Please help - I'm literally paying to work!

dancingfairy

Not sure what line of work you are in - but surely london can't be the only place you can work? what about guildford/woking/reading area? Maybe the job board will have some useful suggestions?
The only other thing I can suggest is if you really,really think it will further your career and make a massive difference is if you accept that you may get into debt for 6 months or so. Not sure that I would recommed this option though to be honest. You would need to have a defnite plan of how long you would do this for though and set an end date otherwise it could all spiral out of control.
df

Suzkin

dancingfairy wrote: »

Not sure what line of work you are in - but surely london can't be the only place you can work? what about guildford/woking/reading area? Maybe the job board will have some useful suggestions?
The only other thing I can suggest is if you really,really think it will further your career and make a massive difference is if you accept that you may get into debt for 6 months or so. Not sure that I would recommed this option though to be honest. You would need to have a defnite plan of how long you would do this for though and set an end date otherwise it could all spiral out of control.
df

There is quite a lot of work for what I do in London - and so very very little in the South. Before I started I told myself that the loss could be near to say, doing a PG course and being for 10 months etc. (I already have a PG qualification and degree in the subject). However, now that I've started, the scope for development appears to be virtually non-existant, and to be honest, I'm afraid for my job future, as I'm unsure of the value of being in this organisation - doing the kind of work I'm actually doing on a daily basis. I haven't got the strength to apply for other work right now, and was wondering how I could minimise the 'damage' until such time as I might fond something else - but still in my line of work.

What I really need is a proper paying (i.e. commensurate with my experience and qualifications) full time post with prospects: almost everything my current one doesn't seem to have :-(

As I say, there a very few opportunities: it's quite a stagnant area and people tend to stay in these jobs for life. (btw: without sounding inflexible, I do not really wish to retrain into another field).

tintaja

Suzkin; sounds like you need to make serious sacrifices in order to get your career back on track. Hope things will work out for you.

Regarding part time jobs in London; firstly, restaurants in London will often be very happy to employ someone part time, or to work during evenings only. You will also get food, so that will be one less cost to consider The best way to get employed is to visit every restaurant you like, and ask if they have any vacancies (most of the restaurants rarely advertise with agencies as they always have people coming through the door and asking for vacancies, so you stand greater chance of getting a job if you use this technique)

Secondly, it may be a good idea to register with a baby sitting agency which provides ad hoc baby sitting, such as: http://www.sitters.co.uk ( we used their nannies when we wanted someone to babysit our daughter). Later, through recommendations, you might develop your own circle of families and organize the work yourself.

Gumtree is also great for jobs, https://www.gumtree.com

angelite_2

Hi there, I'm just wondering if you would be entitled to working tax credits, as you're on a low income. Might be worth going to the inland revenue site and using their online calculator, worth a try x

HIJKsplit

Well done you for still working when things are difficult.

Makes a nice change instead of just giving up working and living off the state and being supported by taxpayers like myself

poorandindenial

Hi there

I just stumbled across your thread

Rather than getting the tube to holborn there is a bus that goes that route, I think it is the 243 (the 76 also goes from waterloo past the end of Kingsway (Aldwych end)). It would be cheaper to use the oyster on those from waterloo (90p). Can you get advance purchase tickets for your off peak journeys, if you book a month in advance you can often get them for a lot less.

I agree with a previous poster that you could do well to look for some work in town and cities that are more commutable (eg Woking, Guildford etc etc)

I don't understand what sort of job is worth this level of pain (but that is just my issue, I can't stand long distance commuting) but I hope that you manage to find a way around this soon and that this ends up worth it for your career in the long term.

All the best.

Suzkin

HIJKsplit wrote: »

Well done you for still working when things are difficult.

Makes a nice change instead of just giving up working and living off the state and being supported by taxpayers like myself

Hi - I really appreciate this observation. Call me stupid, but I was actually better off financially unemployed. Even though I was volunteering at the time, I really felt I needed 'standard' employment. I do feel very disappointed about my situation now - since the position is much lower than I am qualified for. My thinking however, was that it was a 'foot in the door'. Now, though I'm not sure if I should have just waited it out for other things - I am actually quite confused. If my job was really satisfying and I was learning new skills, then I might say it was worth it, but now I'm there, and the job has been 'revealed' to me, it's a bit disappointing - despite asking nicely for different and more 'professional' tasks, they haven't given anything to me, yet. I keep thinking in the back of my mind, that - as a previous poster may have said - I've really undersold myself, and now it will be difficult to get myself out of this situation by trying to convince other employers of my 'worth'?

Keeping_Motivated

Hi

I've not read all your replies so apologise if I repeat anyone else but have you thought about signing up to a load of Mystery Shopping companies and then picking assignements which fit with your working hours that you can easily do before you get the train home? Could be worth doing so it pays for your travel while sticking with the job to increase your prospects in your field and I agree with you sticking with the job if you can as it will look good on your CV but you cannot continue to lose like this a you are very aware so maybe mystery shopping would be the answer to up the income flexibly around the job?

There are a few people who easily fits it round their jobs, look at Hypnos and Benbens and Karmacats threads they all have jobs and fit the mystery shopping in too.

Just a thought. Good luck with it.

Suzkin

Thanks Keeping Motivated. I've actually booked myself in to help a PhD student with some tests - she's paying £7 each for two sessions = £14 BUT this is a drop in the ocean compared to what I need!

I undertook a mystery shopping task over the Summer and really enjoyed it. It paid £15.00. But as I don't drive. I've had to turn them down once, and they haven't looked me up since...

Keeping_Motivated

There is a thread on the Up Your Income Board about Mystery Shopping and I am sure that you could sign yourself up to quite a few companies to ensure yourself a decent few? You could do them while you are actually in London so wouldn't actually need to drive if you picked carefully?