I hope I'm not breaking any forum rules. The reasons I created this post is because the answers to these questions are quite hard to find and often varied with no specifics provided thus making it hard to form a picture.
I'm 26 years old and soon will be graduating with a masters degree in manufacturing engineering. I did my bachelors studies in mechanical engineering. Currently I have no official work experience (I did some technical drawings for some company but not in an official capacity).
I have an EU passport, am fluent in english, dutch and croatian. I can understand german and could "communicate" in it. I will be starting A1 german language certification.
I'm interested in CNC machining/programming, machine design and robotics/automation. Programming is also an interest of mine but I don't have enough experience to be applying for jobs in that area.
I would like to come to Switzerland to live and work (prefferably the german speaking part).
1. What are my chances of getting a job remotely (applying online) and with no experience? Do you have any tips regarding this process (besides being persistent)?
2. What is the job market for technical positions like? On some sites it's said that it's very hard to find a job while others claim there is a labor shortage. From the outside it's quite difficult to estimate the situation.
What should I be looking for - student internship, junior positions?
3. Do you have any general tips?
Also, I'm not averse to do any kind of hands-on / technical / physical job for some time if that's required.
I understand it's difficult to immigrate into Switzerland and quite expensive too, so I'd like to maximize my chances of success and minimize the costs as much as possible.
I do feel a bit sorry for people whose primary motive for being in CH is money. The country is as close as it gets to a utopia on this planet, and as good as the money is, there are definitely more meaningful benefits to living here when you take into account the beautiful landscape and nature, quality of life, public infrastructure and services, safety and political stability.
Few places on this earth offer all of those things combined.
I'm no hardware engineer but I know that Switzerland has a very strong apprenticeship system which basically mixed work and studies. If you graduate abroad you have completely missed this part, which for a Swiss employer is very important. Candidates younger than you and without degree will easily have an advantage in terms of practical experience and reference letters.
An example (not from engineering): a guy did the bachelor's degree in his home country and the master's degree in Switzerland. He had troubles finding a junior position because of this, almost every other candidate was more "into the system" than him and he was explicitly told that during a rejection. He changed field.
So, as young graduate you have a disadvantage, your best shot is to pile up some work experience elsewhere and then apply here for a (possibly specialized) position where your skills can make the difference.
I have the impression that the most of us don't really make big money. We earn more than abroad, but cost of living is also higher.
What it matters for me is the general balance: regardless of the absolute number on the paycheck, the quality of life that's affordable here is high in terms of services, leisures, environment, safety. Culture plays a strong role.
There are other western countries I would not go to for twice the salary.
Sorry to pour cold water over you, but you have very little to offer and as we all know, Swiss salaries are fairly high compared to the rest of Europe but in order to have access you really need to bring something to the table that is interesting to your future employer.
Very little chance of finding a remote position, you need to be here with a permit or an acceptable EU passport.
Think minimum 3-6 months to find and secure a job.
To maximise your chances, find a job where you are based now, get some experience and then you will have at least something to enhance your chances here.
I think cost of living is only a real balancer if you have children. Otherwise, the higher professional salaries here when combined with the reduced tax lead to far more disposable income than most countries. For singles and unmarried couples who are professionals its about as good as it gets without living in some Arab nations desert hellhole.
I certainly did not come here for the money, which was roughly the same or slightly less than in the US, but because I liked the place, the job, and the cheaper cost of living (USD1 = CHF 2.3 at the time), paid off my student loads years early!
It may be a long shot, but companies have programs for your situation: just recently graduated from masters and no work experience. They call it young talent program or something like that.
I know close to nothing about robots, but I've seen big buildings of ABB, kuka and Rockwell Automation around here. Big employers like that have young talent programs, just try. Don't worry too much about German knowledge, if it's really a must for the job, probably the job sucks.
I ́d rather say that the less specialized the job is, a local language will be more important. In my experience starter jobs very often do require knowledge of the local language.
And not all jobs that require German (local language) suck.
Exactly, at the lower end of the employment ladder the common language spoken would be the local language as their are many people all speaking different languages. The higher up you go, the more English will be acceptable as the language of communication.
By not speaking the local language, you really do miss put on a lot of information though at the coffee machine
Hello gumgum, it's worth applying to large international companies however as others have said, in the current climate it will be difficult.
My advice would be to look for an internship which are generally low paid, last around 12 months, however would give you a foot in the door. This path is more likely to lead to a full time position.
I'd like to move to Switzerland to try something new (move out of my own country) and be self sustainable. I think the country is beautiful, organized and the money I can save up would be good for wherever I go after that.
Why don ́t you try and get some experience where you are now or in another country where it might be easier to find a job? That will improve your chances as you are now competing with people who:
Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I'm not looking to stay in my own country and work remotely for a Swiss company.
I would like to move to Switzerland and work there, but as I understand it's advised to get a job offer BEFORE moving there so you can get the B permit when you arrive. That means I'd like to remotely apply for a job (so that I don't have to travel there) and hopefully line up a job before even going there. What are my chances in this?
In the event that's not possible, what are my chances of getting a job once I arrive in Switzerland (interviewing in person) seeing that I have 3+3 months time to get a full time job?
First off, I appreciate the honesty and candidness. Sugar coating isn't really beneficial.
I didn't make myself clear. I'm not looking to work remotely. I'm looking to remotely apply to jobs so I (hopefully) have a job lined up before I arrive there. I didn't word this clear enough in the original post.
In the case I don't succeed in finding a job before I arrive, I have no problem going to Switzerland with my EU passport and applying there directly / in person. I was also asking what the job market there was like since I only have 3+3 months to find employment in order to get the B permit.