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Job search suggestions (Abroad)

EpicurusEpicurus
edited December 2011 in General Banter
I live in Portugal and I only have some college education. I feel I absolutely need to experience living on my own and traveling at this point in my life.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how to look for a job, say in Europe, for a guy like me? Are there any listings for stuff like this, that are reliable?

Also, do you know of any special programs that might interest me? I need to be working and in another country, those are the requirements :)

Comments

  • BekenzeBekenze
    edited December 2011
    What languages do you know? If you want the college education, France has it free. Germany has very good education for on the cheap too, I believe. UK I have heard is expensive, like the US. Maybe try Norway? :)
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited December 2011
    It's a tough time everywhere in Europe. Huge unemployment in the UK, if you're looking at English-speaking countries.
    A niece of mine managed to get a job in Germany, I don't know how she did it, because she's from the US, not the EU. She speaks German and has a B.A. in something like international economics or trade, or something impressive, but that didn't help. She started out very entry-level in something that had nothing to do with her college degree. But she loves being there, so it's ok with her. I'd guess Germany is probably the only place that would be hiring right now, maybe France. With Portugese, you could adapt easily to French. But I don't know how to do a job search. There are internet sites for that, but I don't know how reliable they are.

    Oh, I didn't think of Norway. Norway is flush with money, that's not a bad idea. If you don't mind cold, dark winters.

    I don't know if anyone from the EU can go to a member country and expect a free college education. I'd think you'd have to be a taxpayer of that country, or a citizen, but maybe not. Do you have more info on this, @Bekenze? The trick is that each country also gives their financially-needy students stipends to live on while going to college. Even if he could score a free education, I'm sure he wouldn't get a stipend, that would only be for citizens, so he'd have to work, and to live very frugally, sharing a place with roommates.
  • BekenzeBekenze
    France is free for all! :D Except very small bill for healthcare. Very small.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    France is free for all! :D Except very small bill for healthcare. Very small.
    That's amazing! Still, Epicurus would have to work and go to school at the same time. But it should be do-able. Cool. :)

  • Telly03Telly03 Veteran
    How about Australia? Their economy is doing well
  • ginabginab Veteran
    France is free for all! :D Except very small bill for healthcare. Very small.
    For real?? I want to go!
    :rolleyes:
  • Floating_AbuFloating_Abu Veteran
    Hm do your research!

    a. Language - do you speak it, is it necessary (probably etc)
    b. Job sites - reputable ones, eg. in UK jobserve.com or in other EU countries there will be newspapers with job sections (on the internet) / Monster etc.
    c. If not too expensive, feel free to ring an agency or two (in your line of work) and ask them about the conditions etc.

    Good luck and good travels.

    Abu
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    South east Asia, if you can speak english you can teach it very easy, really eays in fact. It is also cheap to live in SE Asia. It is an experience, I feel more at home here than I EVER did in the UK or EU.
  • BekenzeBekenze
    edited December 2011
    Learn Chinese. Become translator in China.

    2000 dollars a month - living expenses 1000 dollars. = 12000 dollars extra every year. :)
  • DandelionDandelion London Veteran
    TEFL courses (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) might open some doors... this is not something I have ever done so I'm not speaking from experience but I have a friend who got the qualification and he went abroad and used his TEFL certificate to teach English to people. I think it gave him opportunities to go to various countries and utilise the qualification. Here is the link, if you are interested in more about it:
    http://www.onlinetefl.com/

  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    edited December 2011
    South east Asia, if you can speak english you can teach it very easy, really easily in fact. It is also cheap to live in SE Asia. It is an experience, I feel more at home here than I EVER did in the UK or EU.

    My mate has a TEFL, but he has teached for over a year and says you don't even really need it in thailand for many schools. If you are young, can speak good english, you can teach lol...
  • EpicurusEpicurus
    Thanks a lot to everyone for the help.
    France is free for all! :D Except very small bill for healthcare. Very small.
    Wow, really?

    ThailandTom : are we talking about teaching english to kids? What ages? And is this for the public system of schools in Thailand?
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    France is free for all! :D Except very small bill for healthcare. Very small.
    Wow, really?

    No.
    That's frankly bull.
    Having lived there for 7 years, I would strongly advise against trying to live and work in France.
    They're xenophobic, insular, biased and although the healthcare is superb, it's complicated.

  • ArjquadArjquad Veteran
    I want to teach English (but in Japan so it's a bit harder). I'm not sure how accurate this info is but I heard that Scandinavian countries pay alot for English teachers, as do South Korea and China.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited December 2011
    For most teaching jobs, coursework in Teaching English As a Second Language is required. But I've heard of people going to Nepal and Ladakh and teaching gradeschool or highschool at monasteries without the TESL training. In Europe they'd probably have stricter standards, Japan too. You have to know Eng. grammar backwards & forwards

    http://www.ehow.com/list_7350303_requirements-teaching-english-second-language.html
  • BekenzeBekenze
    edited December 2011
    France is free for all! :D Except very small bill for healthcare. Very small.
    No.
    That's frankly bull.
    Having lived there for 7 years, I would strongly advise against trying to live and work in France.
    They're xenophobic, insular, biased and although the healthcare is superb, it's complicated.
    What is bull? Free higher education? What?? That is not bull. They have free higher education. What are you talking about?
  • BekenzeBekenze
    See: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081120182902AAjxf6V
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    Bekenze, trust federica on this one, she has lived there after all and I watched a BBC documentary on people moving from an eastern european country for work. There were too many people and not enough jobs, many of the migrants said they had it better where they were. The EU and west in general is going down the pan, it is one reason why I got out and I feel better for it. Portugal is one of the worse hit countries in the EU after Greece if I am not wrong.

