Social networking at it’s finest! I had the same problem as you…didn’t realize people had replied! But I will be sending an e-mail soon. My plate has been full lately.

Yah, very true. It’s tough to accept taking anything, but actually, anything isn’t always out there! But it’s good to keep options open.

Thanks!! How cool!!

Thanks for the compliment on my blog! I’m glad you and Monica could connect! 🙂

Sorry it took me so long to respond–I didn’t actually realise you had written back! 🙂

Ramen and a mattress on a floor isn’t the worse thing in the world, to be honest, especially if you’re living out your dream in Europe. From one an ex-educator to a current educator, Germany is by far the best place to go in Europe if you want to teach. On a whole, and this is coming from people who have lived/worked as teachers in Germany, the students respect their teachers. *sharp gasp of surprise* Not only that, students are put on tracks according to their abilities, interests and test placements, which makes things incredibly competetive. Everyone wants to be in the best spots and those who don’t care, well bottom line is, you get what you put in. A far cry from the US/UK system where teachers are given oversized classes with an absurdly wide range of abilities and interests.

Anyway, enough about the teaching blabber, please feel free to drop me a line. It’s incredibly slow here in Dubai at the moment due to Ramadan, so I’ll have a bit more time to answer any questions you might have about moving over seas.

Oh and, LOVE the blog (which I forgot to say in my first post). 🙂

Ashley

Thanks for the advice. Expect an e-mail!
I would love to move to another country for the right opportunity. I am working on my application for a Fulbright grant to teach English in Europe. I have’t decided what country, but I am seriously leaning towards Germany. I am very glad you found a job out there and you are doing well. It has been two years since I was in the UK, but the feeling I got when I was over there is that they are in the same boat as us. The same aunt I talked to tried to talk me out of moving to Oklahoma for a job. It was for an International Student Adviser position at a university near-ish Tulsa. We’re talking full time with full benefits. She seriously tried to convince me it wasn’t a good idea. Her reasoning was what if something happens and I fall on hard times with no support system. What will I do? Let me tell you, I am not above sleeping on a mattress on the floor and eating Ramen every night! It seems she likes to contradict herself.
All I can say for anyone reading this and nodding along is to keep trying. Go to networking meetings, set up informational interviews, talk to the interviewer about what went wrong in the interview. What you hear may suck, but it can only help you. There is a job for everyone! You can’t stay unemployed forever.

I have no problem working at McDonalds or a coffee shop. Though I would like to try and delay that option as long as possible, I won’t turn down an offer. I do, however, have a problem with moving 700 miles and paying rent just to work fast food. What bothers me is the feeling I am getting from my family, that I have to prove that I am looking and uproot my entire life for that proof. It’s not something I want from my family.

I feel where you are coming from completely. I moved from the US to the UK to take a teaching job in 2008 (quite literally month’s before the crash). Then, after meeting my now husband, I realised that teaching wasn’t my passion and decided that publishing was the rout for me. Excellent timing indeed. Not only was I switching jobs during a recession, I was attempting to get into an industry that was possibly hit the hardest.

Following my seemingly insane move (at this point I had moved in with my husband–we weren’t married for another 8 months–to his place which happened to be his uncles place as well) I began taking unpaid internships and low paid freelance jobs only to find, two years later, my unsuccessful interviews were becoming less and less constructive. They stopped offering, ‘here’s where you can improve’ and wound up saying ‘it was simply that competative’ meaning, the interviewer quite literally took a dart and threw it at one of our applications. The competition was that fierce. Bottom line was, I still didn’t have a job.

By the grace of whatever larger force that is up there, my husband was offered a fabulous job out in Dubai that paid incredibly well. And because the job market is so much better out here, I found a position as an editor of a magazine. But that’s after two years and some SERIOUSLY dumb luck.

My point is, it’s brutal out there. And for your ‘advisor’ to tell you to up and move to NY only to work in McDonnalds for $7/h is utter rubbish. Don’t listen to her. If you’re willing and ready to make a big move to a tax-haven (where they basically throw money at you-Dubai is a fabulous place for that), then by all means make the move. Your CV will thank you for it and it will be a life changing adventure.

However, if you’re like a lot of people who don’t necessarily feel comfortable doing that, then I will leave you with this. Hang in there. You’re obviously doing all of the right things by utilising the tools that are on offer. And the one thing you need to keep reminding yourself, and this is REALLY what got me through, because I had some pretty low moments during those two years, is that you are NOT alone. At all. There are THOUSANDS like you out there who are experiencing the exact same thing. And it is nothing personal. Many times I’d hang up the phone from a rejection thinking it was personal–but it’s not. That said, sooner or later, something will give and you will find that amazing job.

Oh and if you do want to chat about the possibilities of relocating, do give me a shout: Ashleybess86@Hotmail.com There are tons of teaching jobs out here and they pay incredibly well.

Best of luck and keep smiling 🙂 x