Hands up ex-pats - Engineers working abroad

ScabbyLeg

I have been living in Hamburg, Germany for the last four years. I moved here straight after finishing my degree for what was initially a two-year contract and is now open ended.

I work in the aviation industry which in Hamburg is a good employer for engineers. The German economy has gone through positive and negative phases since I've been here but generally I think the engineering side of things has remained strong. In general a German contract is a secure one, conditions are good overall I would say, although the days of guaranteed salary increases and bonuses etc. are gone, in my company at least.

I haven't regretted the move and I realise now that it was easiest to have moved straight out of college; even with the shítload of stuff to sort out, getting to grips with the language, finding a place to live etc. all together with the new job in the early days, I don't remember it as being a stressful time.

So as I've been here a few years and I'm thinking about change and considering my options, I thought it would be interesting to find out who else has made the jump and moved abroad to work as an engineer and was it done out of curiosity, interest or necessity?
Where are you based and in what industry? Is it short term or long term, are you satisfied or are you hoping to return home to Ireland?

For those of you who worked in Ireland and when left, or vice versa, what do you find are the main differences between the two?

And if you're in Ireland and considering the move abroad, chime in too!

Sorry if these are questions which have been asked to death, I only did a quick search

jimmi10

Hi,

I am about to start my final year of a degree in Mechanical engineering and am considering possibly moving to Germany because I heard there are many opportunities for engineers. I learnt German in school and am planning on taking more lessons before moving.

I got a few questions for you:

How did you manage to secure your job before moving over or did you just move over and get it there?

I would ideally like to move straight after college like yourself. i have visited Germany before and liked the place (was in Berlin and Frankfurt).

I think I would move long term because I feel like a change of scene at this stage in my life.

jimmi10

also what type of engineering industries is there a lot of employment in?

thanks

minnow

I've been working in Germany for the past 18 months in industrial engineering/project management for a large multinational. The Germans continually talk about the shortage of engineers (especially mech/process/E&I/commissioning) and particularly young engineers. When we need resources, we generally end up with guys of 60+ working on contract and of questionable quality. I've often thought about posting this info on this forum, but it has to be said that having German is almost mandatory. I'm lucky in that I previously worked here for 4 years and I can work through German without a problem.

There may be some options with bigger international companies (Bayer, Ford, Siemens, etc) if you don't speak the lingo, but you'll have to accept that the day to day work stuff will always be in German.

I have worked in other countries and a stint at home over the past 10 years. The main differences I would see work-wise are:
- work and private life are very separate, very little after-work beers
- relationships generally more formal (even in my company where everyone is a "Du")
- more hierarchical in Germany, people less prone to speaking up
- advancement more about seniority than merit (may be my company)
- ....let's be honest, less craic
But in general, conditions good, work/life balance respected and jobs are stable.

Plan is to stay for a few years and hopefully come home if there is a job. While its OK for a limited period, I would not like to stay forever for family/friends reasons.

I would say to any engineer who would consider Germany, go for it! There are jobs if you look for them.

spideog7

ScabbyLeg wrote: »

thought it would be interesting to find out who else has made the jump and moved abroad to work as an engineer and was it done out of curiosity, interest or necessity? Where are you based and in what industry? Is it short term or long term, are you satisfied or are you hoping to return home to Ireland?

Been in the US for two years now, moved right after college as well. It was kind of out of necessity with a little bit of curiosity and definitely a need for a bit of a change. Glad I moved because it worked out pretty well for me, I feel I've had a lot more opportunities open up for me since I've moved and engineering is a little more highly regarded here. I'm an electronic engineer, working in hardware development now but was in software for a while. The only killer here is the 9 days holidays rather than the 20 at home and the 100 days or whatever it is they get in Europe :pac:

Had the opportunity to get work at home recently and from what I've seen there's actually a good number of engineering jobs available, at least in electronics and computers. I decided to stay here, make the most of the current opportunity, not to mention taking home a bit more than what I'd get in Ireland. Don't see myself staying indefinitely but we'll see how it goes.

