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If engineers in the US (i.e. me) want to find work in Europe, what can we do? I know that’s a googleable question but honestly I can’t help but think that there

If engineers in the US (i.e. me) want to find work in Europe, what can we do? I know that’s a googleable question but honestly I can’t help but think that there cannot be any European country that would want me and my family. Immigration is hard.

ben_w 7mo ago
It is hard. I moved to Germany in 2018, and only just this month reached B1 level in the language; and that was a pre-Brexit move so I don't need to care about visa. The EU has a "blue card" scheme modeled on US green card: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Card_(European_Union) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Card_(European_Union) If language is your biggest barrier, pick a country whose language you already speak. As this clearly includes English, Ireland if you want specifically EU, and UK if you just want the continent (mainly London, but I spent a long time in Cambridge tech sector). Germany may still be an option even without being a native speaker (depending on your skills), but with all the difficulty everyone has today with AI messing with job hunting, get the contract before considering a move.
fernly 7mo ago
Not that hard if you are in young to middle years and have any job experience. I asked Perplexity "If an American citizen, a trained engineer with some experience, desired to work abroad in the EU or an English-first nation, what are some good websites to check?" I suggest you do the same -- the reply lists a dozen promising sites. https://www.perplexity.ai/search/if-an-american-citizen-a-train-9bmuP5N0TJmLMn3swnSbMw https://www.perplexity.ai/search/if-an-american-citizen-a-tr...
yencabulator 7mo ago
Generally immigrating to Europe is fairly easy if you have an employment offer. And the rest of the family would apply as family members of a resident. With a work offer, there's typically no language requirements (apart from what the work requires). Without a job offer, yeah not gonna happen easily unless you e.g. show an ancestral connection to the specific country.
graemep 7mo ago
The UK has two schemes for skilled worker visas. It depends on the exact occupation and salary offered so you need to get a job.
sehansen 7mo ago
Immigrating to Denmark is somewhat easy if you're an engineer. You have a set of skills that there is a recognized shortage of[0] and you'll be making more than the $70000 that qualifies you to take part in the fast-track scheme.[1] Quite a lot of Danish companies have employees from other EU countries and already use English as their working language. 0: Various kinds of engineers are on the so-called Positive List, see sections 21 & 25 on this page: https://nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/You-want-to-apply/Work/Positive-List-Higher-Education https://nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/You-want-to-apply/Work/Positive-... 1: The supplementary pay limit track requires an annual salary of DKK 446000 (~$70000). This track could close if unemployment rises sharply, but it has been open for 6 out of the last 7 years: https://nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/You-want-to-apply/Work/Fast-track https://nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/You-want-to-apply/Work/Fast-trac...

ben_w 7mo ago

It is hard. I moved to Germany in 2018, and only just this month reached B1 level in the language; and that was a pre-Brexit move so I don't need to care about visa. The EU has a "blue card" scheme modeled on US green card: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Card_(European_Union) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Card_(European_Union) If language is your biggest barrier, pick a country whose language you already speak. As this clearly includes English, Ireland if you want specifically EU, and UK if you just want the continent (mainly London, but I spent a long time in Cambridge tech sector). Germany may still be an option even without being a native speaker (depending on your skills), but with all the difficulty everyone has today with AI messing with job hunting, get the contract before considering a move.

fernly 7mo ago

Not that hard if you are in young to middle years and have any job experience. I asked Perplexity "If an American citizen, a trained engineer with some experience, desired to work abroad in the EU or an English-first nation, what are some good websites to check?" I suggest you do the same -- the reply lists a dozen promising sites. https://www.perplexity.ai/search/if-an-american-citizen-a-train-9bmuP5N0TJmLMn3swnSbMw https://www.perplexity.ai/search/if-an-american-citizen-a-tr...

yencabulator 7mo ago

Generally immigrating to Europe is fairly easy if you have an employment offer. And the rest of the family would apply as family members of a resident. With a work offer, there's typically no language requirements (apart from what the work requires). Without a job offer, yeah not gonna happen easily unless you e.g. show an ancestral connection to the specific country.

graemep 7mo ago

The UK has two schemes for skilled worker visas. It depends on the exact occupation and salary offered so you need to get a job.

sehansen 7mo ago

Immigrating to Denmark is somewhat easy if you're an engineer. You have a set of skills that there is a recognized shortage of[0] and you'll be making more than the $70000 that qualifies you to take part in the fast-track scheme.[1] Quite a lot of Danish companies have employees from other EU countries and already use English as their working language. 0: Various kinds of engineers are on the so-called Positive List, see sections 21 & 25 on this page: https://nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/You-want-to-apply/Work/Positive-List-Higher-Education https://nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/You-want-to-apply/Work/Positive-... 1: The supplementary pay limit track requires an annual salary of DKK 446000 (~$70000). This track could close if unemployment rises sharply, but it has been open for 6 out of the last 7 years: https://nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/You-want-to-apply/Work/Fast-track https://nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/You-want-to-apply/Work/Fast-trac...