Will I need a degree to get a job in England?

I'm planning to move to Birmingham where I recently applied for a job in the IT business. The gross income will be 55K GBP. Is it enough to live there for a family of 4 people? Is it roughly a 3200 GBP per month, right? Thanks a lot. D

Tom's comments are very accurate and adding my experience, what Tom was saying is true.

If you're not an EU citizen (which I presume is the case), it can be very difficult to move to the UK. Most people in this position try to either get a study visa or a work visa. (You can click here for more in-depth information about visas for the UK.)

If you want to go the route of a work visa, you'd need to get a job in the UK first. This can be difficult even at the best of times, but will probably be even more difficult without a degree. If you're not happy with what you're studying anyway, it might be worthwhile to consider starting over and studying something new. If you have the financial means to support yourself, pay fees, and have an offer for admission to a UK university, you should be able to successfully get a study visa, so you'd be able to stay there for the duration of your studies, at least. Afterwards, you might be able to find a job and stay on for longer, but the likelihood of this is difficult to predict. You'd stand a better chance if you obtained a qualification in one of the skills listed in the UK's skill shortage list. You can find the list on the official UK government's website.

Best of luck!

M

Hi Danielo,

I think supporting a family of 4 on GBP 3200 per month might be difficult. 

I think you can expect to pay at least GBP 2,000 for a two bedroom flat/apartment and then you'll need to factor in the cost of bills on top of that. Then there is transport, food and lifestyle expenses!

Also, what type of of schooling do you want your children to have? Private and international schools in the UK can be very expensive. But if you are legally working in the UK your kids will legally be allowed to attend a public school at little/no cost. That said, popular ones are hard to get into sometimes.

I think you should look at the Cost of Living in the UK to get an idea of costs. The prices in Birmingham will be cheaper than London, but you can still draw up a budget.

Good luck

Shantalie

Hi Shantalie, thanks a lot for your suggestions! I'll take them in consideration for next steps. Cheers, Danilo

Hi Danilo, an annual salary of 55k is actually pretty good, and well above average particularly outside London. Check out rightmove.com or zoopla.com for an idea of rent in Birmingham. Only 7% of people send their children to private schools, states schools are free and often very good. 

im planning on immigrating to the uk from SA after my graduation -Degree in October 2017.my husband is a qualified electrical engineer in light current and specialises in telecomms. i dont know where to start and need help

Hi There, I am a mom of two and I suffer from Multiple Sclerosis. To make life more livable for me, my husband and I have been considering moving to Scotland. I have been researching how to accomplish this, but still feel like I have no idea where to start. Can anyone help?

Hi Anonymous, I am not sure if you will read this by now, but having moved from SA to the UK. If you do not hold a UK Ancestral Visa, it can be quite difficult to get a job. Thus, I will suggest you both get sponsorships before you go. Open up bank accounts before you go because once you in the UK, they require a proof of address for a bank account. Also make sure you have enough money to cover yourself for 3 months initially, as this will take the maximum to get everything organised. Hopefully, this will help you when you get to Oct 2017. Checklist - Bank account, Work Visa, Enough money to survive for 3 months. If this is in order, it easy to get a place to stay outside of London. Once in London, it can take a bit of time. I don't know your financial background but most people house share in the UK. So you might want to consider this as well.

Hi there. I would need a bit more information to be able to answer your question. What nationality are you and your husband? Do you and your husband work, and if so, in what industry?