Needing a new job, not sure what..... Admin? Photography?

Former Member

New person here. Just wondering if anyone can give me some advice.
Lost my job last year due to illness. But I'm fit and healthy and able to work now.

I'm on JSA and I don't want to be on it for long as I'm losing a lot of money with not working. I haven't worked since December and I've been having anxiety attacks and I've had depression because I was made reduntant.

I have qualifications in an NVQ2 Business Administration SKills and a GNVQ in Intermediate Science together with low GCSE grades.

I'm looking for a job in administration or something similar. I don't want a job where I have to answer the phone because I'm not interested in that field and I'm a shy guy.

I made a list this week with jobs that I really want to get involved in but they've mostly too scarce and difficult to get in to.
One of them is photography but that is a difficult subject to get in to as it's popular and you have to know what people want to buy and not YOU want people to buy.

What sort of typing (online) courses is there available? (Or any other course that you think might help).

I do want to go on a photography course, and I don't mind some advice on decent online courses which are based in the UK. (The cost of the course doesn't matter).


If anyone would like to ask me any other questions, then feel free to do so.

Former Member

I could of course do some freelancing, but that's a different ball game altogether

Former Member

Well, this is a helpful website !!!

Former Member

Im in the middle of job hunting with no idea of what to do as well. I have a vague idea of what I want to do but I think if you're really not sure the best way is to look and look and look and see what out there and if someone comes along that you think you might like then go for it. Of course if you need money then get a job in a coffee shop or whatever until the right thing comes along.

I think unless you have a dream in mind like a chef or whatever then obviously you'd only wanna look for those jobs, but I think just looking in places like the local paper or their website will give you loads of ideas of whats out there and might find something you hadnt thought of before

Former Member

I know how u feel! I'm in the same situation kind of two but from knowing what it's like to be unemployed is emotional journey ahead to finding a job. I know ur set on what u want to do now and if u wanted to find a job instead of looking up a course to do as you would rather get of the benefits to know ur doing something is maybe look at jobs in administration /business to get an idea on what's out there and how to make those steps in having a job. Looking on job websites like Indeed, Reed, Gum Tree and JobSite are mostly the websites what can tell u everything where the jobs are and how to apply but maybe handing round ur cv around to Business who work in the administration sector like offices will give u a chance to stand out and maybe have an interview. You could try and take up some voluntary work in the mean time if u want to gain new skills or just want to do something in your spare time. Where u can find out where u can voluntary can be found on the Connexions webisite where they will tell u more how u can volunteer and why it's good on ur cv. Maybe asking for some work experience I an office environment may reach u to that end goal by gaining employment there. You just need to work hard and show them u are a good team player who thrives in working which u do so maybe some hands on experience is a good thing at this moment of time. You could also look out for courses in photography by visiting ur college website in ur local area to see wether they do classes in photography and if so then to give them a call and arrange to meet them. There are other alternatives to studying not in college but by other learning providers who are more one to one with providing u with further support with classes only starting around about eight people and who prefer the more informal style of learning and as u said ur a shy person then this could be the one for u. Keep up the good work and I know in time the right job will come to u with having a positive mentally focused attuide to doing things and not letting things get on top of u when ur nearly there in having the most out of life. Samaritans are good people to talk to when u feel lonely or emotional with no one to talk to. They will listen anytime when u want them to. You can ring them on 0845 90 90 90 any day of the week either day time or night time answering ur call. Good Luck and been a pleasure to be there when u needed advice.

Former Member

I'm on Monster, TotalJobs...... and when you want to claim JSA, you have to join Directgov website to look for jobs. This is a complete waste of time and they shouldn't tell you that you MUST join.

I posted a message on a website for a photographer's assistant on a website (photoassist) and I've had over 100 views on it. Proper photographer's don't want to employ amateurs with no experience under their belt.

I've looked at freelance 'retouching' jobs, but I need experience.

I've looked at college courses Crazykiss, but they're rubbish and they are not what I want to do, plus they begin at stupid times of year, like September. Prior to posting my previous message, I sent an email to a photographer who does courses, and I may buy it. But I'd rather go on a course where I'll receive a certificate to say that I've learnt something.

There used to lots of jobs in newspapers, but they soon disintegrated over the years to only a few, so I don't bother looking in them any more. It's all gone digital now.

I have found a couple of good online courses for photography, but they cost between £500-600 and I can't afford to pay that much.

