How To Make It In London E-Book

Ada Sytner

• Herausgeber: Clink Street Publishing
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Seitenzahl: 307

Beschreibung

My book is addressed to immigrants that came to the UK and want to find their first job or change their career path. It is dedicated also to English people if they want to change something in their life. Many people only dream about career satisfaction but doubt in their abilities. They can't find a stimulus to make a first step forward, not knowing an English language enough. But this is not an ordinary guide, it is a key to success and real story of my career in UK. You will not find such a book in bookstores or in the Internet. Most of career guides concentrate around big steps and quick promotion, but this is good for people that have strong career in place and achieved a lot. What about people that are starting from the scratch? With little English knowledge and lack of professional experience on CV? In this book you will learn how to answer interview questions and learn English, how to write an attractive CV despite the lack of professional experience, I will also share list of 50 agencies. I came to London in 2004. I graduated here from University, where I have studied Finance. I work in City of London in a bank as an Analyst and Business Partner. Not only great work and money – it is also my ups and downs. Nobody is perfect, and my story proves that ordinary people also reach the stars, thus motivating their loved ones.

Leseprobe

I

How to Make It in London

Ada Sytner

V

There is no elevator to a career, you have to walk up the stairs

Emil Oesch

VI

Contents

Title PageEpigraphIntroductionWhat prompted me to write this book?Failure does not make you a loserThe conquest of LondonStudies and career step by stepThe winning streak in LondonIf you want to live in life – become a bankerDo not be afraid to changeChildren are the wings of man. My daughtersSWOTYour personal SWOT analysisYour GREAT PLAN for the next five yearsEducation is the passport to a careerTrainingEnglish without taboosEnglish – courses and trainingFirst jobWhere to find your first jobPopular ways to job searchAgencies. How to play with themRecruitment agencies and websitesHow to write a CVInterviewInterview questions and answersTwo happinesses. Two daughtersWebsite: www.career-24.co.ukSummaryCopyright

VII

If you think you can, you’re right.

If you think you cannot – well you’re right.

Henry Ford

Since I can remember, I have always tried to prove my immediate surroundings that everything is possible. On contrary to popular beliefs and my own complexes I have assigned ambitious tasks and I have outdone myself. Why? Because we should do everything in our power to achieve financial and life satisfaction!VIII

9

1

Introduction

Confronted with the rock, stream always wins - not because of its strength, but because of its perseverance.

Buddha

I think that you will not find such a guidebook on the shelves at any bookstore or on the internet. Although it contains many typical guidebook chapters, it is not an abstract statement written by someone who is trying to advise people how to find a dream job, having no experience in this field, and without ever being in a similar situation. In this book, among other things, I devise my story about the fate of an immigrant and intricate career paths. If you are looking for a typical handbook on how to write a resume and prepare for an interview, you will find lots of them in bookstores. I have come a long way: from the seller in a store to a banker in the City of London, fighting with a lot of adversity, but above all with the restrictions that were embedded deep in my head.

This book is addressed to people who want to find better jobs. Many people dream of making a career only, not incorporating their desires into action. They lack self-confidence. They cannot find a stimulus to make a step forward. They do not know the English language well enough to feel confident while seeking their fortune abroad. Since Poland entered the European Union, much has changed. We are ambitious and hard-working people. We hold better and better positions previously reserved for the British only. I am very happy about this. There is enough space for everyone.10

I still see that many Poles and other nationalities are still stuck in the same places of employment. For them, time has stopped. If they are satisfied with what they achieved – this book is not addressed to them. My story may be interesting for people who dream of a better life but feel the fear of the unknown and have no idea for the change. This handbook contains a variety of examples taken from real life. I will share with you my experiences and my friends’. We all have the same fears, concerns and problems. I do not hesitate to write about my personal struggles, because I think that the examples taken from life are priceless. I came to England not as a twenty-year-old girl, but as an experienced woman. I was thirty-one, I had family, and the conviction that if I did not begin to act soon, the time would fly through my fingers. The changes that took place soon in my life, occurred quickly and intensely. But do you have time? I think that regardless of age – there is never enough time. I do not even want to think what would happen if I came to London five or seven years earlier. The whole world would have been mine.

