My DS graduated college last year with a B.S. in Computer Science. He was hired in his job last September and has not been happy in it for the last 6 months. He asked his boss if he would ever be doing programming and got a ‘maybe’ answer. Today DS came home from work ready to quit job and look for another. He found out even if he did get to work on a programming team, the job he is currently doing (data dictionary (DD) type stuff) will always be his responsibility as that is what he was hired for. Unfortunately, he was hired by a person that no longer works for the company. Even though DD stuff is ‘programming’ it is more at the machine level- he spent hours reading assembler and counting octets this week looking for an answer…hence the ready to quit attitude.
DS does not see anything changing and is looking for a new job. He mentioned wanting to possibly work overseas in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, etc. I’m hoping that I can get some advice or opinions on this type move, where he should look for programmer jobs - is there an online website, etc.
For the most part DS is very responsible but my opinion is that he has not found what he wants to do yet and while at home, I don’t see this changing. I would love for him to get out and see the world- even suggested joining the USAF for a few years but he declined. any ideas?
Most countries don’t take well to foreigners taking jobs away from local citizens, unless no citizen can be found to fill the job.
Your son has 6 months of relevant work experience, has only a bachelors degree, and is probably in the low-20s in age. It would be a stretch for any company overseas to sponsor him for a work visa, without years of relevant work experience or an advanced degree. Some countries even have minimum age requirements for skilled worker visas.
A multinational company might transfer him overseas on an intra-company transfer type of work visa, but he probably would need to be hired by the company initially in the US.
BTW, tech salaries are lower overseas. And cost of living in those northern European countries u mentioned is very, very high. Typically, “attractive” first world countries don’t lack for white collar workers.
GMT is right about foreigners taking jobs from citizens. We don’t care for it in the US, and Europeans don’t appreciate it, either.
Is he able to work in another country - dual citizen?
Is he fluent in a foreign language?
What can he offer that can’t be found in someone who is already eligible to work in another country?
A tourist visa doesn’t allow you to work, and in many countries you can’t even do any volunteering.
The company I work for used to transfer technical people overseas and pay for the work permits; not anymore. Now, a few senior people might go over and the real work is done by local hires. It’s unfortunate for Americans, but that’s the price we pay anymore for a global economy.
Has your son looked far and wide in the US for another SW job? There are jobs out there, maybe in another state or region. I’d tell my kid to stick it out for a year while polishing the resume and using college contacts to find something else.
To do a meaningful job in Europe you need to be fluent in a local language and preferably in a few more.
My niece in Germany knows 4, daughter of a friend who grew up in Holland speaks 5. Even if people know English they prefer to conduct meetings in their native tongue. Many years ago I was kicked out from a consulting assignment in Europe for not knowing German (one of my responsibilities would be to train people who may not necessarily know English)
Tell him to contact career office in his former college - they may have job fairs in the Fall.
Supposedly programming jobs in the US are plentiful: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/29/technology/code-academy-as-career-game-changer.html?_r=0
this really reminds me of the late nineties and we know how that ended.
The large number of tech jobs are in NYC and SF. Is he willing to look in those places, also? I can see getting an international job if he was fluent in the language, had connections, or was doing something that it was very useful to be an English speaking person—maybe in different business or teaching jobs. Don’t know about tech, though.
However, if he really wants to go overseas, I wonder if a good way to find one is to look at big US companies, with international locations. They might be very interested in hiring an American, as opposed to a local. Just taking a guess, here. I have done job searches, when I was trying to suggest things for my tech son, and plenty of these big companies have international locations that one can apply for. Why not give it a try?
The US military may be the best option for potentially getting overseas. The job initially may not be any more satisfying that what he is doing though.
Some guy I was in the jacuzzi with for about 30 minutes told me his son went to USC, yes we shared the USC common talking point, his son got a program gig in France. He was an American, didn’t say his son was duel citizen.
not exactly sure how D and SIL got their jobs in Germany- SIL was 27 and not sure if the age was an issue- did not speak the language but the office was english speaking because people who worked there came from all over the world, D later did get a job that spoke german only and she took german classes the whole time they were there . SIL job was with a big international electronics company. he had a terminal masters degree.
A multinational company may hire you in the US and transfer to Europe. Another option is to be hired by an International Staffing Agency to be placed with a client in Europe while being paid out of US.
Not sure if these options are open to an entry-level person. You need to have special desirable skills.
SIL did have desirable skills and therefore was granted a work visa. he was paid with Euros.
Chuckdoodle- did he look at possible civilian military jobs as a civilian tech job in Germany/ Italy /Japan etc, for the US military bases?