Is it me or does getting a job abroad seem hard? heh

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hey all,

This is my first post :slight_smile:

I am very concerned about the work ethic here in the US (we work too much!). After reading Cecil’s comments on vacation times for other countries: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010302.html, I was left stunned.

I’m a student at the University at Buffalo, studying political science. I’m also considering a minor in business, and I’m not sure if I’m going to graduate school or not (perhaps MBA or JD). I’m really still on the fence as far as deciding what I want to do (I have no idea), but I think I might be interested in working in another country. I just don’t like the idea that some European gets to work less than me :wink: Seriously though, I’m in my major because I’m interested in politics, but I have absolutely no idea what I can possibly do.

my question(s)

How hard is it for a US citizen with my major to get a decent job in the UK, or any country for that matter (Canada, UK, Australia, etc)? I can’t seem to find any real resource for this (I’m sure they’re out there).

What can I do to get a better idea of what I want to do for a living? I seriously have no clue :frowning: I selected political science because it seemed interesting, and slightly more practical than philosophy :wink:

2

Just the other night, on the radio, I heard there is a worldwide shortage of interpreters. I don’t remember any details.
Peace,
mangeorge

3

IMHO the most realistic route to working outside the U.S. may be to get a job with an American or foreign company that’s big enough to have offices in other countries and find a way to get sent overseas by that employer. I don’t have any particular insight as to figuring out what you might want to do for a living, but there’s always journalism, it got me over to Europe from the U.S. about 10 1/2 years ago. (And I majored in history, btw.)

4

Your odds of (legally) getting a job for a foreign employer in an English-speaking country probably aren’t great.

Your best shot is teaching English abroad, in which field it is outright easy to get a legal job for a college-educated American regardless of what your degree is in. By definition this puts you out of the running for said job in the countries you name. These are also the jobs a new graduate is most likely to be offered.

The good news is that there are still about 80 countries you can teach English in; the bad news is that since some EU citizens obviously speak English as natives, you can’t really get a job in the EU legally, unless there’s some darn good reason the employer needs a Yank (such as a cultural aspect to the program; this is very rare). I’ve heard of Americans picking up work in Italy and Spain under the table but I don’t recommend this for any number of reasons (for one if your concern is vacation time, then as an undocumented alien no one would have to provide you any benefits at all!). Eastern Europe is still open to us, but that window is slowly closing as nations join the EU.

You can literally be hired by the end of this week if you’d like to teach in China or S Korea; within a couple of months you should be able to get a teaching job in one of about 50 or so other countries where they appear regularly, and a handful of nations have a handful of available jobs that need filling more rarely.

I understand that there have been some agricultural temp jobs in Australia in the past; perhaps the Aussie SD contingent will weigh in on that. If you were a nurse, the general shortage could get you into programs in the UK or Canada. But you’re not.

There are plenty of websites on working abroad, some focus on resort jobs, teaching (I recommend this route to escape the US for a bit!), etc. The search engine is your friend on that…

With a poli sci degree, after a few yrs travel and other work under your belt, you could apply to aid and other international organizations. I understand many of them, such as the OSCE, have disproportionately large #s of us right now and that cuts your chances a bit at the moment.

But like I said, if you think you could do a year in Pusan conjugating “to be”, they’ll have on a plane in 2 weeks if you like…

5

Here is info for applying for Foreign Service with the US State Dept.

I also noticed that you only listed English-speaking countries. You can seriously add to your options by learning another language or 2, if you haven’t already.

6

Really? Why? I can’t become a citizen of the UK and get a job just like any other Brit? I’m very new to this, but I thought that I could just jump through the hoops and become a citizen of another country (Canada, UK, etc).

haha…

Bleh…I’ve gotta figure out what I want to do. I’ve never really been sure, and everyone kept telling me I’d know eventually. I just don’t like this whole work way more than you live thing we have going on heh.

Thanks all for your comments.

7

You don’t seem to have the best attitude when it comes to WHY you want to move.

If you don’t want to work hard, you’re not going to get/keep a job anywhere.

8

Don’t misunderstand my work ethic. I work hard, and I’m willing to do so, but I don’t like the idea that even if I do work hard that my chances for reward (such as vacation) are statistically very lower here.

Also, I wouldn’t mind working long and hard if I had any clue about what I want to do.

9

SeanT, questions seeking advice and opinions belong in IMHO.

I’ll move this to IMHO for you.

-xash
General Questions Moderator

10

I don’t understand why this misconception is so widely held. Is it easy for foreigners to come here and get permission to work and citizenship? Why assume immigration laws are dramatically difference in other countries?

11

Well, you can, it’s just rather difficult. Look at the UK – it’s a small country, and unemployment isn’t that great – they’re not really looking to import a lot of moderately skilled workers – it’s not like there’s a shortage. In general, there is no shortage of well educated youth in Britain and Europe so, in many places companies must prove that a comprehensive search for a local candidate has already taken place before hiring a foreign national. There are ways around this – for example a job description can be written such that an American citizen is virtually required (“must have extrensive knowledge of regional US markets,” etc) but that is basically a solution for people who have experience and connections. No company is going to go there for a just-out-of-college, no experience Business student with a bachelor’s.

