Anyone with experience going abroad as a new graduate?

[kovalchuk71 212]

I will be graduating college in May of 2014 and I'm going to be honest, I have NO idea what I want to do with my life. It's something that really worries me, as I am someone that has never "lived in the moment" very well. I'm one that always contemplates about my future, and it is very frightening, especially with the lack of available jobs in the US currently. It seems almost everything requires 2-3 years of experience, which I obviously do not have. One of the things that I have read a lot about is traveling/securing a job and living abroad. This is something that has really peaked my interest. I'd love to live somewhere else, considering I have lived in the same state (including college) for the last 20 years of my life and have NEVER left North America. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it worth it? Has anyone lived as an "expat" in another country?

in a perfect world I would work for a company like Bauer or as a manager for a large hockey chain, but that doesn't seem possible or worth it.

[Harv 86]

You need some kind of visa to travel in another country and plan on staying there longer than a vacation.

Work visa is the way to go, but you need a job before you can get one.

[wrangler 157]

You don't have to make an immediate decision on a direction and stick to it the rest of your life. There isn't a rule that says you can do only one thing for the rest of your life. There isn't even a rule that says you have to make a decision. Often a big decision makes itself; an opportunity presents itself, and opens a path where succeeding opportunities just take you somewhere. A lot of people take a bit of time finding a career path job after school. And companies can never find enough good people.

The fact that you haven't decided on a career may mean that you can be happy doing any number of things; that's good. Don't you have a starting point with your major in school?

[Trooper 8]

Go for it. As wrangler said, you aren't making any decisions for the rest of your life. I have three degrees and made a career change at age 37. Part of my old job was travelling and I got to go to France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Japan on pretty long trips. I wouldn't trade it for the world. One thing to note though, it is nice to have someone who can show you around.

You can leverage any experience for your future. People aren't looking for one-dimensional employees anymore, the more you bring to the table the better.

Just my thoughts.

[thejackal 46]

Was in your shoes not too, too long ago. If I had to give you one suggestion, is to do something which you have ownership over. Find a few classmates who are entreprenarial, and maybe start something with them.

One of the most successful guys I know backpacked through vietnam and the rest of SE asia after graduating, and camr back with an idea to source custom made suits and menswear from over there. He started with a small shop in quebec city with his brother, and now has stores in 3 cities. A few pro athletes buy from there (one member of the Canadiens and an ATP player, as far as I know). Just an outstanding retail concept with good margins.

As for me, I quit the job at a large brewer I got out of school, worked with a couple of tech startups, traveled a bit to cover professional tennis, did some marketing and PR related work for a player I met while freelancing for other websites, and now work for an NHL team. What ended up working in my favor was a fair dose of luck, and perhaps a willingness to look beyond the next paycheck. It seemed reckless to most people I know at the time, but the less you have to lose, the more you can get ahead in a short period of time.

Random suggestion: having looked at your posts over thr years, maybe you'd be a goor fit to coach roller or ice hockey in hong kong or beijing. Just a thought.

[kovalchuk71 212]

You don't have to make an immediate decision on a direction and stick to it the rest of your life. There isn't a rule that says you can do only one thing for the rest of your life. There isn't even a rule that says you have to make a decision. Often a big decision makes itself; an opportunity presents itself, and opens a path where succeeding opportunities just take you somewhere. A lot of people take a bit of time finding a career path job after school. And companies can never find enough good people.

The fact that you haven't decided on a career may mean that you can be happy doing any number of things; that's good. Don't you have a starting point with your major in school?

I know it's not something that I have to stick to for the rest of my life, but I'd like to get a start SOMEWHERE. I will be graduationg with a BA in Psychology and a Minor in Business Administration. Reason being I had plenty of credits for Psychology after deciding not to do Nursing anymore. I wanted a Business Degree, but that would have taken at least another 3 years and I'm already in my 6th year, so I went with a minor.

Was in your shoes not too, too long ago. If I had to give you one suggestion, is to do something which you have ownership over. Find a few classmates who are entreprenarial, and maybe start something with them.

One of the most successful guys I know backpacked through vietnam and the rest of SE asia after graduating, and camr back with an idea to source custom made suits and menswear from over there. He started with a small shop in quebec city with his brother, and now has stores in 3 cities. A few pro athletes buy from there (one member of the Canadiens and an ATP player, as far as I know). Just an outstanding retail concept with good margins.

As for me, I quit the job at a large brewer I got out of school, worked with a couple of tech startups, traveled a bit to cover professional tennis, did some marketing and PR related work for a player I met while freelancing for other websites, and now work for an NHL team. What ended up working in my favor was a fair dose of luck, and perhaps a willingness to look beyond the next paycheck. It seemed reckless to most people I know at the time, but the less you have to lose, the more you can get ahead in a short period of time.

Random suggestion: having looked at your posts over thr years, maybe you'd be a goor fit to coach roller or ice hockey in hong kong or beijing. Just a thought.

Thats really cool. It's nice to hear success stories. Coaching abroad would be awesome, but I wouldn't know where to look and if I would be able to survive on that. Can't imagine the money would be too good.