Probably, the fact the book was published in Polish and English does not surprise anybody. I would like to get to the widest possible circle of readers, even those who do not speak fluent English, especially to my fellow countrymen. For people who may need support and mentoring. I do not think that native inhabitants of Britain would need my guidance – and so they have a big advantage over us – especially the language, and because they often do not benefit from this, they have a lot to lose.

I admit that with this book I can somehow accomplish myself. I have always felt a compelling urge to advise and assist others, especially people who cannot make full use of their abilities and opportunities that life gives them. My comments and advice usually turned out to be accurate. Instead of being limited to advise only to a small group of friends, I decided to encourage many people to read this guide. I think, it will go into the hands of people who genuinely have decided to change something in their life and intend to follow this objective.11

Most guidebooks focus on large steps and rapid promotion, but unfortunately this is only good for people who have already made a career and have an impressive track record. And what about those who have to make lots of small steps, starting from mastering of the English language to building their CV from scratch? For them I present in his book not only examples from my life and stories of my friends, but also practical tips on how to effectively learn English, how to raise qualifications, find a job, how to crash into the employment agency, how to perform a SWOT analysis, how to write a good CV, what questions will help to prepare for the interview. For determined readers, the guidebook includes a list of fifty work agencies in London.

It is a myth that to have a great job, we need to become perfectly fluent in English. In the book I reveal what most individuals do to learn it. Much to your surprise, it will be very simple techniques that really work.

In this book, I bring up a lot of important issues related to the achievement of financial balance and I answer questions which give sleepless nights to people dissatisfied with their life and who wait for their five minutes. I am going to convince you that most of the obstacles are easy to overcome and there are no such problems that cannot be solved.

13

2

What prompted me to write this book?

If there is a book you really want to read, but has not been written yet, then you have to write it yourself.

Toni Morrison

What prompted me to write this book? There are a lot of answers to this question – you can find them in every chapter. To create the guidebook you are now reading, above all I was encouraged by observation of the immediate environment in London. I deal with people who came here long ago or recently, but most of them do not speak English, and only a few employ communicative English. After ten years since Poland entered the European Union there has still been reproduced the same stereotype. Girls are employed as babysitters and help in housework; guys work on construction sites for a ridiculous rates. It is sad how they are exploited by Polish or English employers.

Of course, I want to emphasise that no work dishonours anyone, and if someone is satisfied with their current profession, they perhaps unnecessarily bought my book. I extend it to people who want to change jobs and earn more money, but they do not know how to do it, where to start, and most of all, they do not believe that they have a chance to succeed. This guidebook is intended for people with little knowledge of English and those who speak the language quite well. It is also addressed to people looking for work, through which they can achieve a sense of life and financial satisfaction. I want to give you the knowledge on 14how to look for jobs in various sectors and the correct answer to questions recruiters ask during interviews. Tips contained in the book are based on my experience and the experience of many people I know or I have met during my stay in London.

Phone calls from the university, which I graduated from in the UK in 2008 also contributed to writing this book. The school conducts a yearly survey among former graduates to gather information about how their professional lives changed and what profit they make.

Students of my faculty ring up, asking insightful questions about my start after graduation, job search methods, my current career. They ask for advice, which I gladly impart. From the frequency of calls from the same students I conclude that they like to call me, and that these discussions are very fruitful for them. Unfortunately, I was not able as yet to send them back to my book previously as it was written and published in the Polish language only.

