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London/UK fonts: Let's talk £50k+ careers

GoodFortune

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No need to worry, I still feel like a kid sometimes and I'm 28 lol. I don't think we ever shake that feeling off really. Just remember there is a first time for everything, everyone in the workforce had their first time. You'll adapt to a professional environment. They are just people. They can be as petty, mean or kind, helpful as people in school. Don't overthink it. Some work place are toxic leave when you don't feel fulfilled.

Regarding earning £80k, it depends on what you want to get into. I'm assuming you want to be a UI/UX designer? There are so many paths you can take with that. Focus on gaining experience and working diligently first, £80k is still a long way in your future. The one piece of advice I will give you. Don't be loyal to companies, leave after two years (max), start looking for new opportunities after 1yr, six months, with an aim of a 10% pay rise. If you really like the company, when you get a job offer elsewhere, let them know and see if they'll match it. If not, move on.

If you haven't already, make a portfolio. Always build things, push yourself, practice. There are lots of project ideas on YouTube with tutorials.

Get a GitHub account if you haven't already, put your projects on there. Look for opensource work on there as well and contribute to group projects so you can show off your skills to employers. Maybe give yourself a monthly goal to target different opensource projects.

Get on Udemy and buy one of their UX courses. They are usually £12, sometimes they go up to £100 but that's just temporary. Always buy courses when they are on sale, which is always lol. They usually have a few days of sales and then switch to their 'real' price for a day or two before switching back to the sale prices.

Google start ups in London(are you in London?) and email them for possible internships or junior roles. Angel.co is also great for start up jobs across the UK. Do this even after you get a job too, it's key to increasing your salary.

Go on MeetUp and join groups relating to getting into tech, UX groups, learning to code and other types. This is how you network, meet people working in tech and hear about jobs/internships that aren't advertised widely.



Remember

It may take you awhile to get a job, possibly months (as in close to a year). This is the reality for a lot of grads, don't beat yourself up about it. The rejection is not an indication of your worth, getting that first job can be hard for some. Just keep applying and learning, get a part time job in customer service or something else where you can work from home. It's best to keep yourself busy with other things and earning income while you job hunt. Good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thank you so much for your reply it’s very kind of you. I hope to go down the UX researcher route or be a UX designer also called information architect, as I find graphic design difficult it just doesn’t catch my attention ,so no to user interface design and I’m a complete beginner to coding. Also funnily enough I just brought two courses from udemy on sale and booked a 1:1 with the uni course advisor, I also got my first A since high school. Things are looking up. I’ll defo follow your advice :)
 

MargaeryTyrell

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Thank you so much for your reply it’s very kind of you. I hope to go down the UX researcher route or be a UX designer also called information architect, as I find graphic design difficult it just doesn’t catch my attention ,so no to user interface design and I’m a complete beginner to coding. Also funnily enough I just brought two courses from udemy on sale and booked a 1:1 with the uni course advisor, I also got my first A since high school. Things are looking up. I’ll defo follow your advice :)
Cool, you seem very put together and focused, well done! You're entering the job market during a crazy time, I can't imagine it.

PM me if you ever feel down or need advice, I remember feeling how you did. It's just a phase, I promise :)
 

GoodFortune

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Thank you so much for your reply it’s very kind of you. Also funnily enough I just brought two courses from udemy on sale and booked a 1:1 with the uni course advisor, I also got my first A since high school. Things are looking up. I’ll defo follow your advice :)
Cool, you seem very put together and focused, well done! You're entering the job market during a crazy time, I can't imagine it.

PM me if you ever feel down or need advice, I remember feeling how you did. It's just a phase, I promise :)
Will do ! Thanks :)
 

sun cow

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Throwing this out here for some fonts who have not heard about this career path: Shipping & Trade

There are women from Nigeria, South Africa, Jamaica and The Bahamas making BANK in this career path.

Thank you. I work in this sector and was considering leaving it after a couple of years, pre-pandemic. Re-thinking that now but not sure if I should stay with the company I’m working for. Are you in logistics/shipping?
 