For a short-term job you can travel to many English-speaking countries (not England though) through CIEE – The Council on International Educational Exchange. Usually you get a 6 month work visa, but in some cases a year. I believe only certain types of employment are permitted on that visa, but it probably varies a lot from country to country.

Generally speaking, you have to be a resident alien before you can be a citizen. And such status is not all that easy to attain (it’s not easy in the US either). Just for example, Canada has a “points” system for emigration, you get points for education, language skills, age, Canadian relations, and a few other things, and you need a certain number of points to be admitted as a resident alien (ie, “green card status” in the US).

-Ruth – moving to London in the Spring, applied for lots of jobs in Canada.

12

THAT is what I want ot do. I want to learn at LEAST another 5 languages (so far I only know french and kinda spanish) and I’m plannign on learning or begining anyways german this year.

Pretty much my only aspiration in life is to travel. And to talk to people. I figure, if I’m an interpreter, I can do both!

I’m not sure what to take in school, though…should I major in languages? It’s annoying.

13

Maybe if I post her username, ruadh will give some advice. She’s an American in Ireland and from the way she once described how she managed to do this, it didn’t sound that difficult. Not hardly a walk in the park, but not impossible either.

Anyway. No, it is not easy to become a citizen of another country. You usually have to be a legal resident and work in that country for a while first anyway. Also, if you become naturalized, you’ll almost always have to give up your American citizenship - do you want to do that? (The main exception is if you marry a foreign national.) Are you a child or grandchild of an immigrant? Some countries will bestow citizenship on someone who had even only one grandparent born there.

14

Any warm body can get a job teaching English in Japan with a university degree. And this is true in many other countries, too. Pick a language and culture you like and then go whole hog. If you have a talent for languages, you can study like hell and become fluent–then graduate to a “real” job.

I came to Japan first in 1992 to teach English for a year. I came back in 1995 and again after grad school in 1998. Now I free lance in advertising/PR and live in the US while using my Japanese.

Good luck to you in your search!

15

It’s not just a matter of jumping through hoops. As chula says, it’s as hard to move to Europe as it is to move to the US, roughly speaking. Without doing something drastic - such as marrying a European citizen - your chances of being granted resident status are very slim.

16

I second the “learn a new language or two” advice. It automatically gives you more countries to try and get into. Choose the language carefully; for example, German will allow you to choose Germany (obviously!), Austria and much of central Europe; Russian might give you access to most of eastern Europe…

However, even with the language skills, you’d still need to have qualifications that are difficult to find in the countries of your choosing - that’s the only way you’re ever going to get in, short of getting a job in an American corporation with offices in that country. And once you’re there, most countries require to have been there for over 5-7 years before you can apply for citizenship - again, short of marrying a local.

17

Here is a site that calculates your various qualifications and gives you a quick idea of whether you’d be eligible for a work permit in the UK, but I make no testimony as to its accuracy. From what I understand, their rules for work permits are much the same as ours: if it’s a job they could fill with a UK citizen, and you don’t offer some specialized skill or talent, then it’s tough going without the route **ColonelDax ** suggests, which incidentally was my initial goal with my current job.

And what I’ve seen of the work ethic abroad is, yes they have more vacation time, but people also tend to work longer hours than we do. It all balances out really.

18

The more I scrutinize the site I just linked, the less I actually feel it’s worth much, so here’s http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1006977149962 the official government site that could probably answer a lot of your questions.

19

It is now after 4:30 in the morning for me and I haven’t been to sleep yet. I’ve just been lurking. I have nothing to add that will help you, SeanT, but nobody so far seems to have noticed that your OP was your first post on these boards. Let me be the first to say WELCOME TO THE SDMB! As you’ve already seen, Dopers try to help.

I am curious, though, about why you seem so willing, if not eager to give up your American citizenship. Considering how many people in other countries would even risk death to come here, I can’t really understand someone who wants to leave. Bush hasn’t even been re-elected yet!

20

You should read up on what it takes to become a citizen of the various EC countries. It’s not easy at all. Unless you were possibly born there you have practically no chance of getting an EC passport. Even Ireland, which used to grant Irish citizenship (which you could then use to get an EC passport) to people who had at least their grandparents born there, is ending the program very shortly. (And it’s not like you could just say, "Yep, Gran was born in Dublin. Give me the passport.) It’s a detailed and tedious process of getting birtth certificates, marriage certificates, and baptismal records for you, your parents, and your grandparents.

Anyway, no, the UK isn’t just going to let you in. I don’t know how it works in Canada, though, but if you want to “get a job abroad” I don’t think Canada is really what you’re thinking of, is it? I’d say your best chance is to get an advanced degree, get a job that requires specialized skills or education, get a job for an American company, and convince them to transfer you to their overseas office.