(edit title) Is impossible to find a qualified job here? My GF doesn't find a job Options

[Lix018]

Hi again mates,

Sorry for deviating a little bit from the topic, but may I ask you what do you think of working as an engineer in Sweden?

I am in a similar situation than your girlfriend, except that my Swedish is an A1 level so far, and that I am an Aeronautical Engineer.

With that level of Swedish probably you're fucked up. After my Erasmus semester the first thing that I have done is get my personnummer as well as get into the SFI. I'm almost sure that without (at least) the D course completed you don't have any chance. However, I have a couple of friends that are working as an engineers without Swedish but they have 2 masters and they are really high qualified.

The main problem of my girlfriend is that in my city you can't not be inside the SFI if you don't have a personnummer. Now she is between a B1 and B2 in fact, she was able to do one of the three interviews in Swedish with not so much troubles. Despite of that she would love to reach at least a C1 but without any teacher we think that is too difficult.

Oh look at you bragging with all these references in a country where ”lagom” is the way of living. If she was bragging like that at those interviews, no wonder she never got any job. Sweden is not the place where you’re supposed to show them how good (or better) you are.

Well mate, I think that you are being a little bit rude . We know that we are foreigners and of course she is not bragging in the interviews. When we came here we went the employment service of my university for get some tips about the usual staff (CV format, interviews, negotiation etc.). Also, we follow the advice of a friend of mine that is working as a HR manager in a really big company here and I believe that she knows (or at least she has an idea) how to drive an interview in Sweden.

Finally, we have noticed that a lot of trainees programmes offer Swedish language education, but the problem is that most of them have the experience requirements in less than 3 years. Do you think that despite of the experience that she has, she would be eligible for trainee programme?

I will appreciate if someone of you have a constructive comment, because I would love to do the PhD here and I think that after finishing it I will be able to speak Swedish properly.

[nativeswedishengineer]

Here is a perfect example of the idiocy going on in Sweden. We've got an obviously intelligent and qualified person who would be an asset to many companies not to mention ... (show full quote)

Here is a perfect example of the idiocy going on in Sweden. We've got an obviously intelligent and qualified person who would be an asset to many companies not to mention the country as a whole and who cannot find a job in Sweden and most likely will have to leave. But find an unemployed Syrian carpenter and the government will welcome him with open arms and supply him with two homes (one for each wife and family) and money for living expenses all in the name of cultural enrichment.

Go figure. ... (hide full quote)

Do you honestly think this only applies to foreigners? I have a master's degree in engineering, in one of the most difficult subjects taught.
I have plenty of programming experience, have experience doing web-development and so on. I can't even get an interview, yet I see my acquaintance who dropped out of an integrated master's program, switched to a bsc program that he didn't even bother to finish, spent most of his weekends drunk off his ass and with the mindset that a single point above the lowest possible passing grade was a waste of time he also never wrote a single line of code voluntarily, he gets a job at one of the unicorns in Stockholm because he happened to know the right people.

One of my friends has a Phd in computer science, can't get a single job interview. All the while a third friend who didn't even complete 90 ECTS credits, and the few credits she did pass was in soft side courses like interaction design, she also never wrote a single line of code voluntarily. She now has a nice dev job.
A fourth acquaintance used to brag about how he couldn't even pass basic high-school maths, did a bachelor in some kind of psychology that he couldn't even be bothered to finish. He thinks that the pinnacle of programming competency is to write small web apps in django. Oh and lets not forget that he used to brag about how he couldn't afford food because he had spent all his money on drinking. He now has a comfortable job as a senior software tester.

[Svedallas]

Hi again mates,With that level of Swedish probably you're fucked up. After my Erasmus semester the first thing that I have done is get my personnummer as well as get into ... (show full quote)

Hi again mates,



With that level of Swedish probably you're fucked up. After my Erasmus semester the first thing that I have done is get my personnummer as well as get into the SFI. I'm almost sure that without (at least) the D course completed you don't have any chance. However, I have a couple of friends that are working as an engineers without Swedish but they have 2 masters and they are really high qualified.