LaSirenita

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For the writers again, just following up on my post about bid writing. I’m not leaving my job anytime soon and I’m on maternity leave anyway, but I got a message on LinkedIn about a £50k role and thought about this thread.

I probably wouldn’t be able to get it right now as I’ve only been doing bid writing for a year but would definitely be able to get it in a couple of years. And that’s just what that particular company is offering, and for someone with mid range experience, so you could definitely make way more.
 

GoodFortune

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Hi.

I'm in digital/tech.

You should go into UX (user experience)
I think she should get into UI user interface as well as they can incorporate graphic design. May I ask what you do in tech and what’s it’s like?
 
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I think she should get into UI user interface as well as they can incorporate graphic design. May I ask what you do in tech and what’s it’s like?

At the moment I work for a start up as a senior ecommerce manager. However I have worked for Google previously (I have mentioned that hell hole in a couple of other threads). Also worked for some of the largest retailers/FMCG companies in the UK managing website optimisation, trading, UX etc

Digital isn't hard.... you can learn as you go. I have been doing this for 10 years or so and this is my third career. (Mid thirties)

I don't have any digital qualifications.... I studied a nonsense degree and got a 2:2. I got here through hard work and just being personable. I wouldn't recommend this of course. My talent is that I am pretty good at gaining interviews and securing jobs, it's a game to me, I am very methodical in my approach. I usually get between 2 to 4 offers during each search period. I dont stay in jobs for longer than 1.5 years and do a lot of short term contracts in between.
 
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I think she should get into UI user interface as well as they can incorporate graphic design. May I ask what you do in tech and what’s it’s like?
I answered half of your question:


My job is fun... its creative and analytical. I love managing and nurturing talent. You are faced with new challenges everyday that help you develop problem solving skills. I love websites so its a good fit for me.

My issue however is that I don't like sh!t managers, I have a low patience threshold and I'm one of those employees that will walk. I like strategic planning, however I keep finding myself working for bosses that are reactive and not proactive. I don't like unnecessary excitement.

I have had three really good managers in my career...the rest have been abysmal.
 

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Thank you. I work in this sector and was considering leaving it after a couple of years, pre-pandemic. Re-thinking that now but not sure if I should stay with the company I’m working for. Are you in logistics/shipping?


I'm not in shipping but I met some ladies in this field who talked up their jobs to me. One attended this university on full scholarship - she is South African and got a full financial ride. Check it out and see if it could be useful for oyur career progression.

 

MargaeryTyrell

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I answered half of your question:


My job is fun... its creative and analytical. I love managing and nurturing talent. You are faced with new challenges everyday that help you develop problem solving skills. I love websites so its a good fit for me.

My issue however is that I don't like sh!t managers, I have a low patience threshold and I'm one of those employees that will walk. I like strategic planning, however I keep finding myself working for bosses that are reactive and not proactive. I don't like unnecessary excitement.

I have had three really good managers in my career...the rest have been abysmal.
I might try learning UX/UI, I love art and creativity! Plus, my dream job is digital PM for a luxury fashion brand, so those skills align with my end goal. I’ve decided to work towards that now. Any tips? I’m not familiar with UX work.

I worked at a FinTech company and had to learn C# and working APIs, that sh!t flogged me. I thought I had mastered coding after a year of learning, but I had a huge learning curve once I got the job and realised I wasn’t passionate about the work after a year. I had sh!t managers, it’s horrible having sh!t managers in a technical field, especially as a junior dev. That’s why I transitioned back to PM work in tech. I think I’d enjoy front end stuff because backend work isn’t for me I discovered lol. I love Angular which is more front end, but I’m never touching C# again. The little I know is enough. Backend coding sucks.
 

GoodFortune

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I might try learning UX/UI, I love art and creativity! Plus, my dream job is digital PM for a luxury fashion brand, so those skills align with my end goal. I’ve decided to work towards that now. Any tips? I’m not familiar with UX work.

