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Working in another country

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Euchale

Crazy German Guy
Hi all,

since there are quite a few people that have experienced working in a different country than the country you come from, I´d like to hear feedback on how you liked working there.

As readers of the chat might know, I am not very happy with my job right now. Since I´m still young and have no real responsibilities (like kids) yet, it´s the perfect time to see how working in another country is.

I´ve already looked at some countries I would like to work in, but I still can´t decide, which one.
Feedback on the following countries would be super helpful, but you can feel free to share any other experiences with me:
Canada, Australia, South Korea and South Africa.
 
Euchale said:
Hi all,

since there are quite a few people that have experienced working in a different country than the country you come from, I´d like to hear feedback on how you liked working there.

As readers of the chat might know, I am not very happy with my job right now. Since I´m still young and have no real responsibilities (like kids) yet, it´s the perfect time to see how working in another country is.

I´ve already looked at some countries I would like to work in, but I still can´t decide, which one.
Feedback on the following countries would be super helpful, but you can feel free to share any other experiences with me:
Canada, Australia, South Korea and South Africa.
Click to expand...


South Korea will work you into the ground until you die. No joke. Do not work in South Korea.
 
tr1age said:
South Korea will work you into the ground until you die. No joke. Do not work in South Korea.
Click to expand...


I second this. In film production, the shoot days last until the director is ready to pass out. They don't take set meal breaks, and instead offer something akin to a buffet throughout the day. They hire alternates for crew so that people can keep working while others sleep in the equipment trucks. And as the work hierarchy was explained to me by a local from SK, your boss is essentially considered your "master". You cannot question much, if anything, and are expected to do as told in whatever capacity.

To that end, I worked on a job for a korean tech company and they wanted us to shoot through lunch. When we told them that we couldn't because the law required us to give a meal break, the response was "fuck the law". Realistically, we could have but the morality of it and the meal penalties ($$$) were undesirable.

I imagine this carries over into other fields. I hope there is someone that can refute this, but it doesn't seem pleasant at all.

I'll check in a with a few folks I know who have worked in Canada. In general, they've told me they enjoyed it but I don't recall the deets.
 
I don't know for sure, but we have subsidiaries in South Africa. While it is a beautiful place, I think there are some work and quality of life related issues that you may want to look in to first.
 
LaNCeRs said:
I think there are some work and quality of life related issues that you may want to look in to first.
Click to expand...
I´ve already looked into this. If you are living in Cap town or Johannesburg you are pretty save. And I would need to go there anyway, because I would have to work in a University.

Also thanks for the feedback on South Korea. I expected it to be a less strict version of Japan, but apparently they are pretty equal.
 
Korea is Japan without all the fun, and with extra B.S. from the boss down.
So out in town it's like the most boring parts of Japan and at work its like China with a little sprinkling of respect based grammar.
However the shit is huge and rolls downhill at an infinite pace.

Unis are better than the rest of the jobs, but Korea is what Korea is. Whatever you do don't order any nuts...
Would I say never work there? No.
Can I recommend it for anything but the slightly higher pay rate and great banking exchange rates when compared to Japan? Absolutely not.



Canada is great, but I never worked there "legally" I was always back out within 6 months and never got paid where the government would see.
I consulted with a couple good friends on moving their companies to the US, and selling the other ones.
The environment is great, but the weather isn't for everyone.
Compared to the US it is safer, more open, more entertaining, and a great place to be.
However the tax regulations are tighter and as a foreign national you should really find out what kind of taxes to expect. I would guess high, higher than what you pay now? No idea.
I would put a big + on Canada because it has a lot more reciprocity with Europe, when compared to the US.


I always hear great things about Austrailia, but never had any first hand knowledge.
Not a lot of wonderful things about South Africa, other than tourism. However you would have a big hand up speaking German.
Afrikaans is different, but you would pick it up quickly from what I hear.


So my first choice would be Canada, then up to you on which one of the two southern hemisphere countries to try.
Go to South Korea on vacation unless the money is superb, because there's nothing to do when you compare it to Japan and other countries.
Even the big city (Seoul) felt like a medium sized college town in the US. Busan was Ok, and 10x better than Seoul. At least it had some variety with the beach areas in summer.
In fact, you might want to look at Japan.
The pay would be a little lower, depending on your job, but the environment is 100% better.
Plus if you ever need someone to guide you along, I'm happy to offer lots of advice.

Best thing I ever did was get out and work in the world.
No matter where you go, good or bad, give it a try if only for a year.
 
Just to let everybody know: I´ve decided to search for work in Canada. I have a good chance of getting something in Vancouver.
 
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