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I've lurked on various forums for info, but it's very rare (in fact I don't think I've seen it before) that someone with a highly technical background asks about moving to Europe. So I thought I'd ask here. But if anyone has seen any threads and could link me, please do!
I'm looking at these countries: Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, Finland. I'm open to other countries too, that are similar with a more collectivist culture and higher taxes that you see benefits from. This is in contrast to America.
An absolute necessity is that the infrastructure has been developed for people without cars. The one thing I hate about the U.S. is that if you live outside a city, you NEED a car. Public roads are not safe for walking and biking, especially in the rural areas, where there are no sidewalks. The nearest grocery store could very easily be 8-15 km away. All my friends tend to live at least that distance, and there's no public transportation option. I could live in the city, but the heightened cost of living puts me back to square one. I'm a car enthusiast, but I'd rather have cars as a hobby instead of a necessity. I won't get into it, but there's quite an intense history here as to how the infrastructure placed motorists before everyone else.
Here are my career related inquiries. I graduated recently with double bachelors degrees in physics and electrical engineering. I'm looking at any careers within these three fields: teaching physics at the level below university, software developer/engineer, or an electrical engineer at some electronics based or energy company. I've done a lot of research already, but I think some insider information will help if anyone from the European countries can share insight on their country that would be great!
How receptive is the country to foreign talent in those fields? Am I going to need to jump through big hoops and have intense competition with both locals and other foreigners?
What are the common companies that hire entry level electrical engineers and software developers? As a rule of thumb, what minimum level of native language fluency is expected?
Since I didn't get any form of education training, what sort of additional schooling will I need to be a physics teacher at that level? And how competitive are the education programs for physics teaching?
Probably the most important question, what standard of living could I get if I lived outside the city? You can give me a qualitative answer here. Like in my current situation, as an entry level engineer, I could afford a small (but nice) 1 bd apartment and a brand new BMW 3 series, while still having money for the essentials. But getting a house will be 5-8x my annual salary, will probably require a 30 year loan and I'll have to budget carefully. As a software developer, a house might only end up being 2-4x my salary. As a physics teacher, a house would be 7-10x my salary, unless I taught in a rich town and lived far away.
What is a good way for a complete foreigner like me to network with other professionals?
In 3-5 years or so I'll make a big trip to Europe (or maybe make a bunch of small trips) and experience as much of the countries as possible (in particular, befriending lots of locals), but for now I'm getting as much info as I can.
I'm told that Germany rolls out the red carpet for engineers. They'll offer you the work/residency visa, etc. You'll have to do your own research re: employers, though. No one here's going to hand you a job or interview opportunity. I wouldn't recommend Sweden, because of the crushing tax burden.
"English only" at work is extremely rare (at least in GER and AUT) and you'll compete against native speakers. If you wan't to work as a teacher, fluency in the respective language will certainly be required (except for some English/American/French schools...).
Hard to tell which minimum fluency is required for a regular job. I guess you should be able to tell people what you are doing at work? Which would mean that you'd have to be quite fluent.
If you had a Ph.D in physics you could get probably a university position with just English. But with only a B.A. whatever position you seek you need some fluency in the local language.
Language and job experience are a must. Cost of living in inner cities with adequate public transportation is not much different from the US, rent may be higher.
Beware of "befriending lots of locals" :>)
I'd recommend Germany, Switzerland or Scandinavia and maybe Austria. The rest of Europe is economically not so great at the moment. In Scandinavia you may get away with English only. No, you don't need a car here, not even in the smaller towns. Cars are more expensive here than in the US although huge discounts are for example given through leasing rates in Germany. In that sense car prices for specific models end up far below US prices.
While you're looking into job options, why not start taking German classes? Organizations like the Goethe Institute offer German for adults in many cities. And if you end up going to Scandinavia, learning one of those languages will be much easier after you've had German.
I've lurked on various forums for info, but it's very rare (in fact I don't think I've seen it before) that someone with a highly technical background asks about moving to Europe. So I thought I'd ask here. But if anyone has seen any threads and could link me, please do!
I'm looking at these countries: Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, Finland. I'm open to other countries too, that are similar with a more collectivist culture and higher taxes that you see benefits from. This is in contrast to America.
An absolute necessity is that the infrastructure has been developed for people without cars.
The one thing I hate about the U.S. is that if you live outside a city, you NEED a car. Public roads are not safe for walking and biking, especially in the rural areas, where there are no sidewalks. The nearest grocery store could very easily be 8-15 km away. All my friends tend to live at least that distance, and there's no public transportation option. I could live in the city, but the heightened cost of living puts me back to square one. I'm a car enthusiast, but I'd rather have cars as a hobby instead of a necessity. I won't get into it, but there's quite an intense history here as to how the infrastructure placed motorists before everyone else.
Here are my career related inquiries. I graduated recently with double bachelors degrees in physics and electrical engineering. I'm looking at any careers within these three fields: teaching physics at the level below university, software developer/engineer, or an electrical engineer at some electronics based or energy company. you better scratch out teaching IMO its done mostly if not always in European languages eg Dutch in Netherlands German in Austria, Germany, etc. Electronics based companies, check your rep I sent u couple of the big ones & rep me back boo.
I've done a lot of research already, but I think some insider information will help if anyone from the European countries can share insight on their country that would be great!
How receptive is the country to foreign talent in those fields? Am I going to need to jump through big hoops and have intense competition with both locals and other foreigners?
What are the common companies that hire entry level electrical engineers and software developers? As a rule of thumb, what minimum level of native language fluency is expected? Engineering is big in Europe its one of the few jobs if not only that I know of where you can work without a ""European"" language. When I say European, English does not count!
Since I didn't get any form of education training, what sort of additional schooling will I need to be a physics teacher at that level? And how competitive are the education programs for physics teaching?
Probably the most important question, what standard of living could I get if I lived outside the city? You can give me a qualitative answer here. Like in my current situation, as an entry level engineer, I could afford a small (but nice) 1 bd apartment and a brand new BMW 3 series, while still having money for the essentials. But getting a house will be 5-8x my annual salary, will probably require a 30 year loan and I'll have to budget carefully. As a software developer, a house might only end up being 2-4x my salary. As a physics teacher, a house would be 7-10x my salary, unless I taught in a rich town and lived far away.
What is a good way for a complete foreigner like me to network with other professionals?
In 3-5 years or so I'll make a big trip to Europe (or maybe make a bunch of small trips) and experience as much of the countries as possible (in particular, befriending lots of locals), but for now I'm getting as much info as I can.
If I were you, I'd spend the next 3-5 years trying to master a European language. Or even two. Go to the thread about Germanic languages.
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if anyone from the European countries can share insight on their country that would be great!
