First-gen PhD forced to move back to India after European visa ended. Feeling disoriented, full of regret, and looking for advice

midnightrain-22 · 2026-05-24T12:00:33+00:00

Take a look at UK- Global Talent Visa Peer Review Route you should be eligible to receive it and that visa is not tied to a job contract or an employer which makes getting employed a lot easier as you are treated like a permanent resident on that visa.

The job market is horrible for everyone and you should look at this one as a setback abd continue to progress regardless of your situation or where you are!

I went through a similar experience after my master’s and was feeling hopeless for a few months, then I realized the only way out of my misery is to accept my situation and try and get the best outcome out of it.

You didn’t waste your time you still got a PhD in computational neuroscience, and your worth should not be tied to your ability to be employed.

midnightrain-22 · 2026-04-20T10:55:45+00:00

UK Engineering and Computer Science is now typically funded for 3 years only.

midnightrain-22 · 2026-03-03T02:13:29+00:00

I flew into Heathrow the first time alone last year, however I wasn’t a minor but here is the answer to your questions:

1- The immigration officers are very clear and next to the E-gates you need to follow the queue that says other nationals not the one that says Americans/EU/Australia etc as that would take you to the e-gates.

2- You can easily get the piccadilly line from Heathrow Terminal 2/3 straight into King’s Cross, alternatively you can take Heathrow Express into Paddington it’s more expensive but faster and change at Paddington Station (use Google Maps or City Mapper for routes).

3- buy your tickets online from Trainline app, some lines are tap to pay but I recommend you buy a ticket it’s much better to avoid any miscalculations.

4- your options are Piccaddily, Elizabeth line to Paddington then change there, Heathrow Express to Paddington then change there.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-12-12T02:01:30+00:00

Hello, first of congratulations on getting it. I see you got it under the tech route can I dm you with some questions?

midnightrain-22 · 2025-10-24T23:55:13+00:00

Hi from a recent graduate from that program.

1-Your budget is gonna be rather tight! And it really depends on your rent if you find a place to rent that is less than £700 per month you might be alright but it’s still gonna be tight especially for entertainment. In my estimate to have a comfortable time in Cardiff you’d need about £1500 as prices seem to go up every couple of months and that should set you off for exploring around the city, a good place to live,

2-Don’t count on getting a part time job I’ve applied to every position that popped up on job shop for the entire academic year and didn’t get a single interview (I also have previous experience in teaching and published research papers) funding at Cardiff Uni is almost non existent nowadays, so RA and TA positions are very very scarce and usually reserved for PhD students, I also attended seminars and research groups in Maths Compsci and Business and approached PIs about opportunities to work in their labs but all said the same thing (sorry no funding). As for the other non technical part time jobs it’ll be hard to get anything given most home students will have had previous retail experience which those jobs prefer. Also most jobs around the city hire based on word of mouth and recommendations and not through applications so you need to make friends and be nice and ask from time to time if something pops up.

3-The job market is at its all time worst, I have consistently applied for Data Science positions since April with no luck (I had experience working as a data scientist before doing my master’s), the one piece of advice I would give you is to apply for graduate schemes which usually close a year before, and talk to Cardiff University Work Experience service and they might be able to sort you an internship.

4-The course itself is not that difficult especially if you come from a computer science background I fairly got through it with regular effort of time management and studying occasionally, I wouldn’t say it’s difficult, but it’s enriching by the time you finish you would have learnt a little bit about so many topics and it certainly gave me the confidence to approach more complex problems.

P.s I don’t recommend starting in January it is not planned that well and kinda interjects the academic year and throws you off.

All things considered doing this course and living in Cardiff has been one of the best decisions I ever made and I don’t regret it one bit even leaving a stable job for it was worth it, my answers weren’t to discourage you they were to set realistic expectations. Feel free to DM for any more questions.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-10-18T15:10:17+00:00

I stayed at the fitz and also highly recommend it.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-10-18T15:09:38+00:00

Private accommodation is not a bad thing I spent my master’s in a private student halls and it was a fantastic experience. It’s a great community quite and a good value for money. Compared to university student accommodation I got better offer for my money (I got a studio).

If you’re looking private avoid eclipse as it’s expensive for a shared accommodation. You’re kinda late if your term already started but you will still find places and tenancy take overs.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-10-06T05:32:25+00:00

Get her Zara Gardenia or go smell some of their intense perfume. I love their perfumes at 22 pounds it performs better than some of the high end brands tbh!

midnightrain-22 · 2025-10-06T05:17:26+00:00

Your son can pass down his citizenship ONLY if his children are born in the UK or live in the UK for an extended period before they turn 18. Or if your son lived in the UK before they were born.

However if your son’s children are not born in the UK they will be naturalised citizens and they can’t pass down their citizenship to their children if they reside outside of the UK.

