Is degree necessary for Living in London and surviving?

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stepney_lad

Your assuming wrong, only a small proportion of people in the UK hold degrees, and it largely depends on what part of london you wish to work in.

You can get a job anywhere in the world without qualifications, i have none, but still earn as much as a CEO, it's a question of front and life skills.

As the previous poster stated, "without living in London,you have no chance", if you listen to her you'll end up six feet under, life doesn't start in London with a coffee at starbucks, it starts with asking questions, meeting people and picking brains.

You get out of life what you put in, go and take it!

Bear this in mind; 94% of the greatest business men in the world, started out without a single "O" level to there name, and still don't have them

Bob the Boat

Don't worry

Although I have a degree, I have found that most employers just take that as an ability to learn stuff, so not vastly important

Your personality, sense of humour, general intellegence, will count for far more in London.

L W

No you dont need a degree!! If your coming over her for a year or so you can sign up with differnt temping agencies!
If you sign up with a good agency they will keep u working and on good money! Try ang get work in the city though because that is where you will get good wages!!! If you just got to google search enginre and type in recruitment agencys you can register with most of them online and tehn they call you in for a chat and a microsoft word and excel test and typing test! All easy nothing to worry about! Ive got no degree adn im on good money temping and now also of other people that r! Also a lot of temping jobs can then lead to permanent if you wish!! When you join a agency you tell them the salary you want and they will look for that for you, alsotaking in your CV! Wouldnt be worrying at all if i was you! Good Luck!!!

Carrie S

I don't have a degree and I was very successful living and working in London. However I did have 10 years secretarial / PA experience which meant that I was "degree calibre". If you have a skill at something which is needed then you don't necessarily need a degree. You will need a good command of the English language (spoken and written) and the ability to communicate well. If you're hard working and willing to learn the ropes quickly then there's no reason why you couldn't get in on the ground floor and work your way up with hard work and long hours. I'm a firm believer that you get out of life what you put into it and if you just expect a good job to land on your lap without putting in the work then you'll be waiting forever. Get a good CV typed up, hawk yourself round the agencies, sell yourself, keep smiling, keep going and you'll get there eventually.

It is virtually impossible to get a job in London without actually living there first. No one is going to employ someone they have never met even a coffee shop. My advice is to save up enough money to get by for the first 3 months without a job to give you time to find one and settle in.

Johnny Cage

necessities=food,water,shelter,clothes

u can survive without anything else...trust me!..remember the author of harry potter?

JennJenn66

It depends what sort of job you are looking for. Most employers look for experience over qualifications in my opinion

cheekybear

It depend what you want to do..different jobs require different skills. There are thousands of unskilled people working in London

J-J Adams

John Major was born in London he didn't have a degree and he was Prime Minister. If you don't have degree just apply for jobs that don't specify a degree. It's a positive and friendly attitude and being prepared to work hard that are the most important things.

marco polo

There are plenty of poor people living in London, earning less than the national average..

If you are prepared to sacrifice some standard of living for the experience and to 'gain knowledge' then do it.

Rachie85

No you definitely do not need a degree. However, if you don't have a degree you will have to be realistic about the sort of work you can get and be prepared to work your way up. Basic salaries in London are generally higher than in the rest of the country (in the secretarial, PA and admin professions) and as long as you are the sort of person who can sell themselves and use their experience in a way that helps you to get your dream job then you will be fine.
As long as you obviously don't apply for somewhere that asks for a degree and/ or specific experience you don't have you will be fine.
A good tip for your first job somewhere like London is to go with a reputable recruitment agency (I recommend Reed and Hays). You will need to be able to work in this country and have a visa or passport. They will help you to get the sort of job you want. Alternatively you can send your cv to some good companies. You could do temp work and specify that you want to work for Â£7 upwards as this is more conducive to staying in London for the short-term. Make sure that if you get a permanent job that you read the contract and give enough notice so you can leave when you want to.

Another good tip is to send your cv to some good companies ans ask for an internship. Whilst doing the internship you will need to work part-time in a bar or shop to make ends meet but it is excellent if you have something like this to put on your cv. Obviously this is the long-term option and will only be do-able if you are prepared for this long-term.
You will get lower salaries than those with degrees and MAs or PHDs at first but by the time you have been working in that company for a year or 2, you will be able to work your way up to better-paid positions.
As long as you are prepared to do this long-term, not have that much money to start with (until you get a pay rise) and are prepared to save money by taking public transport or walking and living in the cheaper parts of London and shopping for food in lower priced outlets you can definitely get by.

I don't know what your voluntary work is but if it is charity-related, you could try to get a job working for a charity (on a paid contract) as this could really impress them and make you stand out.

Hope I helped.

froggequene

No, you don't need a degree to work in London, there are some areas where they will require candidates to have a degree but it's possible to get by without one. I don't know what kind of qualifications you imagine people have but a lot of people get where they are through hard work & determination. It might also be worth bearing in mind there are an increasing number of UK employers who don't think a degree from a UK University is worth the paper it's written & the government's policies may eventually render them completely worthless.

If you'd like to tell us what fields you're thinking of working in, perhaps people would be able to tell you the best places to look for work.

Omstarts

It depends.

You could become a tube driver (school is in Wimbledon I think, but huge waiting lists), and after 18 months you would earn more than the average graduate.....

To be perfectly honest, although you could get on OK without one, having one really just gives you that bit extra. Sooooo many people come here (like myself) to find better employment opportunities that to sometimes just stay with the pack, you need a degree.

I don't mean to be negative, it really depends on what you have in mind. I would certainly though make sure you have something lined up before coming - the days of just hiking down to London and finding your fortune are long gone, unless you are happy to temp at a non-descript office for a year, something you could do anywhere....

porkscrachy

You can earn enough to survive but it wont be much fun because all your money will go on rent food etc

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