OPTIONSSS????

So, here’s the situation.. I have the worlds most shittiest jobs EVER and just want to leave to go travelling.. Only problem is I have already booked my flights to leave on the 20th of November and there are no jobs for students/people with minimal experience in my area at all (I have been looking for 6 months) If I stay in this job I’ll most likely only be able to earn between £2000 and £3000 between when I finish school and when I leave as I am on minimum wage and will only get between 20 and 35 hrs per week at most and I was hoping to get about £4000/£5000.

So do I…

re-route my flight to a lot earlier and head to OZ first and get a WHV, work for 6 months over there then travel SE Asia?

ORRRRR do I just suck it up and carry on?

any help would be good as I am incredibly sick of England and just want to leave.

Ha that sounds like me. I think you replied in my thread where I was wondering about working in Thailand or Oz and in the end I decided to work in Oz in December so I could travel south east Asia after.
However my job finishes up at the end of August and the chances of me getting a decent paying job after that are very slim. So I think Im going to head to Oz in September now, with a lot less money than I would like but literaly head out and get regional work straight away so I can save quickly without spending too much money and then depending on how much money I have and how much I like Oz il either stay there a little bit longer saving more money or else head to SEAsia.

Why stay here where it never stops raining when you can head off and work (and hopefully save lots of money) in the sun!

Can you not pick up another job? I know you’re saying work is difficult to come by in your area, but places like McDonalds are usually hiring, even in the recession.

When I went to Canada on a WHV, one of the main regrets people had was not arriving with more money. I was quite fortunate and held back in the UK for the summer and earned even more money by doing so, and it made things less stressful and more fun.

Personally I’d say hang on in the UK till you have the funds you think you’ll need. If you’re struggling to find work here in the UK due to a lack of experience, you’re likely to run into the same problem in Oz. Get some experience here, especially in something you think you’d find easily in Oz (retail, bar, cafe etc.) as it will help with your job hunt there.

If you do decide to go early and head straight to Oz, what’s the backup plan if you struggle to find work and get down to your last pennies? If there’s a good backup, or you know you have parents who are likely to support you, this could be an option… it just wouldn’t be my first choice.

I work in KFC at the moment and it is the worst place in the world. All I get is threats and the management treat us like shit. I have been looking for a new job for so long. There is nothing in the city or even in my town its shite.

Argh, that sounds awful. A friend of mine worked at McDonalds through uni and she always said that for as much stick as she’d get for the idea of working there, it was a great place to work. The hours were really flexible (doing more in slow periods at uni, and few hours during exams) and the management were lovely too. She started off working in one in her local town the summer before, and transferred to one in Leeds for the academic year. Maybe she just got lucky with 2 good branches, or maybe they’re just a lot better than KFC, I don’t know but it could be worth a try?

Office work tends to pay more than minimum wage, and is often a full 37.5 - 40 hour week. Chances are, an agency wont give you a second look without prior experience, but if you know anyone… anyone at all who could get you a week or two’s unpaid experience in an office, this is likely to make an agency look over your CV. Plus you can make up some of the ‘duties’ you had…

Hey Natalee,

At the end of the day you’ve got to do what makes you happy. There’s no point staying in a job that you hate just for the sake of it.

Either find a new job, work in a bar or something, or head over to Oz!

You can either do farm work out in Oz or work in a hostel - there’s an abundance of work once you get out there but obviously you’ve got to get out there first!

You’ll find that once you’re on the road these problems just melt away and seem insignificant, but you’ve got to make that change!

Good luck with it!

Macca

I am in an almost identical situation to you, I even work in the same place and can vouch for you that it’s the worst! I’ve been there for over a year and have just finished college. I have 7 months to go until I leave! It’s going to be a really depressing time but I’m just going to need to try and stay focused. The job and pay are both shite but the hours are very flexible and thankfully I get on well with everyone at my place.

My advice is just suck it up and carry on. Try and get more hours if you can, I hated it for the first few months when I had one or two shifts a week but now I’m basically full time and it’s a bit less depressing because I’ve gotten used to it. Also, if you plan on travelling throughout your life then I can almost guarantee it won’t be the worst job you ever have to do!

Having a shit time at home will make going away even sweeter. Just grit your teeth and get on with it, unless you’re lucky enough to find a temp office job or something.

The only problem is my manager keeps hiring people so there isn’t enough hours for full time, one of the girls at work can’t pay her rent as she’s getting under 20 hours a week. All of the so-called ‘full timers’ are only getting a maximum of 20 hours which isn’t going to get me far.

Everyone keeps saying “get an office job” there are literally NO jobs.

I know, nobody really gets more than 25-30 hours at my place either unless they’re a manager. Totally ridiculous but luckily I’m one of those people despite only having a 10 hour contract.

I check the job centre website daily and there’s no office jobs requiring no experience in my area either. You could try call centre work but I imagine that might be pretty horrible.

A friend of mine might be leaving her job for a grad job but doesn’t want to leave them without anyone so if she gets the job then she’s giving them my CV but she isn’t hopeful unfortunately :/ x