Getting out while I can!-is finding work abroad impossible?

I know this has probably been a topic about a thousand times, but the fact that I actually became a member on this site just so I could actually receive some great feedback from you all, indicates that it really means a lot to me!

I live in Southern California and visited Ireland a couple of weeks ago for vacation. My heritage is Irish, thus it was exciting to visit the "Motherland" per say. Ever since I've been living in So. Cal, I've had this tremendous urgency to want to get out completely on my own, explore somewhere totally new, and not just another part of California, or another state (I've lived in 3 different states growing up).... thus I believe that Dublin just might do the trick for me.

I graduated from college 2 years ago in Journalism. I currently work for a local magazine publishing company as a web editor (Newly promoted!) and writer. However, I have NO idea how hard it will be to find work in Dublin from the United States. Is it almost impossible to find work abroad, especially in my field, or do I need to just up and move, and THEN find work? I have no idea how to go about this, but I really need to make it happen while I can!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!! :)

How old are you? If you are under 30 you might want to look at BUNAC opportunities for working abroad. www.bunac.org<BR><BR>As noted above you can't just show up in Ireland and find a job without the appropriate visa and you can't get the appropriate visa without a job. Also the person hiring you in Ireland would need to prove that they could not fill the position with a local hire. It would not appear that you have a special skill that would be hard to fill in Ireland.

I don't want to dash your hopes but unless you are eligible for an ancestry visa, your likelihood of finding a job or going to Ireland and finding a job is pretty slim. You might try looking in the FAQs of the appropriate branch on the TT since you are specific about the location in which you want to work. There might be links to expat sites with job offers.

Ruth

It is progressively more difficult to get Irish citizenship as an American. They used to grant citizenship to those who could trace their Irish ancestry to a grandparent but that has since changed. As mentioned by another poster, you should check the latest rules about immigration through the Irish consulate website in the US.

I am an American who received a work permit to work in the UK through sponsorship and I now work in London on a visa. I am not in journalism but I work in publishing which is not a million miles away. I was able to obtain this sponsorship by working in my company's US office first. Is it possible to get a company transfer? Do you have any positive work contacts in Ireland perhaps? You should explore this angle.

All this said, it is not easy as an American to emigrate to Europe. If an Irish company wanted to sponsor you, they would have to argue that they could not find a suitable hire from the Irish workforce or the countless EU workers who go to Ireland looking for work.

Best of luck.

there are lots of Americans working in Europe under the table in vatious jobs such as teaching English, why not join them! Europe on the whole is a soft touch and you will probably just get a small slap on the wrists at worst!

The watchword here is just go. But running from, never works.
Make amends b4 you go. Or that stuff can ruin a trip. We go draggin' those little crosses around in our heads.

Lonelyness can be a real problem for expats. Spain is full of expats from all kinds of countries. But they gravitate toward their own. Familiar expressions, reference to jokes, etc.

If you ever had table waiting experience, you may be in luck. Most waiters etc., are working to follow another career.

In the meantime, they have a job, money in their pocket, and something good to eat at work.
Its a good stp-gap job throughout life.

In the hotels I worked in, the consensis was; the best tippers are New York businessmen. The second are folks who have worked for tips before. We are legion!
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And folks who look down on waiters probably couldn't last 6 months at it.
Customers say some really cruel things. Their tension comes out, when they get a chance to relax.

I'm an American who went over to work in Dublin, but the only way I was able to get the visa was through BUNAC, and they will only give that to people who are still considered students, which you wouldn't be since you graduated 2 years ago. Its only a four month visa anyways, nothing long-term.

Before I went to Ireland all my Irish friends told me about how easy it would be to work under the table, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore, since the addition of more countries from Eastern Europe has provided Ireland and the UK with workers willing to do previous-under-the-table-type jobs near to saturation point.

I think the only way to go about it is to get in with a US company who has the ability transfer you internationally, unless there is some other European heritage that may be possible for you to get an EU passport. Like for me, my great-grandfather immigrated to the US, but I am still able to trace my heritage through him and get an Italian passport. Each country is different, check out any of your other "ethnic heritages" that might allow you to get a passport. Of course that's assuming you can't get the Irish one.

Other than that, if you're just desparate to experience something new, there's nothing saying you have to go to Ireland, or even Europe to do that! New Zealand has a one-year working holiday visa, and its quite easy to get sponsored by a company for a longer term stay (that's what I'm currently doing). Australia has a 3-4 month one through BUNAC, and it MAY be easy for you to get sponsored in your field there (I know a girl who just did). And Singapore has just announced a WHV scheme open to Americans. Yay I can't wait to take advantage of that one!!!!!!

Others may be recommending working illegally but you should consider the drawbacks and there are MANY: you'll make next to nothing, be taken advantage of by employers who willingly work beyond the confines of the law to save some money and you're the one sent packing if it all goes wrong. Plus, I would imagine that as much as you want to live overseas, you don't want to ruin the potential to develop your career. Working as a waitress illegally for several years is a surefire way to do that, and there will be NO chance of finding legitimate employment while working illegally in Ireland or any other country you may think about.

Just some friendly advice! Try to go the legitimate way.

I have to add that Australia is also a difficult place to migrate to (in response to avelyn) as someone who lived there as a student for three years and tried to stay on but she is on to something. You COULD conceivably do a BUNAC trip, find a job, prove yourself in a short time and get the employer to sponsor you. It is a longshot and there are usually regulations about how long you can work in any job to try to prevent those sorts of things. In the end, it will have to be a mixture of luck, determination and research.

Lots of people work illegally in Med countries and still manage to enhance their careers so don't be put off by all the doom-mongers.

At one point you could get into Ireland if your father's father's father (great-grandfather, male only) was born in Ireland, but it only applied to Commonwealth countries or something. And it used to be not an ancestry visa, but an Irish passport.

I think the idea of looking taking advantage of the New Zealand working holiday visa would be good if they didn't have it set up so they only award them once a year, in May.

If you are willing to teach ESL, there are a lot more countries where you can get a work visa or work illegally without worries.

Another thought. If you are a journalist, why not try to write a series of articles about what you learn about opportunities for young Americans to work abroad compared to the opportunities Canadians have? Or write about your quest for work? Or document your experience when you leave?

Go for it! Maybe you want to check one of my posts regarding that topic:

Essential Tips for Self-Sustainable Permanent Travel

All the best for you fulfilling your dreams! ;-)

I greatly appreciate everyone's replies, opinions and advice. I am indeed looking to MOVE to Ireland for at LEAST a year, and I'll be looking for legitimate work in my media field, (so that I don't feel as if i'm going backwards in my career-especially after this recent promotion) However, I feel that right now just might be the best time in my life for me to try to attempt something completely new....thus I guess I'll just start applying to positions I can find, and see if i'll be able to obtain a work sponsorship. My great-grandparents were born in Ireland, however I don't believe that grants me an ancestry or Irish visa? Here's to hoping!

As a web editor and/or writer, does not the web make the world such a tiny place?

Could you not continue your current duties from Ireland, and in working up a proposition for your company maybe an Irish/American angle for the mag could be seen as a huge circulation/advertisers boost.

You might end up as Chief Ed or another Rupert.

If you are good at what you do then just go, you'll work it out.

Have you been in Ireland in the wintertime? Coming from California, it could be a shocker. Coming from anywhere pleasant, it's a shocker.

#16 - I think the winter might prove to be less shocking than the so-called summer!