I get numerous phone calls from long-unseen friends who recall me at the time when they want to change jobs, but do not know where to start. They are often people who I used to suggest something, and it worked out good for them. Moreover, those friends who have not benefited from my advice also call me and after three years of being stuck in the same place, they dream of buing a house or apartment, because they have decided to stay here for longer. Often they admit that they fear to ring me up, because they realise that they are stuck in place, while I am over the next stage of career or have bought a new property.

A lot of my projects are a success, therefore, I dare say I am able to direct others as a result of my experience, but I do not consider myself as a super expert and I continue to learn from my mistakes.

I think I have served many people, giving them guidance on the selection of their next job, or how to prepare for the interview, because my interviews mostly ended in success.

Thanks to this, work in banking has become my main source of income and a gateway to a better life.

15

3

Failure does not make you a loser

What does not kill us, makes us stronger.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Why I did I decide to tell you my story? Because it is true, and you can find it useful. It is possible that you will find in it an impulse to act. I came to London in May 2004. Now I work as a business partner and a financial analyst in banks in the City of London. But the beginnings were not so wonderful as I was not delegated from a Polish bank for a position here (well, I know such lucky ones – do not worry, they are very few). I started from scratch. As all of you are.

Let me slightly elaborate on my story. I want you to be aware of the fact that I am quite an ordinary person, not possessing outstanding capabilities in academic areas, and my English leaves much to be desired. I have gone through a lot in my life, but I did not give in to self-doubt, like a valiant Don Quixote tilting at windmills. If the story, which opens the door to my private life in Poland, does not interest you, please skip to the next chapter.

As a young girl living in Poland initially, I had no notion for my life. Being in my early twenties with two small children and divorced, I did not know how to organise my life. I got a high school diploma and completed a two-year study of computer science. I would add that I was not a honours student in high school, I only benefited from the fact that the school taught English. My confidence was negligible.16

Divorce influenced me surprisingly. Until then, I had thought that life would go on a little next to me, it would somehow organise itself without too much of my involvement. Of course, I had different, more or less interesting notions for my life, but they concerned mainly furnishing the apartment (while I was still staying with my husband – then unfortunately we had to sell the flat …), tutoring or knitting. Divorce, however, is an event in life, which can be very encouraging. Having heard from my husband that alone I would surely fail, I woke up in life. A well-known saying: “What does not kill us, makes us stronger” no longer seemed to me such a cliche. I often say it to myself.

Thanks to the determination – here I should thank the Polish system of helping single mothers, who do not have a chance for a normal life, let alone studying at university – each role I undertook, I tried to be a perfectionist, in every way better than others. Only I knew how much it cost me. I worked as a secretary, salesperson of medical supplies (where I met Jacek, my current partner), I ran a small computer shop and I worked as an agent in a bank. All these things happened simultaneously (I already mentioned my two children…). Of course, Jacek took part in all my projects and helped me a lot. Together, we worked on three posts. Not having a higher education, I tried to make up for deficiencies in education and perseverance – I admit – very hard work. At all costs I wanted to prove to myself and others that I could do it!

Many times I had to overcame difficulties to do a project. But I know now the devil is not as black as it is painted, sometimes it is worth it, even in spite of ourselves, to try to put in for a task that seemingly is beyond us, just to stop being afraid and to tame stress. As I have already mentioned, in the company I worked for I met Jacek, my current partner – I was his manager. My hard work paid off after years. He puffed up with pride because of the promotion, but my subordinates (except for Jacek) did not share my enthusiasm, especially because – unlike me – they had university degree. All the time I felt, however, that I lacked self-confidence and self-control.17

At some point I realised that I needed to know how to struggle with stress. This applied not only to work – but to private life as well. I got stressed even if I had to sort something out in a bureau (especially revenue). Today, I laugh at this, and I know that everyone has the potential, which they just need to gradually release. I also needed time to wake up a sense of values in me. I realised, too, that it is impossible to completely get rid of stress, but it could be controlled and is usually motivating. Running a small shop cost me a lot of stress. I had been there rarely due to many additional obligations, which I had to cope with, therefore my employee was on his own. At that time, I initiated cooperation with the bank, I was dealing with the sale of commercial loans and acquiring customers, but it was a very stressful job. With such a spate of tasks I worked even on Saturdays. Finally, we were able to buy a car and an apartment on hire purchase. Our jobs engulfed us so deeply that there was no time to talk with children. We gave our best years and hearts to a company we worked for as employees, at the cost of our family.

