Tourist guide in Lapland?

[SuomenKenraali]

As a native English speaker (jenkki) what kind of job opportunities are available in the north? First thing that comes to mind is a tourist guide, or something of that nature. I'd imagine the pay would not be much, but it's something i'd enjoy and perhaps it would be enough to get by and live happily without having to drain my savings. Is there a lot of opportunity for this type thing? If not, what other type jobs are available in Lapland? Maybe something outside that most folks would not want to do?
I'm quite familiar with Sirkka (Kittilä) and absolutely love the place, so this would be my main area to look for work outside of Helsinki. My soon to be wife and I are working on getting her residency in the states following through with the K1 visa, so this would not be something soon by any means. However, at some point in our life, when my folks no longer need me, we plan to move to Finland. She's from Helsinki, and has no intentions of living anywhere further than Hyvinkää within Finland. Getting her to permanently settle in Lapland with me is nearly impossible. HOWEVER, if I could work full time in the north maybe from January - April and return to some kind of work in Helsinki.. That would be a dream come true. (believe it or not.)

Rent is very affordable in the area i'd be looking. As long as I could make atleast some kind of money doing something I'd enjoy.. That would be a beautiful thing.

Anyone familiar with the job opportunities in the north for a Jenkkipoika?

Thanks in advanced

[Adrian42]

As a native English speaker (jenkki) what kind of job opportunities are available in the north? First thing that comes to mind is a tourist guide,

The Russian and German tourists coming for an authentic Lapland experience will surely appreciate when their local tourist guide is a Yankee who just arrived from NSA country...

You have the disadvantage of not being a native Finn, and have nothing to offer an average Finn cannot offer for such a position.

if I could work full time in the north maybe from January - April and return to some kind of work in Helsinki.. That would be a dream come true. (believe it or not.)

Try to become a bit more realistic.

Finding any job at all in Helsinki would already be a dream come true.

Attempting to find a job where it is OK that you work only half of the year (4 months in Lapland plus summer vacation) would ruin whatever chances you have of finding a job.

And I guess your wife and the kids you might have then would also not appreciate daddy going away for 4 months each year for no good reason.

[SuomenKenraali]

First of all, how could you know what kind of work I will find or create for myself in Helsinki. For all you know I could do very well with my own buisness and close during the winter. Not saying this is a set in stone plan but try not to assume. ''It makes an ass out of u and me.''

Second of all, a flight from HEL to KTT and visversa is roughly 1.5 hours and 200 e. Not much of an issue there either....

A tourist guide is the first thought, but ofcourse, if thats not much of an option i'd opt for doing something that could maybe earn a bit more money but not as desirable. I am only exploring options for the far future and I doubt doing anything like this without first taking a few years worth of proper Finnish language courses in Helsinki. I am a big fan of the north and will probably look for opportunity to do something outside of Helsinki whenever the time comes.

[Adrian42]

First of all, how could you know what kind of work I will find or create for myself in Helsinki. For all you know I could do very well with my own buisness and close during the winter. Not saying this is a set in stone plan but try not to assume. ''It makes an ass out of u and me.''

What I do know is:

I do IT work here in the States.
I'm labeled as a Computer Analysis but for the most part I work the help desk.

Second of all, a flight from HEL to KTT and visversa is roughly 1.5 hours and 200 e. Not much of an issue there either....

Your wife stays with her job and the kids in Helsinki, and Daddy comes every two weeks and says "Hi".

Have you already asked your wife whether she might see an issue here?

A tourist guide is the first thought, but ofcourse, if thats not much of an option i'd opt for doing something that could maybe earn a bit more money but not as desirable.

No, less desirable does not imply more money.

One of the least desirable jobs in Finland is berry and fruit picking (season workers even come from Thailand for doing that job!) - and that pays around € 8 per hour (even less is left after taxes and social security contributions are deducted).

And people from EU countries like Estonia or Spain are for Finland what people from Mexico are for the US - with the difference that any EU citizen has the automatic right to live and work in Finland.
So when considering your chances in undesirable jobs in Finland, imagine the US giving work visa to all citizens of Mexico.

[SuomenKenraali]

I don't think you know much of what you're talking about here friend. Once again you are assuming things you shouldnt.

My purpose for making this post was to ask about winter job opportunities in the north. Whether it be something enjoyable like a tourist guide, or something rather labor intense out doors that may not be desirable to locals. I did not post this to to be asked questions about my soon to be wife and non existant kids.
Im willing to work, and currently work much harder than most. I don't expect to be ''given'' anything like a Mexican you are comparing me to.

Not to mention, I've already explored my opportunities in Helsinki. Which is why I made the topic about winter jobs in the north, not jobs in Helsinki that you clearly know nothing of.

