Working Overseas

[Roachy]

After reading the 'places to retire cheaply' thread, I was enlightened to ask these questions:

Has anyone ever worked overseas? Where? and what were your experiences
How did they get the job?
What are the good websites to look at to find jobs which are overseas?
Would you work overseas again?
If you are working overseas, do you want to employ me?

The reason I ask these questions is my wife and I would love to live overseas for the rest of our lives, but also want to work to pay for our lifestyle and to feed out property fetish.

Any help and answers would be appreciated.

Regards,

R

 

[Corey Batt]

I remember your employer, surely there is some form of post overseas you could be sent to?

Probably not the best places to go though...

 

[Roachy]

I remember your employer, surely there is some form of post overseas you could be sent to?

Probably not the best places to go though...

Hahahahaha,

Yeah there are some, but they are hard to get. Pretty much got to wear knee pads 24/7 to get those gigs.

Looking at operations management or jobs with man/woman management (as you see I am also very encompassing of demographics).

 

[Terry_w]

I've lived and worked in Japan - English teacher, waiter, gardener and interpreter. Great place to live and very cheap too (lnculding wages). If you have a Uni degree you could get a job and visa teaching English easily.

 

[fokas]

I've lived and worked in Japan - English teacher, waiter, gardener and interpreter. Great place to live and very cheap too (lnculding wages). If you have a Uni degree you could get a job and visa teaching English easily.

If only one out of a couple has a degree, do you think the other non uni-graduate will be able to get a job? (In Japan specifically...I've heard of good things about Japan!)

 

[chrispy]

I worked in Geneva.

Wages were good but they needed to be as rent and cost of living was high but was a great experience, living in a wonderful apartment on Lake Geneve...watching the sun come over the Alps each morning

I was head hunted, so had my fare paid, Business Class...even got upgraded on the way over to First Class...was great.

Chris

 

[Terry_w]

If only one out of a couple has a degree, do you think the other non uni-graduate will be able to get a job? (In Japan specifically...I've heard of good things about Japan!)

I think so, the other would have a spousal visa which would allow them to stay too and work, i think.

If under 30 you can get a working holiday visa too.

 

[geoffw]

I've worked in England, although many years ago. That was done by answering a job ad seeking IT professionals in the UK. Then about 15 years ago I assisted a friend in the UK to recruit people in Australia. A number took up the opportunity.

I loved working there- the fact that we were newlyweds may have had something to do with that. Our first daughter was born there.

Young people under a certain age- 27 or 28 I think- can usually get working holiday visas. Our eldest worked in Canada for 18 months or so.

Both daughters have worked in Mexico. They had the right to work there as they are dual citizens. The pay was awful- about $1 an hour- but they were in it for the experience. It almost covered the rent.

Now that the girls have left home I would work in another country in a heartbeat. I actually had something lined up, something where I paid them to work, as I was wanting work experience after completing my diploma. As it turned out I did get a job here anyway. I had something in Colombia, through the InternGroup - www.theinterngroup.com - it would have been well worth to me to get the Spanish language experience as well as being a part of another culture.

If you want to work just for the experience there are many places where you can volunteer. You may have to pay, or you may get to stay for free. Daughter #2 worked for several months in a mission orphanage in Nicaragua, which is one of the poorest Latin American countries. She was teaching young kids English, as well as picking them up for school by horse and buggy.

 

[joeExpat]

Have worked long term in Boston, London and Zurich.
For London and Zurich, just applied via local on the ground employment agencies, had no contacts there otherwise. London just turned up with a backpack and ended up with a good job, bought a flat and stayed 6 years. But for an outdoor person Zurich is much better place, so moved here.

I think in some cases it is better to move without the job and start applying when you get there. It's a risk, but if you're applying from Australia it may be difficult to be taken seriously. Work permits could be an issue though.

 

[Scott No Mates]

I worked in NZ for a week. Had to bust a gut to get a shop open on time for a shopping centre opening. (Don't know if that counts though).

 

[ok180]

I've lived and worked in Japan - English teacher, waiter, gardener and interpreter. Great place to live and very cheap too (lnculding wages). If you have a Uni degree you could get a job and visa teaching English easily.

Interesting, I have heard it is really expensive to live there, or is thay just Tokyo?

 

[joeExpat]

Interesting, I have heard it is really expensive to live there, or is thay just Tokyo?

I rode around Japan for a few weeks on a mountain bike, it was pretty cheap compared to Australia

 

[Jamie M]

Interesting, I have heard it is really expensive to live there, or is thay just Tokyo?

I guess it depends on the exchange rate at the time of travel but I even found Tokyo to not be too expensive.

We had a rail pass so transport costs were nothing. Food wasn't too expensive either.

