As the title says, I’m moving to Switzerland. Me and my girlfriend, both 25 and portuguese from Portugal, are ambitious to seek better conditions since we studied and feel like we’re not valued by the country. She’s a nurse and she got some very good job proposals to go to Switzerland (Fribourg and St Gallen) and we have family in St Gallen. She doesn’t speak german and has a normal level of french but the working entity who wants to hire her offers a french/german course for her. For me, I have a bachelors degree in Tourism Management and a masters degree in Business Management. I speak fluent english and a decent amount of french (which I want to master), I don’t speak german and to be honest I feel like this is going to be a problem for me seeking for a job in Switzerland. Currently, I work in a travel agency but I recently got my masters degree so I don’t have experience with Business Management. I’m looking to know if anyone has advice for me in looking for a job, how to approach this situation and some feedback from personal experiences. We’re both very motivated to start our life in such a beautiful and organized country such as Switzerland and I wanted to know if anyone here is willing to give me some advice or even some informations that I should know, especially when looking for a job because I know it’s not gonna be easy. My girlfriend has her situation very well organized and I’m looking for do so too but I know that being a nurse makes it easier to find a job in the current market. We’re willing to move to either Fribourg or french cantons or even St Gallen or german cantons. We have friends in one side and family on another. Also, I’m looking to work in my masters degree area but I’m willing to start with a job from my bachelors or a less qualified job. Of course ideally, I wanted to avoid non qualified jobs but like I said, I wanted to know what people have to say.
Thank you so much for your help and attention.
(Sorry if it’s the wrong topic session, I do apologize if that’s the case).
First I think you/she needs to decide where you want to live/work. Fribourg canton is bi-lingual so both German and French are spoken here. St. Gallen will be all German speaking which would be much harder for you both jobs-wise. While English is a nice “extra” to have all official documentation will be in one or both Swiss languages depending on where you decide to live/work.
Even Lausanne ↔ St. Gallen is just 3 1/2 hours by train.
In addition to learning German, there likely will also be a need to learn the local Dialect, particularly for a nurse. Don’t discount this as necessary for integration.
Well in terms of looking for a job, do you think my masters degree will help me? I would love to work in the Human Resources Management part, which was my favorite part of the course. Of course I’m willing to start with other jobs if it’s needed but I’m trying to avoid non qualified jobs such as construction or supermarkets. (Not trying to be rude or arrogant). Any advices on job hunting?
Again, thank you so much for the reply! we have decided that it will probably be Fribourg for us!
I have no earthly idea. My advise was entirely based on language and Fribourg as being conveniently located to reach the larger Berne and Lausanne job markets. St Gallen is a bit of a dead end.
That would depend on the company. French will certainly be needed. But if it’s a company with a lot of different nationalities working for them then English will be useful too because that may be the only common language most of them speak/write.
we have decided that it will probably be Fribourg for us! 