Working abroad after finishing my degree
Discussion
I'm trying to avoid writing a long, boring post with my life story, but it may turn out that way, so apologies in advance 
I'm currently in my last few weeks of uni, studying English and French, and should easily graduate with a 2:1. For the last year, I've also worked part time as an area manager for a retail auditing company. I enjoy my job: my colleagues are great, and I was offered the chance of a promotion and full time role once I graduate. However, it requires me to stay in London, and the money they were offering was nowhere near good enough for me to be able to afford to rent even a tiny flat in zone 6, let alone save for a deposit, so I declined.
As part of my degree, I did a placement year teaching English in the south of France and loved every minute of it. The lifestyle was fantastic, and I was paying €500 per month including bills for my own flat by the beach, in a lovely area. However, I don't feel my skills are best suited to teaching: I did a good job, and got an excellent reference from the Lycée, but I enjoy management more and feel I am better at it.
I've done various freelance jobs in the past: chauffeuring, IT support and general admin, and can provide references from solicitors, CEOs, and even a couple of minor American celebrities. I like to think that my work experience would be more impressive to most employers than many other graduates.
I've spent a lot of time looking at jobs based in France, and most either require extensive work experience in very specific fields, or native speaker levels of French. I would say I am 80-90% fluent, but I suspect if I was dumped straight into a high pressure, business environment with French speakers, it would take me a few months to get up to speed.
So, the way I see it, I have two options:
1) Join one of the many 3 year graduate schemes with a British company, accept that it'll mean another 3 years of living with my parents, and hope that I can move on to something abroad. In this situation though, I'd be concerned I'd start losing my French - I learned German to a decent level when I was 17, I've now forgotten all of it. I'd also be a bit gutted at spending 3 of the best years of my life doing something I don't really want to do, living somewhere I don't really want to live.
2) Move out to France with my meagre savings and just take any job I can get, working in a bar or hotel for example. Count on impressing them enough that they promote me, or search for another job as my French becomes 100% fluent. This is risky though - I'd run out of money quickly if I didn't find a job, and could see myself getting stuck in a dead end job with no prospects.
So, what would PH do?
I'm currently in my last few weeks of uni, studying English and French, and should easily graduate with a 2:1. For the last year, I've also worked part time as an area manager for a retail auditing company. I enjoy my job: my colleagues are great, and I was offered the chance of a promotion and full time role once I graduate. However, it requires me to stay in London, and the money they were offering was nowhere near good enough for me to be able to afford to rent even a tiny flat in zone 6, let alone save for a deposit, so I declined.
As part of my degree, I did a placement year teaching English in the south of France and loved every minute of it. The lifestyle was fantastic, and I was paying €500 per month including bills for my own flat by the beach, in a lovely area. However, I don't feel my skills are best suited to teaching: I did a good job, and got an excellent reference from the Lycée, but I enjoy management more and feel I am better at it.
I've done various freelance jobs in the past: chauffeuring, IT support and general admin, and can provide references from solicitors, CEOs, and even a couple of minor American celebrities. I like to think that my work experience would be more impressive to most employers than many other graduates.
I've spent a lot of time looking at jobs based in France, and most either require extensive work experience in very specific fields, or native speaker levels of French. I would say I am 80-90% fluent, but I suspect if I was dumped straight into a high pressure, business environment with French speakers, it would take me a few months to get up to speed.
So, the way I see it, I have two options:
1) Join one of the many 3 year graduate schemes with a British company, accept that it'll mean another 3 years of living with my parents, and hope that I can move on to something abroad. In this situation though, I'd be concerned I'd start losing my French - I learned German to a decent level when I was 17, I've now forgotten all of it. I'd also be a bit gutted at spending 3 of the best years of my life doing something I don't really want to do, living somewhere I don't really want to live.
2) Move out to France with my meagre savings and just take any job I can get, working in a bar or hotel for example. Count on impressing them enough that they promote me, or search for another job as my French becomes 100% fluent. This is risky though - I'd run out of money quickly if I didn't find a job, and could see myself getting stuck in a dead end job with no prospects.
So, what would PH do?
I realise this is a bit rich coming from somebody working in IT sales, but I can't imagine anything worse than living in a pokey zone 6 flat as an 'area manager' for a 'retail auditing company'. Whatever that is.
It seems like a risk to you now, but honestly the world is currently your oyster and taking some time out to go and work in a bar in Cannes whilst you work out what you want to do next can only be a good thing and you are unlikely to ever have the chance again. Either that, or some volunteer work in some far-flung French-speaking part of the world would be both rewarding and excellent to put on your CV. Worst case, you come back next year and get back on the treadmill; I would be surprised if a year out at this stage would negatively impact your career in the long term, and given an appropriate spin would more than likely put you ahead of many others who just went from degree straight into work.