The websites you mention Craykiss, if they are only for 'young' people, I'm not young lol. But thank you anyway.

I do keep looking for typist jobs too nearly every day, but I just can't find anything, so I'll be on JSA for a while.

The place where I worked before said (while I was being made redundant!) that I could go back once I'm in better health. I sent them a letter some weeks ago, but didn't hear anything back from them. I told a mate that I'd sent a letter and he spoke to the person and he said that there's no jobs at the moment. B*ST*RDS. The swine's shouldn't have fcking made me redundant. They should have put me on sick leave.
I tried to look for advice at my local CAB, but they basically said that I didn't have a strong case, so I couldn't do anything about it.

Oh well, that's life I guess.

Former Member

I'm sorry to hear that you have tried everything you can to look for jobs in administration what u would like to do. Not easy being on JSA getting lack of support from job centre and feeling like your on ur own. Its good that ur still looking for jobs and searching for courses other then just college. College isn't for everyone and I was one of those people like u are. I thought I would be but I wasn't. I tried other training providers which were like alternatives to college which I found out though a going back to workcourse that i did for about year or so. Really helped me in what I would like to get out of the course and with the sort of job I would like to do. Maybe finding a less pressured training provider to go to will help with ur confidence, improve ur social life and get to where u want to be in the future. I was with a training provider called Bridge Training and they were really good with what I wanted to do. There are others like that what u can find in ur local area which will tell I wether or not they run photography course or not and if not then u can look for another training provider. Prospect Training might be the one for you as they run all different courses throughout the year and not only based on one or few courses. That would be better for you then college at this moment of time and with starting a course through online might be a good idea two but the training providers out there are mostly free and run by experienced tuitions. You can look for any sort of work using the job websites I have given u for all ages no matter what type of job it is. There isn't no restriction of age. Monster and Total Jobs are good but also Indeed and Gum Tree are. Your doing all the right things by looking for paid work but maybe starting a full time course will help u in the long run with acheiving a certificate qualification in photography. I'm not sure what u said before about the job centre telling u to search for jobs on direct gov as evidence is true. Where I live I don't have to and have a booklet with everything I have done with looking for work so maybe u need to have another chat with ur job centre branch and ask again if u have to use the direct gov website or not? It's a shame that u couldn't have ur old job back but u agree that they should of said to you from the start that u wouldn't be able to work there anymore due to personal circumstances. Im not sure what that was about but never mind about them as you will get a job soon due to all the good work ur doing. Keeping ur spirits up and being busy will help u out a lot with a good support network who will tell u to remain postive which u are doing. There's not much else to cover as ur doing all the right things. Remember to look after urself first before u jump into any hurdles along the way and there's always help on hand from the site two. Guide is another what will be able to get u in touch with local services in ur area with finding courses or employment. Never give up is what u can't do as ur only giving up on urself. I'm here if u wanna talk more. Good Luck

Former Member

Hi,

my passion is photography , I did a fine arts degree .
But took up photography after my studies.

I took my exams with the Royal photographic society www.rps.org

They offer a wealth of information and study days , and send you monthly news letter with some great ideas.

Maybe try putting some of your work on www.redbubble.com you will get good feed back and in the process may well sell some of your work.

This is how l started off and now have my own business doing commissions for magazine and TV

If l can be of any help then please just give me an shout , I'm happy to share any knowledge that l have !

Former Member

Buddy wrote: »

Hi,

my passion is photography , I did a fine arts degree .
But took up photography after my studies.

I took my exams with the Royal photographic society www.rps.org

They offer a wealth of information and study days , and send you monthly news letter with some great ideas.

Maybe try putting some of your work on www.redbubble.com you will get good feed back and in the process may well sell some of your work.

This is how l started off and now have my own business doing commissions for magazine and TV

If l can be of any help then please just give me an shout , I'm happy to share any knowledge that l have !

Thank you for your reply.

Thank you for the suggestion about the RedBubble website. Only a handful of my photos are good enough for websites like this one. I've been looking into stock photography, but I wouldn't get much for it.

I want to do property photography and I would begin to write letters to estate agencies offering my 'services' but I've hit a solid brick wall where my wide angle lens isn't connecting to the camera body correctly and the photos are soft on one side. So I can't 'turn the cogs' and get on with it until that's sorted.

But I won't be able to sort it until I buy a new camera, a full frame DSLR and one or two new lenses. And that costs money. Money which I don't have.

