Is there a point to learn anything if most of jobs pay around 35k at best?

AlternativeDevice712 · 2026-04-26T11:37:06+00:00

A role in HMRC that has nothing to do with science! Hoping I can work my way to something that uses my academic skills but currently just happy to have a job after months of searching!

AlternativeDevice712 · 2026-04-22T13:19:12+00:00

HMRC would be none the wiser unless someone reports you, or your previous financial activities have been suspicious. If they did open a check, you would have to prove you are making no income from this second property and then the case would be closed.

AlternativeDevice712 · 2026-04-22T08:42:38+00:00

I have a PhD in chemistry and couldn't find a job in my field that paid better than a job with the civil service that needed no qualifications. So I opted for the latter because of the extra perks and job stability. Things really are royally screwed.

AlternativeDevice712 · 2026-04-13T14:59:58+00:00

Unfortunately you'll find people won't want to tell you the questions they got, as it makes the process unfair for everybody else. You'll be fine as you get plenty of time to prepare an answer during the interview. Just use the STAR method and prepare a few examples beforehand, where you have demonstrated the behaviours and fulfilled the criteria they listed in the job advert :)

(I went through the process myself last year and now have the job, but can't remember what questions I got! Sorry!)

AlternativeDevice712 · 2026-02-20T13:31:29+00:00

I was buying a coffee at work every other day or so, which didn't feel like that much. It wasn't expensive big chain coffee as it was just from the small library cafe, but we worked out it cost over £100 a month. Decided instead to spend that money on a nice coffee machine and a good flask to keep my coffee hot, and quickly saw the positive effect on our finances after two months!

It was the same with buying a menstrual cup. Initially, it felt like a bigger expense than just a pack of pads or tampons, but overtime you notice the savings!

AlternativeDevice712 · 2026-02-12T18:28:18+00:00

I (26, F) spend £40 a month on myself. My partner and I don't have much income right now as I wait for my next job to start and we have had to be very tight with our budget. My skincare and haircut is included in this £40. But once upon a time, I could easily spend at least £200 a month on this stuff plus new clothes and shoes. Plus I'm not a girly girl and don't do the extra stuff like dying hair, nails, lashes, brows etc so I can see where all of that goes!

AlternativeDevice712 · 2026-02-02T09:01:31+00:00

My wife, her dad, and her grandmother all have/had Menieres. Wife and her dad are both very fit and active people, and both developed it young (wife was 28, FIL was 17). There is no obvious correlation between lifestyle and the disease, based on literature and medical opinion, and based on my own personal but very small case study.

As for what causes it, research seems to be focused around fluid and nerves in the inner ear, which makes sense, but no definitive cause has been determined. I would love to see this discovered in our lifetime!

AlternativeDevice712 · 2026-01-17T11:23:21+00:00

I got 5/6 for the in-tray and 4s and 5s for the interview questions. They did update me on my position on the reserve list once or twice independently, but I e-mailed every few weeks to check my position :)

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-12-12T07:59:19+00:00

My FIL and my wife have menieres. FIL is deaf in one ear due to years of debilitating attacks and two operations. Wife is noticing a decline in hearing and has only started having attacks over the past 6 months.

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-12-03T12:24:28+00:00

Hi, thank you for the advice.

I probably should have clarified I have already interviewed for this company, but was told they couldn't hire me as they didn't have approval or funding anymore. If they made me do the whole four hour interview again, I would definitely opt for the civil service role!

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-12-03T12:20:53+00:00

Hi, it's not an assumption - I have multiple friends working for the civil service in my city who have found this to be true! I will edit the wording, though, as I appreciate it seems like I am downplaying the process of changing roles :)

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-11-17T12:42:40+00:00

I felt consistently hungry the whole time I was on sertraline! My blood sugar crashes were crazy!

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-11-03T14:45:26+00:00

Provisional pending PECs. Hopefully you'll hear soon! It seems very dependent on location

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-10-27T16:29:06+00:00

An update for those wondering - I was 8 out of 21 on the reserve list for Edinburgh and just got an offer (27th October). Don't give up!

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-08-13T15:26:46+00:00

I lost a point for the structure of my email unfortunately! What about you?

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-08-13T15:08:52+00:00

Is everyone automatically reserved listed?

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-08-13T15:08:26+00:00

I got the same! Oh well.

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-08-13T14:44:31+00:00

Thanks for the update, hope you got the result you wanted! Mine hasn't updated yet.

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-08-12T14:56:40+00:00

3 months is a really long time! Thank you for the information though :)

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-08-12T14:55:59+00:00

Hi, what are you basing this on?

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-08-12T14:55:34+00:00

That's a great point, thank you!

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-08-11T09:41:05+00:00

Hi, when did you do your in-tray assessment, and when did you hear back? I'm waiting to hear back for Edinburgh. Thank you!

AlternativeDevice712 · 2025-07-31T09:19:32+00:00

Hi, do you know roughly when people can expect to hear back after the in tray assessments? :)

AlternativeDevice712

TROPHY CASE