American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finland?

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sunnie24
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:04 pm

American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finland?

Post by sunnie24 » Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:10 pm

This time next year I will have graduated with a degree in English. I would like to move to Finland as my boyfriend lives there. I am wondering what my prospects in the job market look like. I have searched for English Teacher positions and there aren't many. The ones that I see don't pay that well (1,000 - 2,000 euros). I would prefer a job as a teacher but I would be happy to work in some other field that applies.
Any information, advice or tips would be extremely helpful. Thanks in advance!
Last edited by sunnie24 on Mon Jul 03, 2017 11:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.



American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finland?

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JuhlaMokka
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2017 10:29 am

Re: American w/ Bachelor's Degree Lokking For Work In Finlan

Post by JuhlaMokka » Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:55 pm

sunnie24 wrote:This time next year I will have graduated with a degree in English. I would like to move to Finland as my boyfriend lives there. I am wondering what my prospects in the job market look like. I have searched for English Teacher positions and there aren't many. The ones that I see don't pay that well (1,000 - 2,000 euros). I would prefer a job as a teacher but I would be happy to work in some other field that applies.
Any information, advice or tips would be extremely helpful. Thanks in advance!
Frankly speaking, I think you have no chance to move as a teacher. There are so many english-speakers in Finland and EU, so it would be very hard to prove to employment office, that it's necessary to hire someone from US.

sunnie24
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:04 pm

Re: American w/ Bachelor's Degree Lokking For Work In Finlan

Post by sunnie24 » Mon Jul 03, 2017 11:24 pm

JuhlaMokka wrote:
sunnie24 wrote:This time next year I will have graduated with a degree in English. I would like to move to Finland as my boyfriend lives there. I am wondering what my prospects in the job market look like. I have searched for English Teacher positions and there aren't many. The ones that I see don't pay that well (1,000 - 2,000 euros). I would prefer a job as a teacher but I would be happy to work in some other field that applies.
Any information, advice or tips would be extremely helpful. Thanks in advance!
Frankly speaking, I think you have no chance to move as a teacher. There are so many english-speakers in Finland and EU, so it would be very hard to prove to employment office, that it's necessary to hire someone from US.
Thank you for your honesty.
Do you think there is another field I can get a job in?

nosundays
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Re: American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finlan

Post by nosundays » Mon Jul 10, 2017 1:01 pm

If you have been with your boyrfriend for two years, the easiest bet is to get a residence permit on the basis of family and then look for a job here. Although to be hoenst, it won't be very easy to get a job even then (and the processing of residence permit may take several months), but at least then you can be together with him, attend language/integration courses and simultaneously search for jobs.

But in essence getting a job without speaking Finnish is damn difficult here.

JuhlaMokka
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Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2017 10:29 am

Re: American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finlan

Post by JuhlaMokka » Mon Jul 10, 2017 6:36 pm

nosundays wrote:If you have been with your boyrfriend for two years, the easiest bet is to get a residence permit on the basis of family
Not enough just "to be together", they should live together = be registered on the same address for 2 year to get RP on this basis.
The easiest way is to get married. Then you can move, register as unemployed and look for a job.

sunnie24
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Re: American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finlan

Post by sunnie24 » Tue Jul 11, 2017 10:35 pm

nosundays wrote:If you have been with your boyrfriend for two years, the easiest bet is to get a residence permit on the basis of family and then look for a job here. Although to be hoenst, it won't be very easy to get a job even then (and the processing of residence permit may take several months), but at least then you can be together with him, attend language/integration courses and simultaneously search for jobs.

But in essence getting a job without speaking Finnish is damn difficult here.
I'm learning as much as I can while I am here in the U.S.. When I arrive to Finland I should at least have a basic understanding.

I am very nervous about the risk of not being able to find a job. Can you tell me what fields would be my best bet?

I've searched a little, so far it seems editorial work is likely.