The decision about going to Dublin (yes, it was our original plan) we made unanimously. We had heard so many fantastic stories about working abroad, we were so hopeful that we decided to take a chance. We were attracted by much higher earnings for normal working hours, better treatment of workers, and above all interesting prospects for children. We decided to leave only the two of us leaving the girls for a year under the care of my mother and grandmother.

19

4

The conquest of London

He who is not courageous enough to take risks, they achieve nothing in life.

Muhammad Ali

At the airport in London, we changed our mind. We decided to look around in the capital of the UK. We had the contact addresses of our online friends, therefore, our first steps were directed to them. They welcomed us, probably thinking that in a few days we would go somewhere else. But we decided to stay. For a small fee we rented from them a house in their garden. Basia and her daughter Helena immediately decided to help us. They announced they would seek work for me. In the beginning I was very happy, but my face thinned when Barbara brought the news – I could start in two weeks… housecleaning. I got panicky. As I knew it would soon come to light that I hated cleaning and I did it at home only out of necessity. I broke down. I clung to the idea that, I had learned English and that something of this education remained in my head, so I was hoping to find something more in line with my fantasies. I broke down even more after the first shop at Tesco. I did not understand what an Indian checkout assistant was saying to me. Damn, my English was supposed to be communicative! Well, it was not.

I had two weeks to find another job. Working in a coffee shop was the last resort. I was looking through the local newspapers. 20I must admit that I dared to read only the slightest adverts. It occurred to me that in all of them was a phone number and I would have to call to make an appointment for an interview.

In the suitcase I found my resume which I had translated in into English while I was still in Poland. I read it and learned it for two days in order to present myself the best as I could, and specify what I was able to do and what my strengths were.

The fear paralysed me before the interview. I decided to make a few silly phone calls to the numbers in Yellow Pages (car rental, laundry, etc.) just to find out if I could understand the speaker. I called for two days and also went to Tesco. In the end, I made my first phone call about the job. I thought it would have gone worse. Fortunately, the advertiser did not question me, I guess he just did not have time. He accepted applications and made appointments. He explained he was looking for a shop assistant in a gift shop. He only asked me once if I had ever sold anything and where I came from. He gave me the address, that is, he repeated it four times, because I had difficulty putting down everything… you probably guessed I did not even ask about the salary.

I felt faint after the conversation. I felt that it was not supposed to be this way. While in Poland, I had a lot more self-confidence and different idea about my fluency in English. The rest of the day I learned my CV by heart. I said nothing either to Basia or Helena. I knew one thing: at all costs I need to get to the place where I would have contact with native English speakers.

The next day, I went for an interview. I had a long way to go. First, bus trip to Ealing, then the subway red line to Tottenham Court Road, then change to metro black line to Tooting Bec.

Mr Johnson was a black and at first glance, an accessible man. He looked through my CV and unexpectedly said it was not a job for me. I should look for something better, for example, as a salesperson, but in the company, and not in a small shop. I did not expect such a turn of events. I had good qualifications, but I could barely communicate in the target 21language. After an hour spent on the exchange of arguments (I was a bit slow) I said straight out that, yes, in my country I worked for better positions, but here I would not have such a possibility, until I got more fluent in the language.