That's one of the benefits of living in Canberra - everywhere else you travel to seems so much more affordable.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Blacky]

After reading the 'places to retire cheaply' thread, I was enlightened to ask these questions:

Has anyone ever worked overseas? Where? and what were your experiences
How did they get the job?
What are the good websites to look at to find jobs which are overseas?
Would you work overseas again?
If you are working overseas, do you want to employ me?

The reason I ask these questions is my wife and I would love to live overseas for the rest of our lives, but also want to work to pay for our lifestyle and to feed out property fetish.

Any help and answers would be appreciated.

Regards,

R

I have spent the last 5 years living/working abroad. Predominantly I have been based in Kazakhstan but have also done very short stints in UK, Egypt, Singapore. I have also spent a lot of time working throughout WA from Broome to Albany and everywhere in between.
I love living and working overseas - so much so, the longer I am away, the harder I find it coming back and even harder to see myself returning to Australia permanently.
I have a strange background, none of which makes me qualified or experienced in what I am doing now. I started life as a farmer, got a degree in Agriculture, got into banking, and landed a job with a safety services company which sent me to Kazakhstan.
So, how did I get the job. Pretty much by setting my sights on it and looking for opportunities.
Look at OilandGasJobs.com. Also search by individual companies/location. EG if you think you want to go to Japan search "japan jobs".
I have no idea what industry you are in - or what you do. But I can nearly guarantee an oil company will need your skills somewhere. Getting the job is the hard bit.

I wouldn't turn back from working and living overseas - I encourage everyone to do it, even if only for a short while. I think if more Australians tried it, it would make Australia a better place.

Its not all beer and skittles, but its still good.

Blacky

 

[Terry_w]

Interesting, I have heard it is really expensive to live there, or is thay just Tokyo?

No, Japan is cheaper than Australia in most areas. Clothing is cheap, cheaper than Thailand I think. Food is very cheap. Trains are cheap, but expensive because of the number of times you may need to use them. Stations everywhere too. Off the top of my head I can't think of anything that would be more expensive than Australia.

 

[vbplease]

I've worked in Ireland, UK and Cyprus.. all pre GFC when there was an abundance of work in engineering, not the case now. Cyprus was paradise and I'd move back in a heartbeat if I found a good contract.

I think in some cases it is better to move without the job and start applying when you get there. It's a risk, but if you're applying from Australia it may be difficult to be taken seriously. Work permits could be an issue though.

I agree. In the past I've applied for many jobs overseas and wouldn't even get an acknowledgement.. Applying in person is the best or contacting a recruitment agency there. You could always get a low paying retail/hospitality job until you find the one you're after?

 

[moyjos]

I know 3 couple who have taught English in China. They all LOVE it.
One couple did it for 10 years in a row. The contracts are generally only 10months. So you get to come back over our Christmas period.

One couple rented their house with 6month leases each time, one couple had house sitters and the other had their adult son living rent free (lazy no-hoper that one but that is another story)

Google TESOL courses in your area. A lot of the schools have guaranteed jobs at the end of the course.

 

[underdev]

You can still work in Australia but be on a beach in Thailand.

For example a lawyer can work and respond to clients via email and skype, hours are still all billable you just need to have a reliable para-planner back home.

Architect - again no need to be physically in any location

Even a typical office worker could work remotely without any problems! Its just someone at sometime decided we must be chained to a desk between 9-5.

The jobs or business that wont allow remote work are in the service industry, ie dentist, gardener, chef, retail clerk. These all require physical presence.

 

[Roachy]

Thank you very much for all the replies so far. Seems like the people that have worked overseas loved it.

I've been looking lately on random websites, but a lot of them don't look legit.

Keep the replies and experience coming.

 

[gronk007]

I am expatting in Mauritius at the moment for a 3 year contract for a Telco here.

I had lots of friends join LinkedIn back in 2011/2012; I thought it was just a glorified business card holder (which is what some of my friends desribed it as), but by joining some industry specific groups, and adding some key connections (especially in the headhunting/executive search types), I started getting awash with some roles late 2012/early 2013, especially in South Africa & the Middle East where Telcos are still considered Emerging Markets and are looking for people in established markets.

Before I knew it, I was sitting on a flight with my wife, 2 year old and 9 week old looking for houses to rent

Great experience so far; language and cultural differences sometimes makes us reach the bottle of vin rouge a bit more than we're used to, but thats for us to deal with! We were back in Melbourne over Xmas, and had longings for all things Melbourne, but while we're here, we're very happy where we are.

Not saving as much $$$ as we thought, cost of living here is quite high, and cars and pertrol are astronomical here, but everything else is reasonably cheap - when I tell people (Mauritians, French, South Africans alike) how much things cost in Australia, they fall off their proverbial chairs.

If you have a chance to do it, do it; you'll be kicking yourself if you don't. Thats what everyone told us before we made the jump, and they were right.