Need help - Relocation issue

[kartikt]

Hi Guys!

 

I live in Birmingham and currently work in the CCTV industry at a bus company. Get paid about £15,500 yearly. I have a house on mortgage in birmingham which is costing me 200 pounds every month. I m married and have two kids.

 

I recently got a job in Nottingham as a ICT Technician (starting pay £15,700) in a school whcih is what I wanted! I have decided to go up and down the Motorway whcih will cost me in fuel £280. I have thought about staying there but it will cost the same (room rent + bills + my food). I have even thought of moving my family there..but involves a lot of cost and taking my daughter out of school and spoiling her education and social life!

 

I wanted your opinion if should I go for the job or not? Considering I never got a paid job in IT. I do work voluntary as a IT Technician for the past 6months and I belive I got the interview due to my voluntary position.

 

please help!! I am in a dilema!!! I love IT and have trying to get in for the past 3 years! Would I get another chance ...and is 6 months expeirence enough to apply else where. Dont know what to do!!!!

[teejay]

If you can survive with the extra expense and travel time, then go for it. IT jobs are quite hard to come by without experience these days, so grab any opportunity you can.

[kartikt]

If you can survive with the extra expense and travel time, then go for it. IT jobs are quite hard to come by without experience these days, so grab any opportunity you can.

 

do you think after 6 months I have a chance to apply else where??? or would I need 1 year expeirence to apply else where???

[teejay]

6 months is probably ok, especially as you've shown dedication by commuting so far to get a job and experience. You just need to be aware with the current economic climate IT jobs in schools are hard to come by, so there no no guarantee you'll find anything nearer after 6 months.

[AyatollahPies]

£280 petrol or diesel?

 

If petrol it might be worth getting a diesel.

[michael2k6]

If you take this job you have to realise that it's going to be your life for that 6 months. But also bear in mind that after that 6 months to a year of getting the experience, if you put in the work and effort you'll get the promotions and hopefully jobs nearer home.

Also bear in mind when you've got your feet under the table all you need is someone who could do with a bit of extra cash with a spare room and a laid back attitude, you might be able to find a way of going down on a monday, stopping through the week, and coming back on Friday, for the same amount of money, or less than travelling all the time?

I can tell you from experience that you'll think... but i'm away from home so much - look at it this way - if you travel so much in the week, you'll probably end up so knackered that you dontknow where you are and you'll spend a fair amount of time at the weekend recovering. If you stop away, you can stay awake, really throw yourself at the job and make sure you get all the experience you can, and atleast when you are at home, you'll be awake.

 

Also, in terms of travelling, have you taken into account tyres, services, depreciation of car due to high miles, etc?

All of this should NOT be under estimated (been there done that paid the price).

 

I hope you find a good solution.

If i can help any more post back or PM me.

 

Mic

[witch]

If you can stand the cost - take the job. I do think you need to be looking at a year's experience though. As Mic says, you may well find someone who will put you up in their spare room - IME teachers often rent out spare rooms - and so you might be able to save some money that way.

I probably wouldn't think about moving quite yet, but in the fullness of time when you are a NM - That'll be the time to move!!

[Hightower]

Can you not rent a room off someone - see it plenty where parents have had their kids leave and have 3 spare rooms so they rent one out. You'll only be in it through the week.

 

If you dreamt to work in Education IT then follow it. Jobs in the sector are becoming increasingly hard to come by, and you only have to do a quick search to see that. Find somewhere to live through the week, set up skype on your laptop, and before you know it it'll be 2 years down the line and you will be settled one way or another (family come to you, or you find somewhere closer to home).

 

Good luck

[Jamman960]

It really does come down to wheather you can afford it and are willing to spend 2hrs+ on the road each day. Getting the train may also be worth looking into, atleast then you'd be able to relax on the way to/from work.

 

If I remember correctly the A42 & M42 aren't too bad in general, if it were the M6 I'd probably think twice though - getting home on a friday really wouldn't be fun

[mthomas08]

One thing I would think about is are the guys above the techy job going to stick around?

Promotional aspects?

 

Most places tend to promote instead of employing outside sources (from my experience). I would go for it, take the chance, build up the experience for a year.

[Willott]

Have you checked out train costs? Should be much less than £280 a month.

 

Where in Nottingham (not necessarily school name, area would do so I can suggest how easy the trip from the station would be)?

 

Cheers

 

Will

[MK-2]

Have you checked out train costs? Should be much less than £280 a month.

 

Where in Nottingham (not necessarily school name, area would do so I can suggest how easy the trip from the station would be)?

