Emzlovesdam

Hi everyone,
I am 21 and work as a database executive in Wiltshire.Me and my fiancé want to move to Amsterdam and have a family there. We are starting to learn Dutch and would like to move there in a couple years. I don’t think my line of work would be needed in Amsterdam and would take a while to find myself a job. I am keen to go into a different direction of work... [B]what sort of jobs are valued in Amsterdam??[B] I'm not on about bar work I mean something more long-term and something I can get higher on the career ladder. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks

gioppino

Define: database executive.

If you want to raise a family with kids I'd say probably Amsterdam is not the best place, plus you can reach the city from anywhere in Holland in less that two hours. You'll be better off somewhere in the countryside where life is cheaper and the pace of life is slower. Most Dutch employers pay travel expenses so it's not unusual for employees to commute from long distances.

Emzlovesdam

Hey!

Basically building and maintaining databases and having a wide knowledge of Excel, Access and many other computer programmes. Dealing with mailings and marketing data, a strong range of ICT ability and research for companies and clients.

Ok living outside of Amsterdam is an option for the future but I am not really thinking about children for a few years but that is still very useful to know thank you.

liveaboard

The Dutch seem to hire outsiders in for tech [computer stuff] and banking jobs; but I expect there will be far fewer bank jobs now.

I rent out premium properties, and most of my tenants have been in one of those two fields.

But also a lot of execs, and a couple of Lawyers [American, Australian, not Dutch].

Red_Wine_Fairy

You probably wouldn't get barwork, I'm afraid, as this is taken up by the bi/tri-lingual Dutch students. At 21, most dutch are still students (they get grants) and so you'd really need to be learning the serious database stuff like SAP, to be valued in IT. The main IT belt seems to be based around Amersfoort (central Netherlands), with some in Hoofddorp (near Schiphol airport), although the companies that use IT products are of course found in all cities - find the job first then worry about the rest!

There is nothing really the equivalent of Jobserve.com here for IT vacancies: I would recommend looking on Monsterboard.nl, nationalevacaturebank.nl, to see what comes up when you enter MS Access or Excel.

The salary here, even for support staff like exective assistants (PAs) is quite high, so don't worry. Your problems will only start if you move here without an employment contract . . .

gioppino

And they can keep their grants even if they work full time, so you can't really compete with them. If you look at the major papers most of the jobs are advertised as 'Studentjob" which I think in the UK would be banned.

liveaboard

Did anyone read the original post?
He said he's an IT exec and NOT interested in bar work or casual jobs!

Red_Wine_Fairy

He's an advanced user of a couple of MS applications, that will get him support roles, not IT roles: he's not a programmer, analyst, engineer, or even tech support. Even most IT tech support jobs here require 2 languages (fluent at technical conversation level), even if one isn't Dutch. Like the UK, the Netherlands has a large number of Indian IT university graduates taking up the roles that European graduatess simple shun, for some reason.

I was making a point that even if he did aim lower (like barwork), he'd struggle, and so the best way would be to aim UP and perhaps get some professional certification (MCP units, for example) to give the best career possibililties. Even better would be to aim for the serious business databases like SAP, Oracle, or even Microsoft MySQL (as very few multinationals, if any, use Access).

The Netherlands is a really expensive country to live in, and so maximising your income is vital. Prior planning prevents... you know the rest....