Hello all!
Although there are some old threads addressing questions similar to mine, I thought I might receive better advice if I explained my specific situation and background.
I am a portuguese Aerospace engineer, specialized in the Avionics field. I have only 1 year of work experience, working in an airline operator. I have a strong interest in programming, and I have gotten fairly good at it (though not as good as someone from a Computer Sciences degree, naturally!). As a few exampels, I see myself working on:
- an airline
- a company developing software related with Aerospace/Aviation/Air Traffic Management
- an aircraft manufacturer
I do not have a thorough and complete knowledge of the job market, so there are other areas that I might fit in. I am totally open for suggestions or new ideas.
I am comfortable speaking English, but my French is very basic and my German is almost null (although I have taken a 60 hour German course). I would accept moving to any part of Switzerland, but I would give preference to the French-speaking cantons.
My questions:
- What is the current situation on Switzerland, regarding immigration? Will it be hard for me to get a job at this moment?
- Specifically in the engineering area, is there a demand for outside professionals?
- What companies do you think I should check out?
- What other specifics of my profile and formation do you think I am overlooking and should address?
I thank you in advance for your help!
Switzerland has very few aerospace manufacturers. Look at Germany or France and Britain.
Any Swiss job would show up here www.jobs.ch/en
Dear LotusBleu,
First of all, if I could give you an important advice, as engineer you should try to move away from airlines, regardless of the country. An airline is one of the worst businesses to be in since it has the lowest margins and consequently the lowest salaries. That being said, I would guess that working for Swiss Airlines should be considerably better than any other airline.
You should look at aircraft manufactures but mainly avionics developers since you said you are comfortable with programming. In the area of avionics there is considerable lack of high-skilled labor, so it should be easy to find a job worldwide.
Sbrinz mentioned that there are few aircraft manufactures, but in reality Switzerland is a big place for aerospace engineers because it has many MROs. Just Google Ruag, SR Technics, Pratt & Whitney, etc.
What I hear about the Swiss companies in general is that they tend to hire only experienced foreigners, not those in the beginning of their careers. Since you have only one year of experience you may face difficulties to convince a Swiss company to hire you (I may be wrong).
If I were you, at this point of your career, I would give a try in the UK, France, Canada (Thales has a big development center there) and Brazil (Embraer). Of course the USA is the best country to work in aerospace engineering but it is a bit more complicated due to the visa issue. After getting more experience in a top aircraft or avionics developer, then you would be more "marketable" to the Swiss MROs.
Good luck!
Check out jetaviation.ch for current jobs, located in Basel mainly (next to Amac, see the list in one of the replies above).
Thank you for your answer! Very complete and informative, although not exactly optimistic in whar concerns my chances.
Thank you both for your help. I did not know some of the mentioned companies, and I will surely check them out.
Wouldn't touch SRT as by looks of things it won't last long.