(edit title) The Right Attitude? Thinking about a move... Options

[dizzylights]

Hej allihopa! Just a quick musing on an idea of mine, relating to some life goals and other things, would love a local perspective on this. I have been learning Swedish a short while now, and I also have been over and very much enjoyed how life looks from a Swedish perspective, I am also a huge fan of the music there, so much great stuff in the underground scene! More specifically as a web designer, I really appreciate some of the quality work coming out of Scandanavia and Sweden, especially the innovations in web and other design. I have always liked the idea of living in a new culture, just to expand my horizons, do something new and challenging, and I wonder if Sweden may be the boot that fits....

If I were to move, I would not be so arrogant as to not learn the language, though I suspect I might not be purely fluent with home learning. As it happens, this is something I am working on anyway, as I find learning languages fascinating and I'm learning Swedish purely because I love how it works and sounds Is having English as a (genuine) fluency an advantage in any way in the Swedish job market?

I come from a small town in the UK and as such finding work in my line of work is quite hard, usually you have to move to a big City or just keep moving around until you find something decent. I hope this would prepare me for the challenge of finding a good job, as of course I would have to recognise as a foreign worker I may not be first in line for a job.

Currently, my thought is that as someone with experience in Web, UX and other design I would of course love to continue to work in this field as it is one I have a degree in and 7 years commercial experience, including Design, Art Direction and web related work. In the opinion of Locallers, do you think a good strategy would be to find a job, or to go freelance immediately, potentially picking up work back home as well? What does that industry look like in Sweden right now?

[brownkitten]

If you have a good portfolio you should be able to find work without learning Swedish as a designer or AD. Start sending it out to companies you admire! I know a few foreign AD's here.

I wouldn't recommend freelancing. It's not so common here. Usually what people do is set up a business of 2 or 3 developers or designers and agencies come to them with their extra work. You would find it very hard to pick up substantial freelance on your own.

[brownkitten]

I forgot to mention, it may help to go through the company's portfolio to check if they have more Swedish or international projects. If they do a substantial amount of work in English, it's likely that they will work in English.

There's ton's of production houses and small agencies here doing really good work. To find good ones, just scroll through the winners of the Canne's Lions (or any awards) and be sure to look closely at the credits to see which agency/production studio was behind the creative.

[dizzylights]

Good stuff thanks for that! As I say, I have seen a huge amount of good work coming out of Scandinavia. I'd mostly be looking for web or User Experience design, and yes once my Swedish is at a good enough level I would consider contacting some of them to talk about potential opportunities. Part of my adventure and the idea of it is to learn the language and be able to fully integrate where possible. I think it's only polite

Would be wonderful to expand my horizons in that kind of environment.

[brownkitten]

I'd say start right now! It'd be much easier to learn once you get here and potential employers would be stoked on the fact that you're already learning Swedish.

[dizzylights]

After understanding the housing situation in Stockholm, is Gothenburg a better option perhaps?

[delfinita]

Göteborg has the same problem as Stockholm if not more.

There are lots of jobs in webdesign i am preety sure.

the right attitude is crucial when coming here. But despite the best of intentions, you may do better or worse than your expectations. It's all about personal situation and events that may affect your perception.

Best of luck!

[dizzylights]

I'm pleased to hear that there is a reasonable job market in my area of work, I agree that depending on many factors (and much luck) results may vary. I think this is why I intended to do a load of pre-work. I'm sure one can get a job without speaking Swedish, but as my belief is that people should try to integrate, and it would be rude of me to assume I could get by with English, even if I could. I would have to be courteous enough to learn to a good standard at least before staking a claim for a place.

Thanks for the heads up on housing also.

[NyDag]

No it is not an advantage what so ever - everyone here can already speak English, some can only speak English. It will not separate you from some other immigrants at all.

[axiom]

Move with an open mind, I have English, this will get my along intially while I learn Swedish and settle.

my advice would have to be, think seriously about moving if you are prepared to learn Swedish. Whilst you can survive with English (to a point), it doesn't make you "special" and it will be hard to integrate without Swedish language skills.

Legal documents, bank statements, shopping online, contracts, etc will normally be written in Swedish, I find it so hard to imagine that there is anyone here for more than 2years with no Swedish skills

[dizzylights]

Thanks. Absolutely, as I said, to me the meaning of "multi cultural" is that you bring your culture with you, but make a big effort to integrate. I want to learn a second language anyway and have started my Swedish learning. I would never assume that I could even get by in a new country without being good at worst, and fluent at best.