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rinso
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Re: American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finlan

Post by rinso » Wed Jul 12, 2017 11:02 am

I am very nervous about the risk of not being able to find a job.
You should be. Your degree is not one that has much value without a good knowledge of Finnish. There are many foreigners with university degrees who cannot find work in their field because of their lack of Finnish. Some even take jobs as a dishwasher or cleaner.
Can you tell me what fields would be my best bet?
You might find work as a language trainer. But that are mostly part-time or free lance jobs (not good enough for a residence permit). And the same is probably true for editorial work. And outside your degree field you're basically looking at unskilled labor.
It's a harsh reality. For most of the jobs you have to compete with people with the similar qualifications and good Finnish. Guess who's likely to be chosen.

huuhkaja
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Re: American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finlan

Post by huuhkaja » Tue Aug 08, 2017 6:55 pm

Marrying your bf might be the best. Speaking from my experience, I couldn't get any job offers in Finland after 2 years of my graduation with bachelor's degree. Getting employment-based visa is quite difficult, especially when you're living in outside of the EU. Once you're married you have a right to take basic Finnish classes for free, and TE-toimisto offers helping you integrating and finding jobs in Finland, and even you can study in the universities/polytechnics without tuition, if you want further degrees.

sunnie24
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Re: American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finlan

Post by sunnie24 » Sun Aug 13, 2017 6:21 am

huuhkaja wrote:Marrying your bf might be the best. Speaking from my experience, I couldn't get any job offers in Finland after 2 years of my graduation with bachelor's degree. Getting employment-based visa is quite difficult, especially when you're living in outside of the EU. Once you're married you have a right to take basic Finnish classes for free, and TE-toimisto offers helping you integrating and finding jobs in Finland, and even you can study in the universities/polytechnics without tuition, if you want further degrees.
Thank you!

anonfinn

Re: American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finlan

Post by anonfinn » Tue Aug 22, 2017 3:38 pm

x
Last edited by anonfinn on Sat Jun 09, 2018 4:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

anonfinn

Re: American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finlan

Post by anonfinn » Tue Aug 22, 2017 3:40 pm

x
Last edited by anonfinn on Sat Jun 09, 2018 4:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Rosamunda
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Re: American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finlan

Post by Rosamunda » Wed Aug 23, 2017 10:21 am

anonfinn wrote:
You have absolutely no chance of getting a job in Finland.

Teaching is considered a prestigious career here. There are few jobs in high demand with all serious applicants having fluency in three languages (Finnish, Swedish and English) and a minimum of a Masters degree.

By law/regulation, you have to have a masters degree to be able to teach in Finland?
This is not wholly correct. While a Masters degree is required for teaching young children in state schools, it is not a requirement in many vocational colleges (ammattikoulu) and universities (UAS). I have taught in many different establishments in the public and the private sector and I do not have a Masters degree. I do have the post-grad teaching diploma which is a requirement nowadays (I got mine in Finland) and I do have many years of professional experience in my field (business) and in education.

However, a Masters degree would make life easier if you want to pursue a career in education and I would certainly agree with the poster who said you should seriously consider studying here as soon as you can. Unfortunately, it is no longer free for non-EU applicants but you can shop around - the fees vary. Definitely take the intensive language courses offered on the integration programmes or elsewhere.

As mentioned above, ELT is an option but it takes a while to find enough work to pay the bills. It is freelance work so not enough for an RP. Private language schools (check out AAC Global which is the biggest) would probably be happy to try out someone with a Bachelors in English. You could consider taking a post-grade TEFL/TESOL certificate and getting some basic experience in the US before you come here.

I think there are also jobs for language professionals in the field of big data technology but it is not something I know much about. Generally speaking, IT jobs in Finland do not always require Finnish language skills but you would have to possess a niche set of skills.

betelgeuse
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Re: American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finlan

Post by betelgeuse » Wed Aug 23, 2017 11:40 am

Rosamunda wrote:Unfortunately, it is no longer free for non-EU applicants but you can shop around - the fees vary. Definitely take the intensive language courses offered on the integration programmes or elsewhere.
It's free for many categories like people on family based permits.

Rosamunda
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Re: American w/ Bachelor's Degree Looking For Work In Finlan

Post by Rosamunda » Wed Aug 23, 2017 1:20 pm

:thumbsup:


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