Being a graduate fresh out of college is an experience like nothing else. They’ve just spent the last few years studying a topic that has interested and inspired them, and the bubble of education has just popped. The culture of college is like a safety net for twentysomethings; they know the end is coming, but that doesn’t mean they want to face it. One of the biggest worries for graduates is what comes next. Stepping away from education means letting go of the last piece of childhood; the last time in their life that someone else oversees their future. A graduate becomes accountable for their own decisions and their own life and that, that is terrifying. The comfort of their college surroundings melts away and graduates are left facing the fact that they now have to step out of the world of study, and into the world of climbing the career ladder. The biggest question is whether graduates should be searching near to home for their career beginnings, or whether they should look further afield for their experiences and emigrate.
Stepping on a plane to take you away from everything you’ve ever known is not an easy decision. Graduates are in charge of these decisions now, but it’s a very daunting prospect to start anew in a place they’ve never been. The thing is, the choice to go to college in the first place was a decision that took them out of their comfort zone – it just created a new comfort to rely on. There are massive gains to be had in emigrating abroad to ignite a career. The opportunities elsewhere can help graduates to cast a wider net with their career choices and the skills that can be built away from home can help to pay massive dividends in the future. Companies like Davis & Associates are on hand to guide those through an immigration process, but graduates have to find their career opportunities themselves. There’s every chance that family and friends would rather warn graduates to get a job close to home, to the place that they know instead of spreading their wings and testing the waters in a place foreign to their usual haunts. However, what’s the point in staying still when college has just educated them that they can have the world at their feet? There is no use in spending all that time, effort and cash sitting in lectures and heading out to volunteer positions only to stay in the same sleepy towns to work.
Travelling is an excellent way to help develop skills that cannot be gained from remaining stagnant. Self-reliance, adaptability and confidence are all fantastic reasons to choose to have their first career opportunity abroad, and foreign work experience will look fantastic on a resume. It shows character, courage and little bit of daring; all the traits of an excellent employee. It’s also worth remembering that it is far easier for a graduate to make a name for themselves early in their career abroad than later on. Later is the time where family commitments become a very real concern, and a graduate tends not to have those to worry about. The global reach that can be afforded means that young people from all over the globe are becoming increasingly mobile after graduation day. There are many reasons that graduates should choose to move abroad for their first work experience that is paid and based on their degree, and some of the reasons are outlined below.
Money.
One of the biggest reasons that graduates choose to move abroad is the economy. When the job market is difficult in their own country, there is no reason to stay and hunt day in and day out when other countries would hold out wonderful career packages instead. Seeking work outside the usual area can be time consuming, but if the package is good enough with a decent salary and good culture, then money is a good reason to leave. Graduates should understand that job markets that get tanked during a downturn in the economy does have a domino effect across the world. This means that not every country will have a guarantee of a well-paid position waiting. Money is always the biggest incentive to leave the place where they study, especially as the alternative could be doing a minimum wage position while trying to find work fruitlessly.
Skills.
If a graduate’s mother tongue is English, then they are very likely to find work abroad – it’s a universal language. This can mean that initially, they could find work in a school, teaching English as a second language to children who cannot yet speak it. There are always opportunities for those wishing to use their language skills to get ahead in a new place, especially if the country that they have chosen to move to does not have English as a first language. Living and working in a new country also gives a graduate a chance to work on their own language skills by learning another while being a part of the culture at the same time. This is an opportunity not afforded to many and is one that should be taken advantage of. Career prospects are always more open to those who have extra skills such as languages under their belts.
Work Programs.
Countries overseas have plenty of work programs and volunteer opportunities for those who wish to seek them out. Choosing to work this way means helping an excellent cause while gaining valuable skills. Resumes that detail travelling abroad and working with new cultures are usually those that get picked up with interest. If a graduate takes the time to work in a volunteer program in another country, they add a certain experience to their resume that they wouldn’t be able to find at home.
Contacts.
Working abroad expands a professional contact list faster than anything else. Studying abroad would build contacts through the education facility they are learning through but holding their whole career abroad will help graduates to be able to call on mentors, leaders and future friends for their guidance as they manage their career. Meeting people in new countries can actually help intelligence levels, as graduates learn how to interact with people from different backgrounds and different business models. The chance to challenge their own education and expand that by getting to know people from an entirely different educational and business background is valuable experience.
World Education.
Graduates have left college, but the education doesn’t end there. Working and moving in a new environment and climbing an entirely different corporate ladder can change the perspective of a graduate. Knowing where to begin in the search for a career will start with college professors and if there is a good level of support there, a career abroad can be secured before graduation day. The chance to step out of a familiar arena and into one that is completely new can really change the face of the education that they will continue to receive. A world education is invaluable and will look fantastic on a resume going forward.
Experience.
Going abroad after college isn’t just about the work, the chance to be on the top of the career ladder or even the salary potential. It’s the experience. For every person about to graduate from college who wants to stay close to home and continue a familiar life, there’s one with wanderlust in their heart. Going to a place never travelled and being able to come home with stories of adventures is enticing! Moving to a new country is unfamiliar, scary and also exciting. It’s a time for discovery and it’s something that every graduate should experience at least once. The chance to travel around a new place on days off, to visit sites of history and beaches that have only ever been seen in the media does more to enrich the life of a graduate than staying at home and trawling the jobs boards for new opportunities does. The sheer level of experience that could be had starting a career in a new country is worth every bit of money spent getting out there.
When a graduate leaves college, their life begins. Choosing to start that life in a new country is about more than a bad economy and not having enough savings. It’s about knowing that there is a whole world out there and wanting to experience every bit of it. Being a graduate doesn’t mean that it’s the end of education, far from it, but it does mean it’s the end of the structured education that they have been used to. Choosing to move out of the country and find a career abroad is going to help to mature and shape a graduate in a way that staying at home never will, and it’s this experience that can make or break the person that will climb that career ladder. Graduates are looking into emigration more and more and understanding why is as complex as the choice that is made. It’s not about the money, but the money sure helps with such a grand decision. There’s a world out there: don’t miss it.
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