specified time. I arrived 20 min early (as I usually do) and I was eager to start. The guys were quite helpful, they have given me the work clothes, and explained what to do (which was not rocket science – you take a box/char/cabinet/etc and move it to the truck). The work was hard, especially when we had to work in narrow corridors in old buildings, where the temperature climbed to 40C or when we had to remove furniture form an old school by taking stuff from one building to another during a heavy rain. It was hard, but it was honest work that I enjoyed and I was receiving my paycheck weekly.
I have been doing this type of work for almost a month – the problem was that it was guaranteed that I will be working every day, the job was project based and “extra” pair of hands was not always required. Luckily my friend (the one that has immigrated to Scotland) has found a new job for himself and recommended me to his old boss as a replacement for him. The only requirement was to have a valid driving licence (which I had), and a good character.
My buddy has arranged for me to met his old boss, which I did. We clicked and I was offered a job there. I had to work at the private airport car park. I had to do two things: Park the cars in a specific order and place, and drive passengers to/from the airport. I loved it. The money were pretty much the same, but it was a guaranteed daily job and I got to enjoy the tips as well. On a good day my tips were half of my normal daily earnings. I also enjoyed the fact that I got to drive quite a few cool cars and I was protected from bad weather. The only attribute that required physical strength was loading and unloading the luggage.
I stuck there for the rest of the summer and I got an invite back the following summer as well. those were great times.
Immigration After Graduation
Having been in UK previously and by loving the whole experience I have decided that upon receiving my diploma I will immigrate to UK permanently. During my previous summers there I have earned enough to pay my parents back for the tickets and I had some money left to buy one way tickets and to support myself while I settle in. This time my heart was set on going to London, since I have heard that in a big city you get more opportunity and I always wanted to live in a huge city. As a comparison my home town had a population of about 100k people, Edinburgh is about 500k, whereas London has a population of about 8.5 million people. All of this sounded great.
During my last summer I have spent a month in London with my other friend who immigrated earlier. I was pick about where to work, because I had something to compare it to and I had experience as well. Long story short – I was almost broke, called my old boss in Edinburgh, and went there again.
This time I was adamant to find a job in London. After about three weeks of searching and with the help of a friend who has recommended me to his colleagues in a hotel – I got an offer to work as a maintenance assistance. By this time I had everything required to work full time. I had my National Insurance Number, I had a UK bank account (which was opened with the help of my employer in Scotland), and I had UK experience as well.
Coming from a family where a man has to know how to do “manly” stuff, like the basics of an electrician, plumber, carpenter, and painter – I had no troubles proving myself in my new role. I also had great customer service skills from working near the airport and earning my tips. My boss loved me and the guests loved me as well. It was a lot of fun to work there. One of the coolest things that happened was a Christmas card from an old guest from US, it was very touching to receive it and I still remember both him and a card (which I still have). The perks of working in a hotel were – meeting new people from all over the world, both staff and guests, free lunch (and sometimes breakfast and diner, but breakfast only if the chef likes you), free uniform, and loads of new friends.
I consider working in a hotel as a good stepping stone in my life. It has helped me grow and develop as well. However after spending a year and a half there, it was time to move on. I wanted to stay in the hotel, but I needed more interaction with the guests, I wanted to work at the front of house. A position became available, I told my boss that I am going to be applying, and I did. In about two weeks I had my interview, which was unsuccessful, I was told I do not have enough customer facing experience, which in my mind was nonsense, just an excuse not to hire me. I may be wrong, but it did not land with me very well. I decided to look elsewhere and I was successful of getting a client facing position at a Visa Consultancy/Travel Agent, where I spent almost two years until I found my current job at the multinational corporation, just like I always wanted(or so I thought).
Settling in
Now it has been five years since I have immigrated to UK. I work in a great place, I have loads of friends from all my old jobs (I like to keep in touch). This is the time to think about the future, where do I see myself in 5 years time. To be honest I think I know, I want to focus on Project Management, and I will start by getting a Prince2 certificate. What I have learned about myself is that I need to keep my mind busy, otherwise I get bored – a lot. I know my current job inside out and there is not much potential to move up. Sure, if I stay for another year or two – I will become manager, but it will be boring. I see my life as a game – I am not afraid of losing. I am afraid of not trying.
Reach for your goals and dreams, try new things, do not be afraid of making mistakes or failing. We live only once, so if immigration to another country is something that you have been thinking about – do it (with preparation of course).
C ya.
