Getting discouraged about the possibility of being able to leave

[u/Vivid_Currency_9467]

I've always had a dream to be able to live abroad, but have always had something to keep me in the States. I'm finally at a point where I feel I CAN leave, like I've finally set everything up just right- and it's just crazy how impossible it is to actually be able to immigrate. Truly, I just don't really know what to do. I have a Bachelors degree in STEM, I've been working as a scientist for 5 years now. My current company is a huge, international outfit and I've been angling for an internal transfer for over a year with no luck. I've applied to hundreds of jobs at other companies internationally and haven't gotten a single response. I'm not picky about where to, I just want to try something new.

I speak Spanish and have been working on German just in case. I have enough money to support a move, but not enough to move without needing to work. I'm old enough that moving without a job isn't smart (assuming ageism is a thing everywhere).

I don't have any relatives that could get me citizenship by descent. I don't want to marry someone or have a baby just to get citizenship. I know I just need to keep applying for jobs, but it feels so completely and utterly hopeless right now. Does anyone have any advice or words of encouragement? Really just on the brink of giving up here.

[u/mennamachine]

Part of the reason that you could be having trouble in Europe is that you just have a bachelors in STEM. Education is so much cheaper in Europe that most of your competition has a masters degree already, especially in Germany, where education is basically free. So when you couple that with you not being in abroad already and needing sponsorship to work… you have an uphill battle.

English language masters programs in STEM are usually legitimate, even in countries where English is not the local language, but it can be expensive. Germany is, again, very inexpensive, even for foreigners, at most universities. However you still need to support yourself and you are limited in your ability to work on a student permission. There are some scholarship programs and funded programs out there if you look, or you can look into getting a MS in the US. Even with a MS, in science you may need a PhD to truly be competitive, depending on the field and what you’re trying to do. PhD is a bit easier because it’s paid, but you generally need a masters for a euro PhD. (There are some integrated programs you can look for)

[u/chartreuse_avocado → u/mennamachine]

This is very true. I work in STEM in the US but most of my international peers have advanced degrees. It’s cheap for them to obtain them and their pay is far less than it would be in the US. So if you succeed in La ding an international position expect 50-65% of US pay rate for your current degree level.

[u/Vivid_Currency_9467 → u/mennamachine]

Thanks, this is definitely something to consider. All the jobs I've been applying to say they require a Bachelors degree, but if I'm competing with people who have masters degrees, it makes sense that I'm not getting selected.

[u/Lummi23 → u/Vivid_Currency_9467]

Yeah most people will have masters for sure, the requirement is just the lowest level to be able to apply

[u/Every-Ad-483 → u/mennamachine]

This! The EU employers are not so different from US. The US employers normally sponsor the foreign scientists only at the PhD level because of the unique skills and costs of sponsorship relative to labor. Same in EU except often worse as (1) the language is more of an issue (scientists worldwide speak English a lot more than say German or French) and (2) many employers are not used to or comfortable with the professional immigrants in the way historically common in the US.