I worked at a FinTech company and had to learn C# and working APIs, that sh!t flogged me. I thought I had mastered coding after a year of learning, but I had a huge learning curve once I got the job and realised I wasn’t passionate about the work after a year. I had sh!t managers, it’s horrible having sh!t managers in a technical field, especially as a junior dev. That’s why I transitioned back to PM work in tech. I think I’d enjoy front end stuff because backend work isn’t for me I discovered lol. I love Angular which is more front end, but I’m never touching C# again. The little I know is enough. Backend coding sucks.
From what I’ve seen the transition to ux Ui is easy for new comers,keep me posted as I will eventually get into that industry :)
 

MargaeryTyrell

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From what I’ve seen the transition to ux Ui is easy for new comers,keep me posted as I will eventually get into that industry :)
I'm not looking to get too deep into it, I just want to have a better edge at a PM with some diverse technical knowledge.
 
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I might try learning UX/UI, I love art and creativity! Plus, my dream job is digital PM for a luxury fashion brand, so those skills align with my end goal. I’ve decided to work towards that now. Any tips? I’m not familiar with UX work.

For a proper career in UX you need to know Sketch, Adobe XD, Google Optimise, GA and like a analysis tool... such as Content Square... for heatmaps etc

I'm a generalist. I manage people who do the work.... inhouse teams, agencies etc.

I tell people what I want and they do it... I have no design skills whatsoever. I can't code, I have a full list of cants.

I guess my skills are strategy, management and coordination. Also a fair bit of analysis and streamlining processes.
 

NewPeasant

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Tech.

I work in cloud and have currently got offers for three jobs for £60k, £65k and £70k. In this field you can jump to 100k+ in barely 3 years.
 

GoodFortune

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Tech.

I work in cloud and have currently got offers for three jobs for £60k, £65k and £70k. In this field you can jump to 100k+ in barely 3 years.
Wow! tell me more pls .what exactly is cloud and is it easy to get into that field? bruh £100 k in 3 years for a graduate.
 

NewPeasant

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Wow! tell me more pls .what exactly is cloud and is it easy to get into that field? bruh £100 k in 3 years for a graduate.
There are three major Cloud platforms, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. The two former ones have a number of certification which a looked at fairly highly by employers, these being AWS Solutions Architect and Azure Architect which requires two exams. I suggest first familiarising yourself with both of these systems by doing the foundation courses. For AWS its the Cloud Practictioner exam and for Azure there is the "Fundamentals" course.
 

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Maybe this was already mentioned but jobs within research (in pharma, or CRO) pay very good money and are certainly not short of money. You can also work in academia and the money is good with better working hours.
 

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Well, i'm in medical school, graduating next year and the pay scales for NHS doctors on google are abysmal. I'm thinkingall these years in school isn't worth this price. If there is anyone here in the medical field/a junior doctor thats able to earn higher than the NHS pay scales, your advice is more than welcome.
Working for an agency is lucrative.
Nurses, doctors and social workers who work for agencies are well paid.
 

sun_child

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Good thread. Currently learning creative AI and creative machine
Wait. Why y’all groan her? :’(

I don’t know, I’m not sure if it’s a field that makes money like that.
lmaoo that field pays sh!t wages. They will overwork you with cases/case files and leave you mentally and emotionally drained. Usually service type roles like social workers (who aren’t upper upper management), youth workers, social care are not compensated financially for the labour they put in.
 

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Plus the tech industry is not limited to just being a software engineer. Below is a list of careers that you can go into, if you have a cs degree.

Artificial intelligence,virtual reality and cloud computing is pretty much the future of tech and the demand is increasing. Oh, and even robotics.
I’m in a creative field that crosses over into the AR/VR/AI/Machine Learning space. One thing I was told by many in this field is to expand your skill set so that you can be able to pivot and have greater control of your creative asset/be in-demand. And I knew that for the business ideas/work that I wanted to create, I would need to learn these other skills here.
Fellow creatives, you can deffo get into AR/XR/VR/AI/ML as those are also used in creative fields these days
 

MargaeryTyrell

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Good grad jobs, not all are in London so take a look. I think they're a good stepping stone to a lucrative career.









