No high paying jobs in England?

Question

Today I talked to my dad about the possibility of moving to England when I get older but I was surprised to hear that he said its really hard to find a well paying job in England unless your family is in that buisiness for a while, and that America really is better than I take it for and that I couldnt find a well enough paying job as my dad has now...He isnt a very nationalistic person so I just wanted to see if what he said is true and what jobs are the best to work as in that country, and if its anything near as great as what we have here.

btw we're upper middle class Americans.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Your Dad is correct.

There are more opportunities in the USA especially with your background.

Answer 2

First of all it's not that easy to pick up and just get a job outside of the U.S. Also, Europe has a much higher unemployment rate than the U.S. does, despite our current economic situation. Also your class has nothing to do with anything, so I don't know why you bother telling us. However it isn't "easy" to find a good paying job here in the U.S. either, you have to work for it. It won't come to you.

Answer 3

Yes what he says is true. The UK is very snobbish about many things and usually unless you have a powerful Masters with 5 years experience or higher, then forget it.

Answer 4

england is a very rich and diverse country. give it a chance, i mean, you can always come back to america and continue your life here if you like to.

i think the experience is worthed!!

every country has his own problems, advantages and disadvantages.

give it a try and think that your dad possible does not want you to go away from them, i mean, it is a few thousand miles away!!!

good luck and hopefully you will take the best decision!!

Answer 5

In order to answer that question you need to define what you mean by high paying. First you need to understand English are paid British Pounds not Dollars. So a job an office job that pays £15,000 in England pays approximately $30,000.  

Second issue for you is if you do not have immediate family in the UK or the EU entering England to work may be difficult. The exception is unless you hold at least a Masters or a Doctorate degree and you are able to enter the UK by obtaining a work permit when you are fairly young. A work permit requires that you apply for a job, the job is offered to you by a company approved by the Home Office, the job complies with UK laws regarding job offers to foreigners, and you go through the work permit process. Otherwise entry to the UK to work may be quite difficult due to the new Tier system that is being implemented for work. Finally in regard to Tony's statement in his reply to your question that Europe has a higher unemployment rate than the US that is totally false. The current UK unemployment rate is at 5.3% versus the current 5.5% of the US. Due to the low unemployment rate in the UK

Third issue you need to understand is that the UK is a welfare state. This means you are taxed but the taxes you pay come back in the form of services and benefits. For example in the UK University for those who have resided in the UK for three years is capped at a maximum of £3,500 per year for a Bachelors degree. Health care is free for those who have been in the country for a year and there is a well developed transportation system all of which comes from taxes.  

Fourth issue in regard to having family in the business. I do not know where your dad gets his information about having family in the business. I live in the UK and can tell you there is no relationship between family and your job.

I have included a few links in the 'source' section regarding immigrating to work in the UK for your review and information on current unemployment rate in the UK and US. Hopefully it helps you with your question.

Moving on, in order to answer your additional question on how difficult it would be start a new life in the UK / Europe I can speak from experience as I have lived in both the US and UK. The UK is very similar culturally to the US especially if you come from the northern US or Mid-West. The biggest difference is the workplace. Unions are still powerful in the UK, your work week is between 35 - 37.5 hours and have a minimum of 30 work-days off for vacation / holiday (22 work-days for holiday and 8 bank holidays), and the way the British work is very different from the US. Also the UK is a drink culture with 24 hour pubs and are more to the 'left' when it comes to politics than the US. If you are conservative or pro-George Bush in your views you may struggle with adapting to the UK & European way of life. Finally depending on where you go in the UK you will encounter anti-American sentiment.

Finally, answering your additional question about finding an American company that has offices in the UK and then entering England to work through that route. As previously mentioned since the UK is going to a Tier system for work this system also applies to foreign companies that bring in employees to the UK to work. In order for you to enter the UK to work for your employer, an American company, you would have to meet the requirements and the company would have to be certified. This would mean for you that you hold at least a Masters degree and most likely a Doctorate degree. If you had only a Bachelors degree then you would have very almost no chance of entering the UK.

In conclusion my recommendation is if you are interested living in the UK you should come to UK and if possible try it as a part of some US university study program (like study at Cambridge for a semester program). Without experiencing living in England you will not know if you would like England and if you could adapt to living in the UK. I do not feel that if you would work for an American company that had offices in the UK you would have a better chance of entering to work than if you applied to enter by having a work permit.