Moving to the UK for professionnal racing - Pearson Test of English - Thoughts ?

oldschoolZ

Well-known member
Hi all,

I'm moving to the UK full time this fall for a job in professionnal racing. It's THE place to be for professionnal racing (10 BILLION USD industry, of which over half are exports.) It's truly a dream come true for me to finally do something I love full time ! (i'll make a post on this later on). Basically I'm selling everything I have and moving, my track car, my condo etc...all sold.

I've previously lived in the UK 22 months on one occasion and a 4 month contract on another occasion. I've never been requested to do an English test for my Visa application, but I guess their requirements changed.

I did the TOEFL test recently and I passed with flying colours. I was above the minimum requirements in every section. Long story short, the company that makes the tests was accused of fraud . Here is a statment from their website:

Following the broadcast of a BBC Panorama program in February 2014 which highlighted an organized criminal element seeking to circumvent the U.K.'s visa-granting process, ETS has made the decision not to extend our Secure English-language Testing (SELT) license with the Home Office. As a result, TOEIC® and TOEFL iBT® testing will no longer be offered for U.K. visa-granting purposes.

As you can understand, it's quite frustrating to have to spend another saturday doing and paying for another english test (250$). I'll be taking the Pearson Test of English instead in 2-3 weeks.

For those of you who have taken the TOEFL test and the Pearson Test of English, how do both compare ?
 
I can't be of any help, but I just want to say congrats. Thats one job that i would sell everything and move in a heart beat for.
 
PTE Academic
The Pearson Test of English Academic


PTE Academic is a computer-based academic English language test aimed at non-native English speakers wanting to study abroad. It tests Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.

Questions often test 2 skills together, such as listening and reading or reading and speaking. The whole test is done in a single session, lasting 3 hours and is taken sitting at a computer in a secure test environment. The speaking part of the exam is done at the computer. Your voice is recorded and sent for marking. One advantage of this test is that you get your results very quickly; in about 5 days.

This is a relatively new test and it is not yet available in every country. The cost varies by country but is in the range of $150-$210.

PTE Academic is a multi-level test, like IELTS, TOEFL and TOEIC.
Click here to see a comparison table.

http://www.examenglish.com/PTE/PTE_Academic.htm

while typing: Pearson into google this popped up in auto complete: pearson test of english academic

hope any of that helps. Congrats!
 
Congratulations and wishing you all the best! Curious, which level of racing will you be involved in, GT, Rally, Formula?

You will need to report back to MR on occasion and keep a running thread, that is when you have time in the off season as I am sure you will be working very long hours. I love motor racing and always admired how directly involved & passionate people are in this industry.

Never taken the exam but I wouldn't worry too much.
 
while typing: Pearson into google this popped up in auto complete: pearson test of english academic

hope any of that helps. Congrats!

Thanks for the info! I scheduled for a test and they don't even say how long it lasts lol! From your post it's 3 hours apparently :p

Congratulations and wishing you all the best! Curious, which level of racing will you be involved in, GT, Rally, Formula?

You will need to report back to MR on occasion and keep a running thread, that is when you have time in the off season as I am sure you will be working very long hours. I love motor racing and always admired how directly involved & passionate people are in this industry.

Never taken the exam but I wouldn't worry too much.

I will ! I'm thinking of starting a blog ?

Would anybody here be interested in actually reading it ? It wouldn't be too technical and would be easy to understand, with insider pictures. would that be of interest ?

plus d'info sur la job si t'a le temps svp

Oui !

En fait je m'en vais faire une maîtrise en Angleterre en ''Motorsports Engineering'', il y avait (beaucoup trop) de personnes qui ont appliqué sur le projet et ils en ont pris juste 35. Je me compte plutôt chanceux d'être choisi...J'ai terminé mon BACC en décembre dernier et en ce moment je travaille dans 2 équipes de course comme race-engineer. Une en Porsche GT3 Cup et une autre dans une série semi-pro aux états unis. C'est plutôt difficile de vivre de ça ici, donc déménager était la meilleure option !

J'ai quelques mois de cours et ensuite je vais travailler à la conception d'une LMP (le Mans Prototype) qui coursera dans des courses d'endurance comme les 24 heures du Mans, 12h de Sebring, 6h de Silverstone, 1000km de Spa, etc. On fait la conception de l'aéro, châssis, suspension, freins, électronique. Le moteur est acheté ainsi que la transmission. Ensuite on fait toutes les simulations pour déterminer sa performance et évaluer si on la fabrique ou non, bien sûr ça dépend aussi de la personne qui finance le projet. Le châssis+électronique peut coûter au maximum 330000 Euros, le moteur 80000euros et la transmission 50000euros selon les règlements de la FIA puisque c'est une série ''cost capped'', c'est à dire que le prix maximal des voitures est règlementé.
 
I think anyone on this forum would be interested - you should create a new thread in General section titled "my new life in the UK in professional racing". If you update it frequently, it will be a top thread for sure.

Congrats on taking the risk - not many people take risk anymore.
 
Came in here expecting nothing

leaving extremely jelly and ashamed of my normal life
 
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I will ! I'm thinking of starting a blog ?

Would anybody here be interested in actually reading it ? It wouldn't be too technical and would be easy to understand, with insider pictures. would that be of interest ?

A blog is a great idea, probably better than MR as you will reach a much larger audience. I would certainly follow you and your progress, twitter and instagram would also be cool. No need to make it too technical, for that people can read Racecar Engineering.

En fait je m'en vais faire une maîtrise en Angleterre en ''Motorsports Engineering'', il y avait (beaucoup trop) de personnes qui ont appliqué sur le projet et ils en ont pris juste 35. Je me compte plutôt chanceux d'être choisi...J'ai terminé mon BACC en décembre dernier et en ce moment je travaille dans 2 équipes de course comme race-engineer. Une en Porsche GT3 Cup et une autre dans une série semi-pro aux états unis. C'est plutôt difficile de vivre de ça ici, donc déménager était la meilleure option !

J'ai quelques mois de cours et ensuite je vais travailler à la conception d'une LMP (le Mans Prototype) qui coursera dans des courses d'endurance comme les 24 heures du Mans, 12h de Sebring, 6h de Silverstone, 1000km de Spa, etc. On fait la conception de l'aéro, châssis, suspension, freins, électronique. Le moteur est acheté ainsi que la transmission. Ensuite on fait toutes les simulations pour déterminer sa performance et évaluer si on la fabrique ou non, bien sûr ça dépend aussi de la personne qui finance le projet. Le châssis+électronique peut coûter au maximum 330000 Euros, le moteur 80000euros et la transmission 50000euros selon les règlements de la FIA puisque c'est une série ''cost capped'', c'est à dire que le prix maximal des voitures est règlementé.

Sounds like a really nice project. The UK is the mecca of racecar engineers. Start the Blog!!!
 
Thanks for the great reply's guys !

I'm starting a wordpress blog as I write this, writing the ''about'' section right now...I'll post the link once I have some material to put on it !

Cheers :)
 
Thanks guys for the great comments !

Would you be interested in hearing about the GT3 Cup Series, in which I currently work in ? The season starts in 2 weeks,

I could do:

Overview of the car (engine, gearbox, suspension, etc) ?

and then a typical weekend at the track ?
 
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