    @Arjquad yes well I know here in Thailand a farag (white person) can teach kids english for 30,000baht a month, whereas a thai doing the same job gets maybe 6,000baht a month.
  • BekenzeBekenze
    edited December 2011
    I'm not talking about work. I am talking about college. Please reread this thread and you guys will see that you are taking the things out of the context. I never mentioned work at all when I talked about France. I said it had the free college. Thank you.
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    ohhhh, is the college totally free? And by college do you mean college or do you mean university? My college was free in the UK, infact, I got paid 30 pounds a week from the government :D
  • BekenzeBekenze
    edited December 2011
    Public universities are free, with a small bill for healthcare and the stuff.
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    That is pretty cool, but then after that try getting a job :p My university course was free because I had a student loan which I will never pay back, and the UK has the NHS, but would I live there, no.
  • BekenzeBekenze
    What is the Thai secondary education like? Do you know?
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    lol, thai education is pretty poor to be honest. As I said, my friend is a teacher so he fills me in on it. The thais do not get taught in the same way as in the west where you are encouraged to think and find a solution, here they basically get told what is the answer and rarely told how to get to it. There is a lot of corruption in the examinations as well, which is standard. At university level, there are people I know (thai) who are taking english as their subject, but they are not exactly fluent lets say.

    http://voices.yahoo.com/education-thailand-terrible-failure-889841.html

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    France is free for all! :D Except very small bill for healthcare. Very small.
    I'm not talking about work. I am talking about college. Please reread this thread and you guys will see that you are taking the things out of the context. I never mentioned work at all when I talked about France. I said it had the free college. Thank you.
    I did re-read the thread.
    And as the title of the thread mentions 'job search suggestions' your comment has nothing in it that alludes, mentions, infers or insinuates anything about education.
    France is free for all?
    how is that supposed to be a reference specifically to 'education'?
    which type?
    scholastic? Higher? Adult?

    Trust me - in France, there is no a such thing as a completely free ride, anywhere, for anyone at any time.
    Eventually, you get to pay, in one way or another.... They're very careful about that, particularly if you are not a French National....

  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    Unlike the UK lol, quite the opposite, but now it is crippled. Thailand is the most strickest country I know about letting foreigners work in their 'kingdom'. You cannot work in any store, any job that is of labouring, cleaning, hospital or nursing, anything like that. They only want foreigners to work on things that they themselves cannot do or find difficult.
  • BekenzeBekenze
    @Federica.

    Someone asked if France's universitys were free just for the citizens, or foreign students. I said it was free for all.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    @Federica.

    Someone asked if France's universitys were free just for the citizens, or foreign students. I said it was free for all.
    then try using the quote option, then there won't be a misunderstanding. we'll all know who you're replying to - and why.
    Like I just did....? ;)

  • KnightofBuddhaKnightofBuddha
    edited December 2011
    If you can manage it, try to get to North Dakota in the US. Has a phenomenal economy. You can get very good jobs without a degree. I live in Ohio which has improved lately with a friendlier business climate, but is still bad.

    Finishing my degree now, but dont think it was worth the trouble, especially if you arent going into a hard science. You're wasting your time if you go into liberal arts unless you only want to teach that field.
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    I personally would and have gotten the hell out of the west, but that is just my opinion, not to everyones taste. But the shit is going to hit the fan anyway by the looks of things in the west, more than it already has. Wait for Chine when they have all of the resources and export everything the west needs.
  • EpicurusEpicurus
    If you can manage it, try to get to North Dakota in the US. Has a phenomenal economy. You can get very good jobs without a degree. I live in Ohio which has improved lately with a friendlier business climate, but is still bad.

    Finishing my degree now, but dont think it was worth the trouble, especially if you arent going into a hard science. You're wasting your time if you go into liberal arts unless you only want to teach that field.

    How could I possibly get a job in the US without a degree being a foreigner?
  • KnightofBuddhaKnightofBuddha
    I said if you can manage. I know a lot of immigrants, but they've been here since teenagers. I know it's more difficult as an adult and non-student visa.
  • EpicurusEpicurus
    From what I've gathered (and I tried entering the US once, even applied to the green card lottery) it's impossible to get a visa to enter legally with no degree.
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    Why bother.... The economy is crashing along with yours, it would just be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
  • BekenzeBekenze
    edited December 2011
    Yup.

    Try Canada?
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    If he is okay with cold winters, they don't have that in Portugal. If so, that has better prospects than the US quite rightly.
  • EpicurusEpicurus
    I've wanted to live in Vancouver for years now. But entering Canada without a degree doesn't seem any easier.
  • possibilitiespossibilities PNW, WA State Veteran
    Get your degree, Vancouver BC is wonderful - and not too cold!
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited December 2011
    Cold winters? Someone suggested North Dakota. It's pretty hard to beat that for cold, outside of Siberia. The jobs in N. Dakota are mostly in the energy resource extraction industry. Very intense work, 10 hrs./day, 7 days/week with a couple of days off/month. You can make a lot of money, but it may come close to killing you.

    France is a country of immigrants. Let's not forget Sarkozy's father made a good life for himself there, and his son is now President, even with an impossibly foreign-looking name. They're a Latin people--very warm and welcoming in my experience.
    What languages do you know? If you want the college education, France has it free.
    I think Bekenze covered his bases in his very first post. Why is there a problem?

  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    I was at the bank yesterday and I go talking to an elderly couple from Ireland. They were in a hurry to change their euros because they were worried that the entire currency is going to collapse. They changed a heck of a lot of money. We started speaking about the west and they and I agreed that it has had its day, it is pretty much done for if you look ahead. They come to SE Asia for about half of every year and are obviously retired, but they said I had made the right choice by leaving England in their opinion.
  • SattvaPaulSattvaPaul South Wales, UK Veteran
    edited December 2011
    -
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