I'm thinking of moving to Switzerland in 4-6 months time. I've been planning this move for a long time and I've been preparing myself towards it. I've been learning German for a year or so I believe I'll be around B1/2 level so quite communicative. I've got a Masters degree in Automation and Robotics and the specialization is Industry Automation. I've got over 8 years of professional experience as C&I/Automation engineer in a different industries (Oil&Gas, Pharmaceutical, Chemical and Food). I know all major automation tools Step7-certified programmer, RSLogix5000,Triconex-Safety PLC, DeltaV, GX-Developer WinCC, InTouch, RSView etc, and I've been running (leading) from small up to large scale projects through all these years. I want to look for a position in a German speaking kantons.
So the questions now.
1.) What are my chances to find a position here the work language is English?
2.) What are my chances to find something with my rather not very good German?
3.) How long it will approximately take?
4.) Is the set of skills I've got is desirable in Switzerland?
5.) What are the best companies that will be interested in Automation Engineers with the industry experience I've got?
7.) What I can do to prepare myself better for that move, apart of course from learning German.
6.) And of course what kind of salary (annual with "13" and bonuses) I can expect, lets say on the Senior or Leiter position.
Thank You very much for the answers, other advice would be welcome - Automatiker.
Hi Automatiker. I only have a limited amount of knowledge about the market since I just graduated last summer, but I can give you a rough idea based on discussions I've had.
Since you are in engineering and will probably be applying to multinationals, English should be enough.
In your field and with your experience, it shouldn't be a major issue.
Hard to say. As a new graduate I applied aggressively for 3-4 months (almost entirely over the internet) and got about 5 interview invitations. Since you have more experience, you might get quicker responses/invitations.
Yes, it should be. I don't think we have that many people in the job market with those qualifications. There are some, but maybe not as many as the market requires.
Not sure, but I would definitely try ABB, Alstom, NestleĢ, Novartis, Roche and Sulzer at the very least, possibly the oil refineries (Tamoil and Varo refining), maybe Syngenta and Philip Morris.
Find out a little bit about Swiss rules/regulations. Look into things like medical insurance. Once you find out which area you may be working in, look into tax rates and accomodation in surrounding areas to help you make a choice.
I'm just throwing out a rough figure, but I would say at least 120k a year.