I brought my interviewer home to the fact that I had another alternative – housecleaning – and this was not a good way out. Mr Johnson was afraid that I would not pull my weight to such prosaic work. I assured him that thanks to my experience the store could benefit, because I could take care of orders, the visibility of the product and ensure new orders. I asked whether he had at least one such well-qualified person in his shop. I did not think he had, because he laughed and said I could start the following day. He even mentioned, that if I try hard, in half a year I would get the keys to the store.

I was in shock!

It was my first job in London. The rate, a trifle, £4.25 per hour (please remember, it was in 2004). I got home proud of myself. Jacek did not believe that I told him the truth. Only Basia and Helena were disappointed. Well, I would not clean up at their friends’. At least for now.

I guess I had never in my life tried so hard like while working in this store. The shop offered a variety of trinkets from small decorative lamps, figurines, mirrors and pictures to greeting cards. Every day, there was noisy like a beehive. I did not think that so many people bought these things. I received and labelled goods, arranged them on the shelves and, of course, I was serving customers at the counter. I had to admit that the first time at the real one. I spent the whole days with other female employees from different countries, which really helped me to improve my English. I also started to talk more with customers, sometimes even I was able to advise something.

Mr Johnson almost always worked in the shop with us. Perhaps he was familiar with the proverb: “The eye of the master makes the horse fat.” After a week, he said he was very happy with me. I was not surprised. In the warehouse all boxes and packaging were arranged by numbers (which was perhaps 22natural), so finding the product for the customer did not take so long. Also placing a new order took much less time. I rearranged items on the shelves, so that customers did not accidentally drop goods, the more so as the shop was crowded every day. My employer was full of admiration that I commuted from so far away and I was always fifteen minutes before due time. He said, he appreciated it, and often gave me £5 for lunch. You probably have guessed that I put the money by.

Do you think I gave up the implementation of ambitious plans for the future for a while? Nothing could be further from the truth. I used to return home quite late, but every time together with Jacek we listened to CDs of an English phrasebook, mostly I listened, because he fell asleep being so tired (some time ago he started working at a construction site). Listening to phrasebooks from the album, as well as everyday conversations with the girls working in the shop, had a positive impact on my English. I modified my CV and I decided to look for another job. From time to time I had a day off during a week in exchange for work at the weekend. Instead of resting, on days off I sent regularly (we had access to the internet) my CV to companies selling medical supplies, but to no effect. I also brought my resume personally to several dental clinics that were near my place of residence. Also to no avail.

I did not give up. I went for a control visit to one of the clinics in which I submitted my applications. At the reception desk I inquired about the CV I had sent a week before and assured that I was still interested in working there. The receptionist was not very nice, but in general I did not bother about it. As I was passing in the hallway one of the doctors, I accosted him, saying that I left my application at the front desk. It turned out that the doctor was of Polish origin. During the conversation I learned that soon one receptionist was to be dismissed from the clinic.

This bitch did not tell me anything. The doctor intended to reduce day jobs (he was already quite an aging) and was not able to give a pay rise to the current receptionist, so she 23decided to look for another job. He wanted to take on her place a person who would also work as a dental nurse with patients. He glanced at my CV and promised to call soon. Meanwhile, I continued my work in the gift shop. I got a rise after two weeks and continued trying hard.

One day the doc called.

“Mrs Ada, will you agree to start in a week? I suggest the rate of £7 per hour?”

That was something! “But what shall I say to Mr Johnson!?” In the end, he was very kind to me. A month of my work there passed by, so I decided to simply tell him that I got a better paying job.

I asked him if I could speak to him for a while, and he said that he also had something to say.

“Ms Ada, I’m very pleased to work with you and I’m very satisfied with your work for me. I decided that after a month I will give you the keys to my shop and another pay rise: £5.80 per hour.”

What now? How could I say, what I wanted to tell him? I stammered out that I was pleased, but I had unpleasant news. I had to go back to Poland, because my mother felt ill and she could no longer care for children. I came up with this little lie on the spot. I was ashamed as I do not like lying. Mr Johnson was inconsolable.