The main problem of my girlfriend is that in my city you can't not be inside the SFI if you don't have a personnummer. Now she is between a B1 and B2 in fact, she was able to do one of the three interviews in Swedish with not so much troubles. Despite of that she would love to reach at least a C1 but without any teacher we think that is too difficult.



Well mate, I think that you are being a little bit rude . We know that we are foreigners and of course she is not bragging in the interviews. When we came here we went the employment service of my university for get some tips about the usual staff (CV format, interviews, negotiation etc.). Also, we follow the advice of a friend of mine that is working as a HR manager in a really big company here and I believe that she knows (or at least she has an idea) how to drive an interview in Sweden.

Finally, we have noticed that a lot of trainees programmes offer Swedish language education, but the problem is that most of them have the experience requirements in less than 3 years. Do you think that despite of the experience that she has, she would be eligible for trainee programme?

I will appreciate if someone of you have a constructive comment, because I would love to do the PhD here and I think that after finishing it I will be able to speak Swedish properly. ... (hide full quote)

You have to prove that you are worth hiring more than a native Swede.
Read all the threads. This question comes up every 2/3 years.

Hate to break it to you, but in this current market, where Swedes are moving back to Sweden with international experience. You would need a masters + Phd + experience + fluent Swedish to break into the market. Everyone has a masters these days, so there is nothing unique about that...

[Bsmith]

Do you honestly think this only applies to foreigners? I have a master's degree in engineering, in one of the most difficult subjects taught. I have plenty of programming ... (show full quote)

Do you honestly think this only applies to foreigners? I have a master's degree in engineering, in one of the most difficult subjects taught.
I have plenty of programming experience, have experience doing web-development and so on. I can't even get an interview, yet I see my acquaintance who dropped out of an integrated master's program, switched to a bsc program that he didn't even bother to finish, spent most of his weekends drunk off his ass and with the mindset that a single point above the lowest possible passing grade was a waste of time he also never wrote a single line of code voluntarily, he gets a job at one of the unicorns in Stockholm because he happened to know the right people.

One of my friends has a Phd in computer science, can't get a single job interview. All the while a third friend who didn't even complete 90 ECTS credits, and the few credits she did pass was in soft side courses like interaction design, she also never wrote a single line of code voluntarily. She now has a nice dev job.
A fourth acquaintance used to brag about how he couldn't even pass basic high-school maths, did a bachelor in some kind of psychology that he couldn't even be bothered to finish. He thinks that the pinnacle of programming competency is to write small web apps in django. Oh and lets not forget that he used to brag about how he couldn't afford food because he had spent all his money on drinking. He now has a comfortable job as a senior software tester. ... (hide full quote)

I didn't say that this only applies to foreigners. I was only making a comparison on the type of foreigners that Sweden is gung-ho on importing. It would seem to make more sense to me to court foreigners that would make a contribution to society if you cared anything about the future of your country. But I guess that the image of being the world leader of compassion is what is important. Funny thing is, in extending compassion to the (supposedly) down-trodden, Sweden's political leaders are short changing the native Swedes. Robbing Sven to pay Akbar.

[Cheeseroller]

> Do you honestly think this only applies to foreigners? I have a master's degree in engineering, in one of the most difficult subjects taught.

Why the hell don't you consider moving to Germany? Small and medium sized companies are crying out for engineers. Apartments are not difficult to find (except Munich and Berlin) and cost around 400€ for one room.

[nativeswedishengineer]

> Do you honestly think this only applies to foreigners? I have a master's degree in engineering, in one of the most difficult subjects taught. Why the hell don't y ... (show full quote)

> Do you honestly think this only applies to foreigners? I have a master's degree in engineering, in one of the most difficult subjects taught.

Why the hell don't you consider moving to Germany? Small and medium sized companies are crying out for engineers. Apartments are not difficult to find (except Munich and Berlin) and cost around 400€ for one room. ... (hide full quote)

I don't speak German. And due to illness I have a long gap in my CV.