At the moment I'm applying for admin jobs, or any other jobs I like, and I'll upgrade my camera gear once I have an income and go from there. If you like, my photos are on flickr and can be viewed here

Former Member

I hope u find a job in photography soon. Can take a while for ur dreams to happen but they can become a reality. What kind of photography did u want to do? Weddings or photo shots? Hopefully u can gain some experience where u can get ur work through the door and its good ur still doing that. Best of luck with it.

Former Member

Crazykiss wrote: »

I hope u find a job in photography soon. Can take a while for ur dreams to happen but they can become a reality. What kind of photography did u want to do? Weddings or photo shots? Hopefully u can gain some experience where u can get ur work through the door and its good ur still doing that. Best of luck with it.

None of those actually. The area I want to get involved is Property Photography, but I need to sort my camera out first. I cannot take shots of property with a normal lens. I need a wide angle. But I need a different job first, then I'll look into it.

Property/Real Estate Photography isn't much pay, so I need a better income to start off with.

Former Member

Aww ok. Well hopefully once u get the experience for this then u will get interviews lined up for u to go with ur career. I would do any job in the mean time to get money then carry on looking for jobs in photography in property. Good Luck

Former Member

You don't get interviews for property photography as it's freelance. But thanks

Cat88

Hi there.

Just one other thought for you, apologies if you've already considered it. Have you seen if any local photographers do 1 day/weekend courses to help improve key photography skills? Our wedding photographer runs them regularly for all levels and they look like they're really good. On something like that, you could possibly even ask the photographers themselves for tips in a nice, informal setting.

Away from that though, I'm afraid all I hear is that photography is so hard to get into. A friend of mine is still trying after doing fine art and a photography degree. Having said that, I also have some friends at work who do it on the side of their main job so I think trying to do it that way is a great idea

I'm afraid I don't know much about online courses for things, but try to bear in mind that for some things online courses just aren't the best way to train, which might be why you're struggling to find them. Have you looked at adult learning rather than full college courses? In my area these start at all sorts of different times through the year so you might have more luck finding one that fits in. Although September isn't long away!

Good luck!

Former Member

Cat88 wrote: »

Hi there.

Just one other thought for you, apologies if you've already considered it. Have you seen if any local photographers do 1 day/weekend courses to help improve key photography skills? Our wedding photographer runs them regularly for all levels and they look like they're really good. On something like that, you could possibly even ask the photographers themselves for tips in a nice, informal setting.

Away from that though, I'm afraid all I hear is that photography is so hard to get into. A friend of mine is still trying after doing fine art and a photography degree. Having said that, I also have some friends at work who do it on the side of their main job so I think trying to do it that way is a great idea

I'm afraid I don't know much about online courses for things, but try to bear in mind that for some things online courses just aren't the best way to train, which might be why you're struggling to find them. Have you looked at adult learning rather than full college courses? In my area these start at all sorts of different times through the year so you might have more luck finding one that fits in. Although September isn't long away!

Good luck!

Yep I already know it's difficult to have a career in photography and there's not much money in it unless you can take really good photos.
Nope I haven't seen any photographer's who do 1-day or weekend courses.

College courses are no good. I've looked into them. And I wouldn't learn anything from them than I already know. I've looked at some online courses, but even then, they cost money in the £100s.

I'd rather look for a one-to-one/small group course by local photographers in my area. I have found a course which would work well for what I want to do (landscapes). But I'm not going to do it yet.

This guy seems great and I may consider doing one of his courses. Craig Roberts Photography

Former Member

That's a good idea spintrees. Only he's not wanting to do wedding photography as he's more interrested on property photography. It maybe more experience but I don't know what he may think to that. Online courses can be good but u need the patience to carry on with them for a long length of time and it's not free so its better to go to college or another training provider where u can get more experience that. Your doing everything u can so keep going. Well Done

Former Member

Crazykiss wrote: »

That's a good idea spintrees. Only he's not wanting to do wedding photography as he's more interrested on property photography. It maybe more experience but I don't know what he may think to that. Online courses can be good but u need the patience to carry on with them for a long length of time and it's not free so its better to go to college or another training provider where u can get more experience that. Your doing everything u can so keep going. Well Done

spintrees lol

Not sure what you mean by the first highlighted section.
'can get more experience that'?.... 'that' what?

No I wouldn't go to college, they are a complete waste of time what I want to do and they won't teach me anything I already know.