ScabbyLeg

Jimmi, I did aeronautical engineering in UL and wound up spending the 8 months student work placement over here, and got my job through contacts I had from the placement. I was told of an opening, applied for it right out of college and started the following September, so I was very fortunate in that respect.

As Minnow mentioned they are crying out for engineers in many areas. I'm more aware of the mechanical area since it's my own and industrial, process, logistics areas are good areas to be in.

Minnow, interesting to hear from someone else in Germany. You've hit the mail on the head with the differences as I find them here too, in particular I am a bit frustrated with the lack of opportunities to advance, although I am perhaps a bit too picky. I work in German and have a pretty good grasp by now - I do need lots of English for my work too though. It can be a bit of a strain to work through German I find.. at the moment I see it as a bit of a limiting factor when looking to advance within my company, but this would be very dependent on your own attitude to the language and also on the company's culture.

I would be really open to spending a couple of years in the US actually The holidays seem a bit stingy alright... You should hear my colleagues reactions to the thought of having 10 instead of 30 days :eek:

mandrake04

I graduated back in '97 worked for a few large companies in Ireland as a Service Engineer in the medical Industry, went to London early 2003 returned Ireland mid 2004 and took the notion to go to Oz for a year in Oct 2004.

Spent 3 months traveling in Asia and landed in Sydney Xmas eve, starting applying for jobs mid January got an interview with a Medical company told them I could only work 3 months as per conditions of my visa but if the sponsored me I could work there for up to 4 years. They said if I could produce an Aussie drivers licence by the next interview they would give me a 3 month trial with a view to sponsoring. So I transferred my UK drivers licence to an Aussie one (5 min job) went to the 2nd interview showed them the licence and they said great start Monday.

Started the following Monday got a car, laptop, phone etc worked for about 5 months before they got their finger out and sponsored me, but they did in the end and sponsored me again for Permanent residence in 2009. I left earlier this year to work for another company doing the same sort of thing.

Not sure if I am coming back soon, I probably got here at the right time and am still enjoying the lifestyle.

spideog7

ScabbyLeg wrote: »

You should hear my colleagues reactions to the thought of having 10 instead of 30 days :eek:

10 days? That'd be a nice even 2 weeks, I don't even get that!

323

Not really ex-pat, do about 7 months a year abroad on a project basis. Currently in Tunisia, doing an FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) inspection, hull, mooring system, risers and subsea structures for certification for another 5 years.

10 days holidays. Did a few years in Houston,TX. if you have kids you try to keep a week or so for xmas, leaving only about 5 to play with.

As for below

jimmi10 wrote: »

also what type of engineering industries is there a lot of employment in?

thanks

Offshore energy & subsea engineering companies. Oil/Gas, offshore wind, subsea cables etc. are all crying out for people across all engineering disciplines at the moment.

jimmi10

Thanks for the replies.

ScabbyLeg wrote: »

Jimmi, I did aeronautical engineering in UL and wound up spending the 8 months student work placement over here, and got my job through contacts I had from the placement. I was told of an opening, applied for it right out of college and started the following September, so I was very fortunate in that respect.

What was your standard of German like when you moved there to work after college had finished? I will be going over with quite a basic level, however I may take lessons for this year to boost my language skills if needed.

Where are good websites to look at which advertise engineering jobs in Germany?

323 wrote: »

Offshore energy & subsea engineering companies. Oil/Gas, offshore wind, subsea cables etc. are all crying out for people across all engineering disciplines at the moment.

Interesting. I have always being interested in ships and the sea and have been thinking of doing my final year project on that kind of area. Currently I am reading a book on Naval Architecture to try and find some ideas. Oil/gas and offshore wind are two areas I also am interested in.

I am finding it difficult to find a suitable topic for the thesis, would you have any tips how to do so?

Cheers

hjoeboy

i'm going into final year also. I would love to work in Germany but the language barrier would stop me.

Does anyone know if there are many opportunities in France for graduate engineers?