[nativeswedishengineer]

I didn't say that this only applies to foreigners. I was only making a comparison on the type of foreigners that Sweden is gung-ho on importing. It would seem to make mo ... (show full quote)

I didn't say that this only applies to foreigners. I was only making a comparison on the type of foreigners that Sweden is gung-ho on importing. It would seem to make more sense to me to court foreigners that would make a contribution to society if you cared anything about the future of your country. But I guess that the image of being the world leader of compassion is what is important. Funny thing is, in extending compassion to the (supposedly) down-trodden, Sweden's political leaders are short changing the native Swedes. Robbing Sven to pay Akbar. ... (hide full quote)

Once again. You are probably seeing the effects of a work migration reform that was force upon most of the swedish population.

[Cheeseroller]

Nor do the Spanish, Greek, Italian and UK engineers that are being hired. Most German engineers speak English to a lesser or greater level. Some companies now provide in-house language classes.

Gap in the CV is probably more significant - depends if you can balance that out with your qualifications, experience and any specialism.

I would at least think it worth exploring. There's only so much daytime TV you can watch.

[Gamla Hälsingebock]

Lets not forget the importance of "networking", sadly, or maybe not, it's who you know, etc..

Newcomers usually haven't enough time to create contacts to compete with people who are native to the country they are in...

[nativeswedishengineer]

Nor do the Spanish, Greek, Italian and UK engineers that are being hired. Most German engineers speak English to a lesser or greater level. Some companies now provide in-house ... (show full quote)

Nor do the Spanish, Greek, Italian and UK engineers that are being hired. Most German engineers speak English to a lesser or greater level. Some companies now provide in-house language classes.

Gap in the CV is probably more significant - depends if you can balance that out with your qualifications, experience and any specialism.

I would at least think it worth exploring. There's only so much daytime TV you can watch. ... (hide full quote)

I have started volounteering at various homework help organizations. I have started telling the children what the labor market for engineers is really like. One could say that I am fighting the system from within.

[Cheeseroller]

nativeswedishengineer - why don't you try to find project work on www.upwork.com? I've hired web developers, translators, graphic designers etc there. Tip - there is always a shortage of good Magento e-commerce developers and they charge top rates.

[Cheeseroller]

"In this report the Swedish National Board of Trade focuses on the situation of EU citizens who want to move and work in Sweden. While in many ways, it is easy to live in Sweden as an EU citizen, obstacles still remain that need to be overcome."

https://www.kommers.se/Documents/In_English...g-to-Sweden.pdf

Page 7:

"The Swedish Tax Agency assesses whether a per- son should be registered in the country’s popula- tion registry. In determining whether an EU citizen should be registered, the agency takes two things into account: the length of the EU citizen’s stay in Sweden, and the person’s right of residence for that year.

1) Intention to stay one year
The EU citizen must show that he or she will spend at least the coming year in Sweden.26 In order to meet the one-year criterion, the EU citizen may show, for instance, an employment contract or proof of a course of study that extends one year or more."

So if the employer has to provide a one year contract, are they still allowed a 3 month test period? If not, that places makes it a serious disadvantage to hire someone from another EU country, rather than a Swede.

[Gjeebes]

"...a serious disadvantage to hire someone from another EU country, rather than a Swede."

Hmmm, but everyone knows virtuous, multi-culti, "humanitarian example for the universe" Sweden would never operate with such dubious arrangements.

Don't you know its the "goodest" country? For two consecutive years even!

[the_austrian]

Hi

She is a Spanish native, right? She should apply for native Spanish-speaking jobs, I think this will be her best bet.

Unfortunately, most of us here (expats) that are in the field of journalism hold a Master's degree or two and have extensive experience, however, I can only speak for myself that the first job I got here was a terrible sales job in which I had to speak my mother tongue (German) and from then onward I was able to get very close to my dream job

I think your girlfriend will be doing great.

Try to apply for some of the Spanish-speaking jobs on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/spanish-jobs/?country=se

Best wishes

[Cheeseroller]

Unlike you Gjeebes, I got on my bike and left the country :-)