[Adrian42]

Im willing to work, and currently work much harder than most. I don't expect to be ''given'' anything like a Mexican you are comparing me to.

I did neither imply that you were lazy, nor that any Mexican would be lazy.

And in this thread I did not even compare you with Mexicans, I did compare hard-working Estonians and Spaniards with hard-working Mexicans.

What I was saying was that your assumption in i'd opt for doing something that could maybe earn a bit more money but not as desirable that less desirable jobs would pay more money was wrong since there is a huge competition for any kind of job.

Estonians are hard-working.
As EU citizens, all Estonians have the right to work in Finland.
Estonia is only 2 hours by ship away from Finland, and the Estonian language is closely related to the Finnish language.
The monthly net average wage in Estonia is around € 700.

As EU citizens, all Greek and Spanish people have the right to work in Finland.
Greece and Spain currently have unemployment rates of 26% (sic).
Youth unemployment (unemployment rate of people under the age of 25) in Greece and Spain is over 50% (sic) at the moment.

[SuomenKenraali]

I must ask, where you are getting these statistics from.. Do you even live in Finland? If so, are you a resident? Or are you a citizen? What process did you follow? What experiences do you have with the process? Are you working or living off Kela? I'm not neccesarily interested in you.. Just interested in where you are coming up with your ''knowledge.''

Your ''facts'' seem to be quite off. So please say what are you basing your posts off of...

[Upphew]

I must ask, where you are getting these statistics from.. Do you even live in Finland? If so, are you a resident? Or are you a citizen? What process did you follow? What experiences do you have with the process? Are you working or living off Kela? I'm not neccesarily interested in you.. Just interested in where you are coming up with your ''knowledge.''

Your ''facts'' seem to be quite off. So please say what are you basing your posts off of...

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ ... -BP-EN.PDF

[SuomenKenraali]

I must ask, where you are getting these statistics from.. Do you even live in Finland? If so, are you a resident? Or are you a citizen? What process did you follow? What experiences do you have with the process? Are you working or living off Kela? I'm not neccesarily interested in you.. Just interested in where you are coming up with your ''knowledge.''

Your ''facts'' seem to be quite off. So please say what are you basing your posts off of...

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ ... -BP-EN.PDF

Are you guys the same person?

Fyi: the unemployment listed for the States on that link is incorrect or outdated. It is significantly higher.

[Adrian42]

I must ask, where you are getting these statistics from.. Do you even live in Finland? If so, are you a resident? Or are you a citizen? What process did you follow? What experiences do you have with the process? Are you working or living off Kela? I'm not neccesarily interested in you.. Just interested in where you are coming up with your ''knowledge.''

Your ''facts'' seem to be quite off. So please say what are you basing your posts off of...

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ ... -BP-EN.PDF

Are you guys the same person?

Different people, who both know how to find the relevant data.

Fyi: the unemployment listed for the States on that link is incorrect or outdated. It is significantly higher.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics it is correct:
http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20130611.htm

[Pursuivant]

First thing that comes to mind is a tourist guide, or something of that nature.

Well, you could always go panning gold.

Yes, there are some tourist places up north that cater to deranged limeys flying in clad in their leather bottom shoes and stiletto heels to take the kids see santa. They don't have any scruples in hiring outsiders to cater for the tourists, but they usually employ other brits because the chavs have otherwise slight listening comprehension issues. Of course this pisses the locals off somewhat - theres actually wilderness guide training etc. and the local economy is pretty vulnerable, just like the local nature. At the end of the day it all depends on how much experience you have.

[snorlonikins]

My suggestion: Find all the holiday/vacation companies, where you are now, that have winter/Christmas trips to Lapland and apply for a temp/short term position with them.

I first visited Finland to spend Christmas in Lapland, we all loved it. Our Rep worked in the financial industry and did this job in December. He didn't speak Finnish, although the Rep Manager was Finnish.

The only other way I can think of would be working on a voluntary basis on a husky farm.

I would also suggest that if you really want to be in the North, you may have to think about learning the Sami language as well as Finnish.

[onkko]

I would also suggest that if you really want to be in the North, you may have to think about learning the Sami language as well as Finnish.

If you really want to be in northern UK you should learn ..... well nothing comes near of those extinct languageS in finland. Youll have hard time to find speakers even if youre fluent on "sami" (and now you can select multiple different languages).

Finnish, russian, german, japanese etc are more likely to get you a job. I dont say learning sami isnt good but keep it real. There is no Sami language.

[snorlonikins]

There is no Sami language.

Tell YLE that, I don't think that they broadcast 'Oddasat for no reason.

[Pursuivant]

There isn't a Sami language. There are nine Sami languages - well, a couple of them are extinct.