[Help]Is it difficult for a foreigner to find a job in Greenville SC? (North: school)

[Porcinette_Min]

Hi everyone, I am from Shanghai, China and I may go to greenville SC with a J2 visa with my husband. My husband is French and will work in Michelin there. But I am so worry about if I could really find a good job there. When I say a good job, that means I do really not expect a job like waitress..No prejustice, just if it's the only job I can find with J2, I will think over again if I need to come or not.
Here is my situation:
I got my bachelor degree in automotive engineering in a famous university in Shanghai (Tongji University). Then I studied in France specialized in Mechanic in a good engineering school with a engineer diploma.(famous engineering school in France, but I'm not sure in US..). Then I was back to Shanghai for work and till now, I've been worked in PSA (Peugeot citroen) asian for nearly 1 year(I know not very long..).

I haven't an american diploma, but I was in LA for a summer exchange program for 3 months when I was in university. My english is not perfect like someone who has passed GRE or tofel, but I do think it's sufficient for communicate..(though sometimes mixed with some french words, but I do think my english is better than my husband..lol)

My worry is that maybe it's not easy for a foreignor to find a job for 2 years there(my husband's job will normally last 2 years), and even the enterprise is interested in you, maybe they think that you are not stable enough...

I really appreciate your every comment and suggestion, all this will be really helpful and useful for me. Thanks in advance.

[Porcinette_Min]

by the way, as I wrote really fast, please ignore my grammar mistakes..

[innovator82]

There is a large automotive industry presence in the Greenville area/Interstate 85 corridor thanks to BMW's North American Manufacturing HQ being located here. You also have the ICAR Automotive Research Center.

According to the Upstate SC Alliance (economic development org):
"Upstate South Carolina, with more than 150 automotive-related companies and a 250-acre automotive research center, is making an international name as a fast-growing region for automotive excellence."
http://www.upstatescalliance.com/pages/index/target_audiences/automotive (broken link)

You may know all of this already since your husband is coming to work for Michelin, but since you said you have an automotive engineering background there is the potential for opportunities for you here. And there are many foreign-born professionals working in industry here.

[Porcinette_Min]

Thanks a lot innovator82. It's really glad to see your reply.

I've known there are lots of enterprises there but what I worried most is just if it's very difficult for a foreigner who doesn't speak native language to find a job. I can communicate, but I cannot say that I speak really good english without any barrier...

Thanks anyway for your advice. By the way, do you happen to have some good websites to find the job in greenville except this one^^

Thanks again

[Porcinette_Min]

Thanks a lot innovator82. It's really glad to see your reply.

I've known there are lots of enterprises there but what I worried most is just if it's very difficult for a foreigner who doesn't speak native language to find a job. I can communicate, but I cannot say that I speak really good english without any barrier...

Thanks anyway for your advice. By the way, do you happen to have some good websites to find the job in greenville except this one^^

Thanks again

Originally Posted by innovator82

There is a large automotive industry presence in the Greenville area/Interstate 85 corridor thanks to BMW's North American Manufacturing HQ being located here. You also have the ICAR Automotive Research Center.

According to the Upstate SC Alliance (economic development org):
"Upstate South Carolina, with more than 150 automotive-related companies and a 250-acre automotive research center, is making an international name as a fast-growing region for automotive excellence."
Automotive Manufacturing in the SC Upstate | Upstate SC Alliance (http://www.upstatescalliance.com/pages/index/target_audiences/automotive - broken link)

You may know all of this already since your husband is coming to work for Michelin, but since you said you have an automotive engineering background there is the potential for opportunities for you here. And there are many foreign-born professionals working in industry here.

[gsupstate]

Originally Posted by Porcinette_Min

Thanks a lot innovator82. It's really glad to see your reply.

I've known there are lots of enterprises there but what I worried most is just if it's very difficult for a foreigner who doesn't speak native language to find a job. I can communicate, but I cannot say that I speak really good english without any barrier...

Thanks anyway for your advice. By the way, do you happen to have some good websites to find the job in greenville except this one^^

Thanks again

You shouldn't worry at all. Judging by your post, your English skills are excellent. You use terms in their proper tense like "by the way"...."do you happen"....."thanks again". All very common English that I've never heard my Chinese friends use. In reading your posts, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were a native of the US. I'd say your English skills are definitely strong. When you get here, if you are worried, I know both Furman and Greenville Tech offer English classes due to the large amount of foreign companies with employees in the area.