I am getting close to graduating with my Mechanical Engineering degree, and of the 4 places I want to live when I'm done, two of them are in other countries. I feel that I would have no problem finding a fun career in the states, but not knowing much foreign language makes me think twice.

I'm wondering how many of you got a degree in the States and moved on to work in the same field in another country? Was the transition tough?

 

It depends where you go, really. Just about all my graduating class left Ireland and went to Canada, USA, Germany, Holland and the Middle East.

Which places are you thinking of moving to?

 

Looking at either Germany or Japan. I really like Germany and the people.

more locally would be Coastal Georgia or Colorado (mtns)

 

Why do you think the transition is tough? It is so only if you close your mind to the other country's culture. Remember to live amongst the Germans or the Japanese as one of them with respect and I am sure you will find them accomodating.

Because you have a Mech Engg degree, I'd start by applying to manufacturing companies like Federal Mogul, Continental, etc. The job might begin in the U.S.A but might lead you to the countries you want.

Good luck.

 

Take a close look at the areas that you are interested in moving to. The cost of living can be very deceptive. I had toyed around with the idea of interviewing for a job in Copenhagen and ultimately realized that even though the pay was excellent it was not enough to maintain the quality of life that I wanted.

 

I looked into moving to England, went their 4 times and stayed for a month each time to research and just realized even though the pay was much more, the cost of living was way too much for me to maintain the standard of living I'm use to in the States.

If you must move, I would strongly recommend a country where the primary language is English, i.e. Canada, U.K., Australia.

 

I was THIS close to moving to England (though for separate reasons) and found that it all evened out in the end, so I think it also depends on what quality of life you're used to, what salary you currently make and where you want to live.

I'd say go for it, if you really want to live abroad, start researching it and go for it.

 

a lot of countries have rules about foreigners gettings jobs, don't they? like a company can only hire you if they can prove they've exhausted all options for finding a suitable native candidate? i know it depends on the country, but rules like that do exist.

i'd bet that most likely the best way to get a *good* job overseas is to get a good one in the states (or wherever you live) first, then see if you can transfer to a branch in a different country.

 

You're correct.

I know that England has such rules in place, however special accomodations are made for people employed in certain fields - such as social work, engineering (like the OP), science and nursing.

I'm sure that the whole of the EU has similar providions, obviously accounting for national differences.

 

Yes, make sure you check the cost of living. Even though it may seem like the salary is better than other place it is probably just to compensate for the cost of living in that area. Good luck with that.