Background: I'm from the UK, moved abroad to teach physics and now I'd like to return to the UK and get a job in something vaguely related to STEM.
When I started applying for jobs in February, I found that lots of STEM employers have defence contracts with the government. It turns out that I would need security clearance to work for them and a requirement is that I would have had to have lived in the UK for the last 5 years.
I thought it would only be a few employers but I've been applying for months now and I'm just getting immediate, automatic rejections from every single job I apply for.
I've applied to 50+ jobs in the last few months, all entry level, and I'm absolutely losing my mind.
What's the point in even having a physics degree if literally no one will hire me in my field?
So many jobs have a requirement of a PhD too, when did that become such a normal thing? Why should I have to waste 3-5 years of my life being paid as little as possible just for an entry level job that pays below average wage.