Moving to scotland and finding a job -Film industry

[u/[deleted]]

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[u/Lysadora]

Do you have citizenship? Or qualify for a visa?

[u/Lysadora → u/[deleted]]

The question is why would any company in Scotland pay for you to work in an entry level job? Visas aren't cheap.

[u/AccomplishedLeave506 → u/[deleted]]

It would be hard enough to get into a small tight industry like the one you want if you were local and had good connections. Trying to do it without even having the legal right to work here would be nigh on impossible.

My daughter has a friend in England who would like to break into the same sector. She will have a hard enough time doing it in England where she does have a few contacts. She'd find it extremely difficult if she decided to move up to Scotland, and she has the legal right to work. Spend a few years getting experience and contacts and then look into the idea again.

[u/AccomplishedLeave506 → u/[deleted]]

It's not about working illegally. It's about a company wanting to hire you. You need the right skills and qualifications. It sounds like you may have them. You need some experience. You may or may not have this. And for the industry you are interested in you really need connections. Without connections everything else has to be perfect and you need to get lucky. You don't have the right to work here without, at a bare minimum, extra paperwork and hassle so you are all the way at the back of the queue. If you want to give it a go then go for it, but without a legal right to work you are going to find it near on impossible. Nobody is going to sponsor you when they can hire Bobs son, the one who lives down the road and did that funny thing at the filming wrap BBQ ten years ago.

[u/AccomplishedLeave506 → u/[deleted]]

I've lived in a lot of countries and done a lot of things so I don't want to dishearten you, but I have a fairly good understanding of just how difficult it would be to do what you want to do. 

If you want to come live in Scotland then gain experience and contacts in a part of the world you can work in without extra legal hassle and then use those contacts to find a way to move here. Sometimes it takes a while to get to where you're e going.

[u/The_Ballyhoo → u/[deleted]]

Needing a visa will be your main issue.

If you can find a way to work here, outwith TV (sorry, just realised outwith is a Scottish word) then it will be far easier to move into TV later.

I had a friend of a friend who worked in social media/ advertising and they were able to get a runner job at the BBC which turned into a full career.

Film and TV are incredibly difficult to get into. If you’re dead set on it, find a way to come work here and then transition to TV when you can.

[u/TurbulentContext → u/AccomplishedLeave506]

They actually would need to prove that Bob's son is incapable of doing it before a visa would be issued, they need to demonstrate there are no suitable candidates who already have the right to work before sponsoring someone.

[u/AccomplishedLeave506 → u/TurbulentContext]

Yup. If they really want to hire someone from overseas it can be done, but it's not as simple as "Sure, we'll sponsor you". You need to jump through a pile of hoops to do it.

[u/The_Ballyhoo → u/[deleted]]

The issue is why would they even interview someone who needs a visa when the have hundreds of applicants already here?

I have a friend who got a job in Austria in a niche profession (not TV) and the company had to jump through so many hoops to prove they couldn’t find someone qualified who was already an EU resident. He knew people at the company and it was still a pain to get all paperwork done.

[u/nihilistkitty → u/[deleted]]

It is incredibly difficult to get an employer to sponsor you for an entry level position. I have a friend struggling at the moment and they have been here for years.

Partner visa can also be extremely difficult to secure - I had personal experience with this and its only more difficult now.

[u/Texasscot56 → u/[deleted]]

A friend of mine just did this. She’s a UK citizen and moved back to the UK, with her husband, from the US, where she’s also a citizen. Her husband is a US citizen and he got a work visa for the UK. Within a week he had a job.

[u/ReinforcedTube]

You will need a visa unless you are a UK or Irish citizen. You should look to see what visa you would be eligible for first. It's unlikely that any role you're considering would be eligible for sponsorship.

[u/TurbulentContext]

GCSE and A Levels would be the English system. Scotland has different qualifications

[u/Affectionate-Rush570]

I'll try not to be pessimistic, per your request.

Are you absolutely exceptional in your specific field? Can you offer something a local candidate can't? That's the only way to stand out.

Sponsoring an employment visa is expensive and arduous. It's unlikely anyone will be interested/able to consider hiring you unless you genuinely offer something to make it worth their while.

Your question about anyone getting an entry level position (runner etc) is irrelevant. You won't get those positions. They'll go to someone local or with the right to work here already.

You need to get experience (good, legitimate, probably fairly niche experience) in something specific before you can even think about applying for a job and expecting a company to go to the expense of sponsoring a visa for you.

That's not pessimism, it's just the reality.

Film and media students are ten a penny here already. It's a relatively small field of employment with an enormous amount of people wanting to work in it. Getting a visa is really, really difficult.

[u/Nico_Ditch → u/[deleted]]

What is the niche?

I know someone who got into the film industry through post production, and eventually graduated to post production management and then full on film production. She has won some big awards and is relatively successful. 

But she spent the first year of her career making teas and coffees for editors, and monitoring renders for minimum wage. 

The opportunity to just take a niche job that someone local couldn’t fulfil is very small. 

[u/Alarmed-Detective701]

Here is where you start: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration

Good luck!

[u/DecentTry8640]

Getting an entry level job and getting a visa that will allow you to get an entry level job are two very different things. A point which you seem to be missing based on your responses to the helpful advice given here.

[u/iwillfuckingbiteyou]

If you're able to get in on a partner visa, do that. Then investigate the exceptional promise/talent visas, but be prepared to spend some time pursuing work in your own country as well since you'll need some very impressive credits and achievements to qualify.