Working in Europe?
 

I'm young, not a european citizen, and pondering crossing the Atlantic to go work for a stretch of time. How hard is it to pull this off? Bartending, farm job, etc. A chance to do something interesting and see Europe while I'm young. Advice?

If you're American it's a problem. Your employer needs to get you a work permit and to do that he has to show the job can't be done by a European who wants it.<BR><BR>You could, of course, work, "on the black", but it's illegal and not to be advised.<BR><BR>If you're Canadian, it's not a problem (it's a Commonwealth thing)

You need a work permit from the company that will hire you. I'm not sure about the Commonwealth thing if you're Canadian but it's worth checking it out.

Are you good with children? It's pretty easy to get a job as an au pair - they'll pay for your airfare, typically give you your own (small) private apartment, some pocket money, and you only need to work 20 hours a week. But please, please only do it if you're good with kids! Much, much easier for a female, but not impossible for a male.

going to be very honest, meaning it in a good way, if you mean to try working without a permit, you better be white, sorry to say it that way but there is somekind of against immigrants phobia going on right now, especially in germany, austria and switzerland and noone will really want to spend the time to find out who you really are...farm job shoouldnt be a problam, especially in italy...in bar without a permit, would count on it...yeah i know, europeans, we are weird:-)))) enjoy!

Even if you are Canadian, you still need a work permit to work legally, which is easier for a Canadian to get than an American.<BR><BR>Working illegally is not advised, unless you don't care about getting deported and possibly never let back into the country again.<BR><BR>If you recently graduated from college (in the past year or two), you can get a work visa through BUNAC (British Universities North American Club). They arrange visas for students and recent graduates from the UK and Ireland to work in the US, and have a recipricol plan to provide US students and recent grads the ability to work in the US. I think the website is www.bunac.com, but it might be .co.uk.

There's a work overseas internet site that will email you with upcoming jobs--many are au pair jobs. How about finding an American firm that has overseas jobs available?

I don't know about the rest of Europe but I believe you could probably get a work-travel visa for the UK if you're under a certain age (don't know the age, maybe 27?) The visa is for 2 years and you can only work full-time for one year of that time. Check out the British High Commission website if you're interested. <BR><BR>There are lots of "foreign youngsters" in London - Aussies, Kiwis, Americans, Canadians. If you work in a pub, some of them will provide you with a room above the pub and pay you a small wage. A warning though - London is very expensive, but it is also incredibly exciting and it's easy to travel from there.<BR><BR>Good luck!