I started a new job at Doc’s. Initially I registered patients for the so the called check-ups and general or root canal treatment. Later, I had to help him in assisting patients. In short, once again I worked at the desk, where I also had the chance to realise in the area of manual tasks. The scope of my duties included the settlement of charges for treatments. Sounds good, huh?

This was immense stress – with every ringing phone! I became aware how different the English accent can be. Sometimes it was impossible to understand who they were and what treatment they wanted to book. I had the greatest difficulty with the Scottish accent and sometimes I was close to tears. But I thought that if I felt uncomfortable to ask someone 24five times what they mean, in such situations I would say: “Sorry. I cannot hear you, the line is very bad, do you want to book a check-up?” Then, again, I asked the caller to explicitly provide their names.

Fortunately, the doc hardly left his consulting room – probably he would have been very stressed because I did not hear every patient, and probably would have found out it was the fault of the telephone line failure. As a rule, the same patients made appointments at the clinic, therefore over time it got easier because during a conversation over the phone I learned to associate the names. Of course, patients coming to the clinic asked a lot of questions, and although my answers were not perfect, gradually I began to understand what they were saying. Talking on the phone helped me to communicate with people face to face.

I loved this job, especially since I started working in the consulting room with the patients. I prepared and mixed the material for fillings, sterilised instruments in an autoclave, and prepared trays with amenities for patients. Obviously I cleaned up the office. It was not difficult.

Doc came to England with his parents as a boy. Years earlier, he had a much larger clinic, but with age, his needs decreased. The only thing giving him sleepless nights was his daughter, the apple of his eye (of course, attending a private school in London). It seemed to me that he was a nice, honest man. Besides, every Sunday he could be seen at the Mass in the Polish church. However, after some time, I lost heart with him, having heard a couple of times how he estimated the Poles. According to him, they abused the social system, for example by taking child benefits. I will not go into details, but I think that if one pays taxes, they deserve to subsidise the child. It is probably a good thing that parents could buy their child in Poland more things, not to mention the price of separation. Doc would have reported all such people to the police. I, admittedly, did not receive child benefit at that time but I had such an intention, if the state would offer it to me. I took his words to myself. 25Doctor grew increasingly interested in my plans for the future. Did he want to make sure how long I would be in the UK to take the air for him and his daughter? Of course, I maintained I wanted to develop my skills and enrol in some courses, who knows, maybe not necessarily as a dental nurse.

For he blurted out: “Ada, how much money are you going to make in the future?”

So I told him “One day I will make £15 per hour”

Doc laughed and asked who would pay so much to a Polish woman and that I would have to settle for wages less than £10 per hour. I thought I would bawl with anger. After all, he also had Polish roots.

And just such moments people need most to find determination in themselves. I decided that I would not stay long in this clinic. Above all, I had to improve my English.

Once the doc went out for lunch, I started to browse the internet in search of the nearest language school. In less than thirty minutes I had a list of five colleges located next to the clinic. After a few phone calls I chose one of them moderately cheap and located quite close by. Classes were held three times a week for two hours in the evenings.

I came to the group in which there were two people from Poland. Our lecturer, although not a native English woman, turned out to be a lovable and very helpful person. There was a huge difference between learning English in high school and learning the language in a real-life environment. I remembered every bit of grammar, but I had a problem with vocabulary. At each meeting we had a quiz. After two months I passed them the best of the whole group – perhaps to spite doc – but I still struggled with fear of speaking in English. I was embarrassed to speak, regardless of the topic. In the school, however, I found out that everyone had their Achilles’ heel. One Polish boy spoke excellent English, I envied him. He came to London four years earlier. In school, he studied German, but he did not write in English very well, after all, it was not unusual – he moved in the English environment only. Moreover, he was much younger, at 26least eight years. He had the advantage over me: the younger a human is, the faster they absorb new language. I had known from the start it would take a lot of time to master to speak the English well. But at least I knew grammar rules well, and that was something.

