Engineering abroad Expand your career and culture by working in another country. You’re an engineering guru looking to break out into the world of engineering— literally. Your skills and youthful curiosity are eyeing a gig on the other side of the globe. Is this an impassable opportunity to not only bring your knowledge abroad, but also to be immersed in a new cultural experience?
To move or not to move? John Francis, managing partner of Canadian recruitment company Theonera, agrees with the latter. “If a young individual is going to be working overseas, now’s a great time to do it because, for the most part, you’re free to do it—you’re not married, you don’t have kids,” he says. Francis has worked with international companies looking to recruit engineers in Canada to bring abroad. “Any engineer that has gone overseas to the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Central or South America, and anyone who’s gone and done some preliminary work—not just on the position with the company, but the environment and the country—has loved it.”
Knowledge exchange There are also companies like US-based JTF Automation that provide engineering and technology services to its international clients. By doing this, they’re able to offer their engineering expertise to a number of companies abroad, exchange ideas, and ultimately become more educated in their field on an international level. “With so much opportunity outside your own country, thinking outside the box is thinking too small,” says James Ficarra, senior project manager and engineering manager at JTF Automation. “I believe
this is why more and more businesses are seeking help from international sources such as us.” For Ficarra, he believes “a good engineer thinks like a good engineer” despite their location on the map. “Fortunately, the engineering principles that a good idea is comprised of are universal and logical in any language,” he says. “So despite geographical, cultural, and even language differences, I have found that good engineering is good engineering, no matter where you are in the world.”
Making more abroad The demand for specialized skills is often sought after in any industry and, in turn, can result in a better income. Francis poses this example: “Let’s say you’re a piping engineer with some type of corrosion expertise; you will be paid much more than just a piping engineer because you’ve got that extra skill.” Furthermore, he adds, “[if] you’ve got any specialties in any profession, you’re much more marketable and companies will pay for it.” If you don’t have a specialization (and as a new grad, you’ll likely need more work experience to gain expertise), you shouldn’t worry. If companies struggle with hiring internally, they often look to hire overseas, says Francis. “They know to entice the people overseas, they need to pay more.” If your travel senses still tingle at the thought of taking your engineering career abroad, Francis offers this advice: “Do your due diligence. It’s important that if someone is going to work overseas, it’s transferrable skills and you’re not doing something that you can’t market yourself successfully with down the road.”
JANUARY 2014 | JOBPOSTINGS.CA
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