 

Cheers

 

Will

 

it's calverton. he mentioned the school in another post

[Willott]

Just checked train prices... New Street to Nottingham season ticket is £312 a month... puts that one out the question possibly!

[tumbleweed]

Ride a 250cc scooter ?

My sister did a year of Leicester to Coventry - was often quicker than car, and much cheaper to run.

I think you'd just need to do the CBT and away you buzz.

[rad]

100 mile round trip (using Google - Brum to Nott) not loads but as said get a diesel. My Focus does say 450 miles to £60 a tank = 5 tanks a month. If you put it another way, doing that millage daily puts your yearly millage up to 24,000 (5 days a week, 48 weeks a year) as others have said you need to factor in wear and tear.

 

I used to do a 60 mile round trip at 18 earning less than 10k, it was rubbish but as I lived at home I was able to live still. For me the jouney was ok, the only suggestion I can make if you are still unsure is to book a day off work, travel up from Brum to Nott at the time of day you would travel, and then travel back again, see how long it takes you. For me Tuesday is the busies day in London, others may say otherwise.

[jcollings]

You can't ride a 250cc on CBT alone. The limit is 125cc.

[carvjo]

Commuting is hell.. I do the return trip - Kettering - Oxford daily... I leave the house at 5:15am (otherwise the traffic would add another hour to my journey) and get home whenever.. The daily 130 mile round trip will probably cost me close to £4000 per year in fuel, car repairs, depreciation etc..

 

I did consider the options before I accepted the job, but this school were keen to have me and offered some assistance for 6 month or so until I got settled, after which I did try renting - but the housing market isn't favourable to renters and I couldn't sell in Kettering, so now I have to commute, or spend the week away from home..

 

Though I love my work but If I had known the commute would be such a bind - I would have stayed at my previous job and not taken this one..

 

Think carefully, if working in IT means that much to you that you can accept you will be financially worse off and tired all the time from commuting.. then go for it..

[somabc]

You do realise that at £280 month is £3,360 a year plus the maintenance costs (I'd budget another £2,000) so you are spending upwards of £5,500 a year to go to and from work?

 

For comparison a 12 month Rail Season Ticket is £3,256.00 which i'd say at a 1 hour journey is an easier commute.

Edited February 9, 2011 by somabc

[MK-2]

You do realise that at £280 month is £3,360 a year plus the maintenance costs (I'd budget another £2,000) so you are spending upwards of £5,500 a year to go to and from work?

 

For comparison a 12 month Rail Season Ticket is £3,256.00 which i'd say at a 1 hour journey is an easier commute.

 

thats from train station to train station though. what about once you reach nottingham train station then need either a bus, or taxis or some other way of getting to and from the school? same goes for brum, what if home>train station is another 2 miles, bus/taxi journeys then add on to it

[jcollings]

thats from train station to train station though. what about once you reach nottingham train station then need either a bus, or taxis or some other way of getting to and from the school? same goes for brum, what if home>train station is another 2 miles, bus/taxi journeys then add on to it

 

Just buy a folding bike. Pop it on and off the train each end and bob's your uncle. Seems quite a popular way of communting from what I've seen.

[Willott]

Just buy a folding bike. Pop it on and off the train each end and bob's your uncle. Seems quite a popular way of communting from what I've seen.

 

Not really viable with the amount of hills and distance between the station and Calverton. It's about 8 miles from the train station and going through Sherwood it's up, then down, then up then down, then up again through Arnold, then I'm fairly sure you'd hit a National speed limit road as well... or failing that, there's one heck of a hill heading up Mapperly top...

 

Calverton Connection bus would be an option, seems a month's pass is £60 (with reduction for longer term), and only half hour journey (15min walk from station to bus stop). Other end, depends where in Brum...

[jcollings]

Not really viable with the amount of hills and distance between the station and Calverton. It's about 8 miles from the train station and going through Sherwood it's up, then down, then up then down, then up again through Arnold, then I'm fairly sure you'd hit a National speed limit road as well... or failing that, there's one heck of a hill heading up Mapperly top...

 

Calverton Connection bus would be an option, seems a month's pass is £60 (with reduction for longer term), and only half hour journey (15min walk from station to bus stop). Other end, depends where in Brum...

 

Ah right - I don't know the area at all. An electric folding bike (I don't even know if that exists!)

[somabc]

Ah right - I don't know the area at all. An electric folding bike (I don't even know if that exists!)

 

Yes! Lynx LPX - Electric Folding Bike

[carvjo]

you could try Welcome to liftshare.com » {The world's best journey matching, liftshare, car share, ride share system} - you might be lucky anf find someone to share the cost and stress of driving with..