After four months of studying, my teacher asked me to stay after classes. I was surprised by what she said. She asked why I had not submitted an application for a university so far. She said I continuously improved my writing skills, therefore I would have a good chance to finish school. I could even apply for a grant to study, so-called, student loan. She said that the discussions which sometimes were conducted in the classroom, showed that I had the highest ambitions and that I dreamt of a better life. She noticed that I was looking far into the future. Also, she emphasised that I would have a lot of hard work, because I would have to quickly learn new vocabulary. I promised to think about it. I considered this step as too risky. I had in mind attempts, which I undertook in Poland twice I could not get to the end of the second year of extramural science, because I worked even on weekends. My current teacher told me then that I could at least appear at exams.

And now suddenly I was able to finish university in London? Such a dream…

It was July. In May I would have been staying in the UK for a year. My children had just joined us. And I could not stop thinking about the university and agonised over the thought, how I could reconcile all my responsibilities? At the same time, I would have been working at the clinic for a year. I knew I would get a raise (an additional pound per hour, and that was good, at least I was appreciated). I was happy with the work. On Wednesdays, I would finish work at 2 pm, which was ideal considering the needs of children. I did not know what to do. And then I thought I could ask my employer what he thought about it. In the end, thanks to him I was in Uni.

One day I told him that I was going to go to University. I did not expect he would laugh that much. I was told that 27NOWHERE in England would I get accepted as I stood no chance, as opposed to his daughter, who had chosen to study medicine in the future…

In short, the only thing I could do was to select the faculty.

But how would I decide if I had no idea what field of study and what I was suited for. I googled the internet by typing “How to choose a field of study,” and I found a lot of different advice, but probably I was intrigued most by SWOT analysis, which, by doing, individuals can easily explore their abilities (for SWOT analysis I allocated in a book a separate chapter, you can take a look at it, there are a few tips). So far I had perceived my occupation in terms of what I had done in Poland, full-time, which was the role of an accountant while running the shop, I prepared a variety of calculations. In the beginning I even did bookkeeping, later I cooperated with an accounting office, because I did not have time for this.

Reflecting on the choice of future career, I considered various contingencies.

In the end I asked myself what was really important to me and what would be important in the future? The answer was prosaic – money. I wished for the children to have a better start than my own, I wanted them to go to a good college and always have support in me, not only mental but financial as well, so my thoughts were focused around a single theme. Which profession would give me most profits after graduation, and quite fast? Because I did admit years were passing by…

In selecting the field of study, newspapers helped me a lot. I looked through all, one by one, checking out earnings. And it was the best thing I had ever done. Management Accountant – £48,000 a year. Earning even half of that – it would be something! I looked through many other newspapers and each time just this profession seemed to me as the best paid one, with earnings from £45,000 to £60,000 a year. In fine print it was written ACCA Qualified. Whatever it meant, I immediately browsed the Internet, searching for a university that offers a specialisation in accounting. I found five of 28them, the two included the information that they provided to ACCA certification.

I checked what it meant. These institutions had collaborated with the ACCA association, which respected the exams passed at those universities as eligible for roles reserved for qualified specialists – analysts and accountants. Of course, the deadline for submitting applications had passed a long time before, but there was held so called clearing – some fields still continued recruitment. I had to write an application and submit it together with a CV and a certificate attesting success in the IELTS exam, which unfortunately I did not have. But I was so determined that, after all, I submitted an application to university. The teacher from the college showed me on the internet addresses of the institutions to which I could apply for a student loan to pay for education. I realised that I would not be able to study in absentia, work with doc and look after the children. Having discussed it with Jacek I decided for full-time studies. This meant abandoning work at doc’s. All charges and liabilities would have to be covered by Jacek.

Doc balked when I told him three universities responded to my applications and I could start from October. I told him that I was going to give up work at the end of September.