My Mindset on Studying Abroad in the UK

Hi everyone, I'm Luo La (羅菈), and I currently work in the UK🐬

It's summer break. In September the 2023 Fall international students will arrive, and the autumn hiring season for 2023 Fall jobs begins. It's the start of term for students and the last hiring wave of 2023 for companies; after that, you have to wait until January 2024

Note: (In the UK, the spring hiring season in January and the autumn one in September are the best times each year to change jobs or look for work) Today let's talk about something lighter ☺︎

After all, job hunting and studying are both long battles. You need to reset your mood now and then to keep going for the long haul.

Time flies. Last month I hit my fifth year in the UK, doing my master's and job hunting. Today I want to share my mindset on studying abroad. Whatever country you're heading to, whether to study, do a working holiday or work, I think any chance to live abroad, rather than just travel, is a lucky thing, and because it's lucky, it's all the more worth treasuring.

Lucky as it is, to be honest this road isn't easy, since you're not in your own country. Anyone far from home knows that visas are our biggest constraint. As a foreigner in another country, everything comes back to the visa. So today I want to share the mindset that took me from studying abroad to working here 📚👩🏻‍💻🇬🇧

“My first day in📍Oxford”

“My first British High Tea☕️ ”

Five years ago

I knew very well that I was a blank sheet of paper, heading abroad with no family, no friends, no degree, no experience and even less in the way of resources

That was reality, but I saw it as both a weakness and a strength, because you can be yourself with no box to fit into: show who you are, use what you've got and shape yourself.

On a summer day five years ago, I set foot in the UK for the first time and told myself I would stay after graduating.

It came from a childhood dream, and it was also the first step toward making that dream come true, so I told myself not to waste a single second.

Because of this goal, whenever I had the chance I threw myself into social settings where nobody spoke Chinese. I joined all kinds of campus events and clubs, big and small, and through them made friends of different ethnicities and nationalities. To this day we still exchange ideas and pass opportunities to each other at work.

I never passed up a chance to speak English, and I kept telling myself I had to put myself out there. I went to every day and night event during Freshers' Week, wanting to understand local British culture better and explore cultural backgrounds I'd had little chance to learn about in Taiwan.

Whatever goal I wanted to reach, I acted on it and found a way to make it happen. For my graduation project, with no connections or resources at all, I went to London and found clients myself and found internships myself. Before graduating, I was writing my dissertation and job hunting while doing two internships at the same time (in the middle of the pandemic, too😮‍💨)

I'm not saying this to show how great I am. My point is that if your goal is clear enough and you want it badly enough, anything is possible. Back then, working that hard, I didn't know where all this effort would take me, but I simply kept working and kept believing.

Now, five years later, I'm grateful to myself for forcing that big step back then, a step without knowing where it led. Looking back five years on, I really was fearless, and I hope I can keep that strength for the rest of my life in the UK.

When you live abroad, a lot of people only see the glamorous side. Nobody sees how much more effort the people surviving here put in behind the scenes just to live a life that looks as effortless as it would back home.

Everyone has their own road they want to take, places they want to go and the person they want to become. No road is easy or hard; it's only about whether you want it and whether you're willing. This is the road I chose, so I walk it with my feet on the ground and at peace, and that's why I have experience to share. I hope every dreamer who dreams of going abroad can move toward where they want to be😌

Finally, before you leave, here are some questions to ask yourself

1. What do I most want to achieve by going abroad? Life experience, cultural exchange, a degree to bring back to a job in Taiwan, or staying to work overseas?

2. To reach that goal, what changes or actions should I start on now? (with the resources I have)

3. If you're a student: after graduating, then what? If you're on a working holiday: after two years, then what?

Mindset: be a sponge and soak up new knowledge and new things, but don't go against your own principles

Thinking and behavior: will you move the same you from Taiwan to another country, or make some changes, break through and step out of your comfort zone? There's no right answer here, only what suits you best and what you want most. What do you imagine you'll be like after going abroad?

🩵Feel free to leave a comment and share with me🩵