@spideog7: If you dont mind me asking, how did you go about moving to the states - getting a job, accommodation, visas, etc...?

spideog7

I got a job initially through IAESTE and went on a J1 for the first year. Then after that year I got another 1 year contract and eventually was able to get a design job where they offered to sponsor me for a H1.

When I came over here first I had a sublease for a month which gave me enough time to look for accommodation, mostly just using craigslist and the like. To be honest all I had sorted coming out here was the job and the rest I just took it as it came. Foot in the door and all that.

Dardania

Speaking of ex-pat engineers, anyone looking at this:

Research & Development Engineers - Volvo: http://members.engineersireland.ie/networking/opening.asp?id=106455

Could be interesting...thinking of heading down to check out what it's like...

ScabbyLeg

jimmi10 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

What was your standard of German like when you moved there to work after college had finished? I will be going over with quite a basic level, however I may take lessons for this year to boost my language skills if needed.

Where are good websites to look at which advertise engineering jobs in Germany?

My German was basic when I went over. I did German for the LC and had a couple of modules in college but it wasn't ever really a main focus for me... I didn't think I'd ever need it :rolleyes:

I was lucky enough to find a job where this was acceptable - but there are plenty out there with large multinationals which would have a diverse workforce.. I have run into plenty of ex-pats here who work primarily in English. I work in German though but have found that like anything, if you submerse yourself in it, it's just a matter of time till you pick it up. In that sense I'm glad I was forced into it, as otherwise I'm not sure I would have had the initiative to go and improve my German in my own time!

It's funny how your exposure shapes your vocabulary though. Conversation in German is fine but sometimes I'd rather talk about technical things like machining rather than talk about what I got up to at the weekend!

On the website front, I'm not much help I'm afraid. All the main sites like Monster etc. have German portals too, though. But I don't do a lot of job searching, if anything I check companies that I've heard of directly.

hjoeboy

spideog7 wrote: »

I got a job initially through IAESTE and went on a J1 for the first year. Then after that year I got another 1 year contract and eventually was able to get a design job where they offered to sponsor me for a H1.

When I came over here first I had a sublease for a month which gave me enough time to look for accommodation, mostly just using craigslist and the like. To be honest all I had sorted coming out here was the job and the rest I just took it as it came. Foot in the door and all that.

You were lucky! I applied/asked for so many internships before the summer and got nothing. Few of us went through the IAESTE program but no one got anything from it, waste of time imo. Thanks for your info anyway, I'll just have to keep searching!

spideog7

I wouldn't say it's a waste of time, it's like any job you apply for. I sent out scores of CVs looking for work before I graduated, here and all over Europe and only a handful of them even had the decency to respond to me, I still wouldn't say it was a waste of time though.

As far as IAESTE goes it depends on how much you restrict yourself, the USA wasn't even one of my top 3 choice countries but it was what I could get, the job wasn't even what I wanted to do, but again it was better than scratching and on top of that I got paid less than what I would have got here if I was on minimum wage. I wouldn't say I was lucky, I was more than qualified for the position and I compromised on what I really wanted to work on. But now I've 2 years of experience under my belt and I've moved into a field that's more up my alley. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Ebie

If you’re thinking of working abroad you should check out the EYE (European Young Engineers) webpage http://embassy.e-y-e.eu/bin/view/PublicWeb/WebHome

They have a thing called the EYE Embassies where engineers from all over the world can add in info on countries they have worked in (like where to look for a job, how to apply for tax, how to find somewhere to live, etc).

It's only a few week old so at the moment Spain, Belgium and USA are the only countries there but more will be added soon!

I’d recommend to anyone thinking of moving to work or study in Europe to attend the EYE conferences (held twice a year) as these are focused on networking with other young European Engineers (who are working in their own or other countries).

Details on upcoming conferences should be on their web page too. Maximum price is usually €150 including accommodation!

They are on FB too if you want to shout out a question to any engineers from specific countries! https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/2382324113/