It seems like a risk to you now, but honestly the world is currently your oyster and taking some time out to go and work in a bar in Cannes whilst you work out what you want to do next can only be a good thing and you are unlikely to ever have the chance again. Either that, or some volunteer work in some far-flung French-speaking part of the world would be both rewarding and excellent to put on your CV. Worst case, you come back next year and get back on the treadmill; I would be surprised if a year out at this stage would negatively impact your career in the long term, and given an appropriate spin would more than likely put you ahead of many others who just went from degree straight into work.
For something a little more interesting and engaging, you might want to have a look at the Diplomatic Institutions and inter-government / donor organisations; EU / UN / World Bank / DFID / European Regeneration and Development Bank / etc. These all operate around the world and use the sort of skills you appear to have, plus French tends to be the second or sometimes, principal business language that's used, regardless of where in the world a project is running.
Most of the international development funding goes via Germany these days (GIZ, KfW, etc) so although you say you've forgotten your German, I would imagine it would not be too hard to pick up this again and with French and German and being British, you'll have an exceptionally strong skills set in this world.
I've met and worked with quite a few people from these organisations and all seem to lead very interesting, very varied lives and the good ones earn very well from it.
If you are prepared to travel, do so while young and the experience this builds for you will stand you in very good steam later on when you're more inclined to remain a little more rooted to one place.
Most of the international development funding goes via Germany these days (GIZ, KfW, etc) so although you say you've forgotten your German, I would imagine it would not be too hard to pick up this again and with French and German and being British, you'll have an exceptionally strong skills set in this world.
I've met and worked with quite a few people from these organisations and all seem to lead very interesting, very varied lives and the good ones earn very well from it.
If you are prepared to travel, do so while young and the experience this builds for you will stand you in very good steam later on when you're more inclined to remain a little more rooted to one place.
No wife? No kids? UK still in the Union? Go for it!
Just go there and find a job - baking bread, helping out on a farm, or doing something more formal and lucrative as suggested above. Set yourself a time frame, let's say 6 months, after which you can come back if you haven't find your happy place. Then, depending on your financial ability, consider repeating the exercise in other English/French speaking countries in Benelux or Scandinavia.
Move around, see the world. Now's the time. Don't over-analyse it.
Just go there and find a job - baking bread, helping out on a farm, or doing something more formal and lucrative as suggested above. Set yourself a time frame, let's say 6 months, after which you can come back if you haven't find your happy place. Then, depending on your financial ability, consider repeating the exercise in other English/French speaking countries in Benelux or Scandinavia.
Move around, see the world. Now's the time. Don't over-analyse it.
You have little to lose by going for the French option now. If it doesn't work out you can still return to live with the parents.
You're young, single, multi lingual. Leverage your contacts (and the offers above from PHers) and give it a shot. If I had my time again I'd bite LimaDelta's hand off re: insight into working on the yachts.
You're young, single, multi lingual. Leverage your contacts (and the offers above from PHers) and give it a shot. If I had my time again I'd bite LimaDelta's hand off re: insight into working on the yachts.
Thanks for the replies everyone, much appreciated!
StevieBee said:
For something a little more interesting and engaging, you might want to have a look at the Diplomatic Institutions and inter-government / donor organisations; EU / UN / World Bank / DFID / European Regeneration and Development Bank / etc. These all operate around the world and use the sort of skills you appear to have, plus French tends to be the second or sometimes, principal business language that's used, regardless of where in the world a project is running.
Most of the international development funding goes via Germany these days (GIZ, KfW, etc) so although you say you've forgotten your German, I would imagine it would not be too hard to pick up this again and with French and German and being British, you'll have an exceptionally strong skills set in this world.
I've met and worked with quite a few people from these organisations and all seem to lead very interesting, very varied lives and the good ones earn very well from it.
If you are prepared to travel, do so while young and the experience this builds for you will stand you in very good steam later on when you're more inclined to remain a little more rooted to one place.
That's incredibly helpful - thankyou very much! I've already looked at the world bank and the UN, but will take a look at the others you mentioned.Most of the international development funding goes via Germany these days (GIZ, KfW, etc) so although you say you've forgotten your German, I would imagine it would not be too hard to pick up this again and with French and German and being British, you'll have an exceptionally strong skills set in this world.
I've met and worked with quite a few people from these organisations and all seem to lead very interesting, very varied lives and the good ones earn very well from it.
If you are prepared to travel, do so while young and the experience this builds for you will stand you in very good steam later on when you're more inclined to remain a little more rooted to one place.
LimaDelta said:
This. Interesting and varied work, French language skills useful. Plenty of different progression options. PM me if you need more info.
PM'd. Thanks!
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