Internship vs. Junior position | European Job Market
Posted: Aug 21, 24 12:34 pm
↓ 0 comments
DbrtllAug 21, 24 12:34 pm
Hello,
I found a lot of useful information over this forum but I still don’t know what to do in my situation.
I’m about to finish my Masters, currently studying in Portugal (not a top tier university but still with a good reputation in Europe). I want to move out from Portugal, as I don’t see any job prospects in the country. Top of my list would be moving to Switzerland, Netherlands or Germany, however I’ll be willing to move anywhere in Europe that I land a fair position (not expecting anything more than minimum wage as I know how’s the job market).
From your experience, how hard is to find an entry level position in these countries if I don’t speak their language, my better shot would be an internship then? I speak Portuguese, English, Italian and have a basic French that could be improved to conversational after 4 months effort, but in case of Dutch or German it would take me up to 2 years to reach the same level.
My background is a Bachelors from Brazil, three relevant internships there, that I was able to do while studying. Portuguese reality differs as people usually intern after they graduate, for that, I don’t have relevant job experience in the EU.
That being said, I cannot afford working for free or less than I would spend on rent + living expenses, I’m 27 y/o and not elegible for most government scholarships anymore apart from the Erasmus grant that is around 500eur/month.
I’m going to start looking for jobs after the summer as well as working on my thesis, that I can postpone until nov/25 so I can keep a student status (that is still better than an unemployed one) and be considered elegible for an internship. I’m frustrated and feel stuck, after the effort to graduate my best case scenario will be working as an intern for pennies and compensate that with waiting tables on the weekends in order to have money to buy food.
Hello,
I found a lot of useful information over this forum but I still don’t know what to do in my situation.
I’m about to finish my Masters, currently studying in Portugal (not a top tier university but still with a good reputation in Europe). I want to move out from Portugal, as I don’t see any job prospects in the country. Top of my list would be moving to Switzerland, Netherlands or Germany, however I’ll be willing to move anywhere in Europe that I land a fair position (not expecting anything more than minimum wage as I know how’s the job market).
From your experience, how hard is to find an entry level position in these countries if I don’t speak their language, my better shot would be an internship then? I speak Portuguese, English, Italian and have a basic French that could be improved to conversational after 4 months effort, but in case of Dutch or German it would take me up to 2 years to reach the same level.
My background is a Bachelors from Brazil, three relevant internships there, that I was able to do while studying. Portuguese reality differs as people usually intern after they graduate, for that, I don’t have relevant job experience in the EU.
That being said, I cannot afford working for free or less than I would spend on rent + living expenses, I’m 27 y/o and not elegible for most government scholarships anymore apart from the Erasmus grant that is around 500eur/month.
I’m going to start looking for jobs after the summer as well as working on my thesis, that I can postpone until nov/25 so I can keep a student status (that is still better than an unemployed one) and be considered elegible for an internship. I’m frustrated and feel stuck, after the effort to graduate my best case scenario will be working as an intern for pennies and compensate that with waiting tables on the weekends in order to have money to buy food.
Any advices?