 

MargaeryTyrell

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MargaeryTyrell

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Check out the site in general for opportunities you may be looking for. When I graduated I applied for jobs on their site and was never successful, but they linked me to good opportunities.

 

smallieeeee

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OP, this is a great thread! What about business analyst roles? What skills or certifications do I need? What can I start doing now to position myself for good offers before graduation?
 
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TheSauce

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OP, this is a great thread! What about business analyst roles for a masters student with 2 years experience? What skills or certifications do I need? What can I start doing now to position myself for good offers before graduation?

There are lots of different courses and certifications on offer, much like the project management field. It can be really difficult to get an objective idea. These independent overviews might help



[Not the OP but she's doing great stuff & I want to help keep the thread live :) ]
 

moonieque

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Any tips on improving communication skills?
I'm thinking about landing into a digital PM role but I feel like I might not be good enough to communicate yet (verbal communication).
I've learned HTML, CSS and used different CMS/headless CMS to build websites for my clients/personal purposes (2years), have marketing and design knowledge, use many tools from the adobe suite to google tag manager..
I'm currently learning javascript/react online and using it to rebuild a website.
I've worked as a digital PM assistant for just a year and my work was very appreciated (30K, first post degree job, I'm 28) I think I could get 45K though :weary_face:
I'm not english native and do not live in England, yet.
 

GoodFortune

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Quick Q has anyone got mentors because I’m looking for one but I don’t know how to search for one. I also don’t know what a mentor would expect from me, what is a mentor relationship expected to be like? I was really hoping a situation where I get to shadow and get tips and somewhat help a mentor thus gaining work experience for my cv.
 

MargaeryTyrell

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Any tips on improving communication skills?
I'm thinking about landing into a digital PM role but I feel like I might not be good enough to communicate yet (verbal communication).
I've learned HTML, CSS and used different CMS/headless CMS to build websites for my clients/personal purposes (2years), have marketing and design knowledge, use many tools from the adobe suite to google tag manager..
I'm currently learning javascript/react online and using it to rebuild a website.
I've worked as a digital PM assistant for just a year and my work was very appreciated (30K, first post degree job, I'm 28) I think I could get 45K though :weary_face:
I'm not english native and do not live in England, yet.
Where do you live? What are the laws like? Can they ask for your previous salary? If not you could definitely get the 45k you’re aiming for. Also, what language(s) do you speak? Do you have the right to work in the U.K.? That could be difficult for you if you don’t have it already.

In terms of communication skills Im not sure how you improve that other than continuing with your work experience. Everything I learnt about communication I learnt from my work experience. Do you have time to take a part time job? Call centres are a great way to build communication skills too. If that’s too much perhaps just check out Reddit and YouTube for communication skill tips specifically for PM work. I always find resources on there.
 

MargaeryTyrell

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Quick Q has anyone got mentors because I’m looking for one but I don’t know how to search for one. I also don’t know what a mentor would expect from me, what is a mentor relationship expected to be like? I was really hoping a situation where I get to shadow and get tips and somewhat help a mentor thus gaining work experience for my cv.
Have you tried Black Young Professionals? They have networking events, although I’m not sure how that’s going with COVID. They may have mentors if you reach out to them. Try their LinkedIn perhaps?

 

MargaeryTyrell

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OP, this is a great thread! What about business analyst roles? What skills or certifications do I need? What can I start doing now to position myself for good offers before graduation?
I think the other font had some good insight, so I won’t add much. I would say don’t worry about certs until you’ve actually got a job offer. Professional certs are expensive and it’s kinda pointless to have them if you don’t have real world experience to apply them to. As soon as you get the job you can start looking at the BCS cert or even Prince 2/PMI, depending on what path you want to take within business analysis.

To prepare for your role. Read up on Agile methodologies, most companies are looking for this now. Another tip, Google ‘junior business analyst roles’ and write down common skill requirements they ask for. See how you can shape your CV to match that. While applying for junior business analyst jobs/internships. Also apply for other types of roles that have the job responsibilities that would usually match business analyst job requirements. That way if you don’t get a business analyst job straight away you can be in a job that is helping you build experience towards a securing a BA role in 6 months- 1 year.
 