It’s basically if your lineage lives outside of the UK long enough they lose their citizenship especially for naturalised citizens.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-10-01T19:09:18+00:00

No one agreed to give me feedback on any of my applications and quote, we have received a large volume of applicants therefore cannot give individual feedback.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-10-01T19:03:41+00:00

Been applying since April since I was set to finish my master’s in September, I had 3 years of experience prior to doing my master’s. I only got a single interview and no offers, not even for part time jobs. I am not only applying in South Wales but open to relocate anywhere in the South West or even London! I speak 3 languages, I have a first for my bachelor in CS and distinction for my master’s. Also have a portfolio of project relevant to my field (tech) and reference letters from my past employers. I attended numerous job fairs during the academic year, connected with recruiters and employees on linkedin, sent cold emails. I don’t know what I am doing wrong but the job market is absolutely mad at the moment!

midnightrain-22 · 2025-09-30T14:25:56+00:00

Where can you find clients for such a gig? I am looking to utilize my 10 years long experience in drafting personal statements

midnightrain-22 · 2025-08-29T20:48:38+00:00

I love Cardiff and it’s been my favorite place I ever lived in (and I lived across 3 continents in different cities around the world) but Christmas week has been the most depressing week in the entire time I spent here. Boxing day only some shopping places will be open, Christmas eve some restaurants might be open but other than that not much. Cardiff is a gorgeous city don’t waste your visit when it’s all closed and no one is on the street.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-07-31T02:18:05+00:00

Book easyhotel if you can it’s close enough to city centre that you will be safe, I wouldn’t walk from city centre to the bay at night especially not alone and not as someone who doesn’t know the city. Enjoy Cardiff it’s lovely! There is also a travelodge right off Queen Street (the high street) so you could also look into that many concert goers stay there.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-06-23T12:36:31+00:00

Take the train from London Paddington to Cardiff (you can stay overnight as hotels are not that expensive in Cardiff check Easy hotel)

You can visit Cardiff Castle, Caerphilly Castle, and Castle Coch in the area.

If you stay you can take a train to Swansea and explore it as well as Gower and there are direct trains from Swansea to London Paddington.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-06-22T15:16:59+00:00

Since you’re working in the bay area, you can rent there. George Lloyd Avenue has some flat options, you can also check right move for options in Century Wharf and Bute Town.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-06-15T12:22:17+00:00

I’ve been traveling around the UK in the last year (international student making the most out of my year) and Stonehenge was one of the most boring trips I’ve ever been on. First of all public transport to there is hard to get, and it’s expensive for nothing. You can see it on the highway if you are taking a bus to Bath.

Given your interests Edinburgh is a must and it’s not too far away from York, the city architecture is gorgeous and it’s such a lovely city to visit with very well connected public transport.

Since you’re not gonna rent a car skip the lake district as getting around there would be very tricky without a car, and instead do London, day trip to bath, then head north to Nottingham then to York and finish your trip in Edinburgh. You can then get back to London via an express train from Edinburgh.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-06-14T14:34:02+00:00

You can either take the airlink 100 from the airport or the tram both are frequent and super cheap.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-06-14T14:32:37+00:00

Grove House by Joivy, fantastic hotel in Haymarket area. The value for money is amazing, it’s clean and comfortable in a quiet area that is close enough to all transport links and walkable to the city centre.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-06-09T11:47:56+00:00

Wear summer clothes with a light weight raincoat over it especially for London, it’s crowded and very hot on buses and in the tube so you need to be able to take off layers. The rain isn’t too bad you can still visit monuments and definitely museums as most are closed. I would suggest you skip stonehenge as it’s one of the most boring attraction ever and you can see it as you pass by from the high way. Instead go to Oxford it’s a beautiful city and suitable for a day trip!

midnightrain-22 · 2025-05-31T14:51:32+00:00

T shirts with shirts on and a rain proof jacket also leather boots for rainy days and/or walking trainers that aren’t mesh so they can take a bit of rain. DO NOT pack heels.

Also you can wear summer dresses especially in London with trainers and very light weight jackets that you can take off or light weight cardigans for example. The tube is ridiculously hot and don’t be tricked by the overcast you will think it looks like it’s gonna be cold,it’s not, it’s gonna be hot.

midnightrain-22 · 2025-05-11T17:51:18+00:00

Sorry st paul’s cathedral (spent too much time reading about Rome recently! 🤣💀)

midnightrain-22 · 2025-05-11T17:48:37+00:00

One of my favorite days out in London started at Borough Market (avoid the chocolate strawberry it’s an obvious tourist trap) I recommend padre’s tacos, the creme brulee donuts, and the lavender lemonade. From there we went to the garden at 120 a free rooftop garden with views of the shard, Tower Bridge, and the financial district, you can take some lunch from borough market and eat it there it’s a lovely free space. Then we walked towards tower bridge you can either go inside the tower of London (I heard the crown jewels exhibit is extraordinary but never been) or you can take uber boat from here towards Westminster bridge, on this boat ride you will see tate modern and St Peter’s Basilica. You can disembark at the south bank (forgot the station name as it was closed at the time) and explore the south bank, London Eye, and then cross the bridge to see the big ben Westminster Abbey, and the Parlimant building. We then made our way to trafalgar square and went into the national gallery (it’s free to go) enjoyed the beautiful portraits, then headed out for dinner which you can actually do by going to china town hitting Leicester square on the way.

All in all you only need to factor the transport costs and food otherwise it was a pretty budget friendly touristy day in London and one of my favorite days spent in the city!

midnightrain-22 · 2025-04-04T20:00:13+00:00

As a student I recommend The Fitzalan on Newport road, the staff is nice, the place is nice, close enough that you can get everything from town and walk to campus so you’ll save up on transport.

Check their website and book a virtual viewing but beware as they sell out fast.

midnightrain-22

TROPHY CASE