TheSauce

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Quick Q has anyone got mentors because I’m looking for one but I don’t know how to search for one. I also don’t know what a mentor would expect from me, what is a mentor relationship expected to be like? I was really hoping a situation where I get to shadow and get tips and somewhat help a mentor thus gaining work experience for my cv.

What field are you in? Some professions organise mentorships, partnering people and suggest semi-formal structures like how & when to have face-to-face meetings.

But you can always approach someone yourself, someone whose work you admire or who you've met yourself, and respectfully ask if they'd be interested and have the time to develop an informal relationship. (NB: If you do approach someone, always make sure you give them a gracious way to say no, i.e. 'I appreciate that you are already giving a lot to charity / your family / your work so will understand if you don't have the time to commit to this'.)

The key thing is that YOU need to think about what you want to get out of being mentored before you approach it. Shadowing & gaining work experience sounds more like a short / fixed term internship or work experience placement.

Mentor relationships can last many years, and often start when you are already working and want to get guidance on how to develop yourself within that field, or get ahead, or move into another field. A good mentor should be someone you can get impartial, experience-based and well-judged advice from (so, not a friend or peer!), to help you negotiate situations as you encounter them, and give you feed back on your plans and ideas.

What stage in your career are you at? Are you still studying?
 

GoodFortune

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What field are you in? Some professions organise mentorships, partnering people and suggest semi-formal structures like how & when to have face-to-face meetings.

But you can always approach someone yourself, someone whose work you admire or who you've met yourself, and respectfully ask if they'd be interested and have the time to develop an informal relationship. (NB: If you do approach someone, always make sure you give them a gracious way to say no, i.e. 'I appreciate that you are already giving a lot to charity / your family / your work so will understand if you don't have the time to commit to this'.)

The key thing is that YOU need to think about what you want to get out of being mentored before you approach it. Shadowing & gaining work experience sounds more like a short / fixed term internship or work experience placement.

Mentor relationships can last many years, and often start when you are already working and want to get guidance on how to develop yourself within that field, or get ahead, or move into another field. A good mentor should be someone you can get impartial, experience-based and well-judged advice from (so, not a friend or peer!), to help you negotiate situations as you encounter them, and give you feed back on your plans and ideas.

What stage in your career are you at? Are you still studying?
Thanks for responding:) I am a 2nd year student in ux Ui. I haven’t started my career or have had any internships or experience.
That’s why I’m really eager to be industry ready when I graduate and have a really smooth transition from uni to work life (maybe a mentor will help with that)or at least don’t
Find life post education system (all I’ve known/used to) jarring. I want to be accustomed to my new reality before it begins.
As you can probs tell I am a generally anxious person who has to take time to mentally adjust In new environments and I know that’s not realistic.
I want a mentor that can tell me about the reality and expectations of the industry rather then the good or bad that’s hyperbolised on the internet.Also I would love to be given allll the tips to be THAT employee with good habits and have great communication skills.
 

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Where do you live? What are the laws like? Can they ask for your previous salary? If not you could definitely get the 45k you’re aiming for. Also, what language(s) do you speak? Do you have the right to work in the U.K.? That could be difficult for you if you don’t have it already.

In terms of communication skills Im not sure how you improve that other than continuing with your work experience. Everything I learnt about communication I learnt from my work experience. Do you have time to take a part time job? Call centres are a great way to build communication skills too. If that’s too much perhaps just check out Reddit and YouTube for communication skill tips specifically for PM work. I always find resources on there.

I live in France, I'm french. I speak French and English fluently, understand a bit of spanish. I lived in England before so I already have a NiN number, a bank account and a work history there(small jobs).
Here they don't ask for your previous salary. And the salaries aren't as high as in England and the US.


Yes I think you're right. My work experience will shape my communication skills. But I need to find a company who's fine with someone not having that much experience then.
 

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