Sapna

Afternoon all.

I'm a Brit potentially thinking of moving out to Slovenia for a year. I've been living in Shanghai working as a teacher and my girlfriend is returning home for a year to finish studying in Ljubljana, and I'm thinking of going with her. Realistically can anybody give me advice on how easy it will be to get work there? I say a year but it's an academic year, so more like 8-10 months. Then we will both go back to china, I don't have a degree, but I have experience teaching, working logistics and running a rental section of a business. I've also worked in travel for two years, and though I don't speak Slovenian fluently yet. I do speak French, and I'm putting a lot of effort into trying to learn it. Will probably be looking at moving over in august.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sir Harry le Fise Lake

Sapna,

One can't say no chance, but I suspect it will be v difficult. If your girlfriend is Slovene, she will know that the usual fall back - teaching English - is nothing like the option it is in many countries. I know some who have 'got along' that way, but it has not been at all easy for them. (In fact, they could not survive that way.)

And you have no degree - bits of paper (properly stamped) are worth so much more in Slovenia (and the region) than in the Anglo-Saxon world - so your lack will not help your cause.

Sorry to sound negative, you may be able to break the mould, please let this board know if you succeed - but a number of people have come on this board (or its predecessor, OurSlovenia) and this has been the answer most with experience have given. Slovenia has an unemployment problem, and if qualified locals can't get jobs, you are are likely to struggle.

HlFL

Sapna

Hi Harry

Thanks for the reply. I probably wasn't to clear with my initial post, I just wanted to mention the jobs I'd done as an idea, but I'm not fussy about the work I do. I didn't expect to teach English out in Slovenia certainly.

As it's just for a year I'd happily take any work skilled or unskilled. I wouldn't expect to teach English or work car rental, I was just making the point that I had experience in these sectors. I also have a minibus licence and though I need to renew it a forklift truck licence. Im happy working a driving job or in a warehouse, which in thought might be okay with limited language. Possibly also cafe or bar work in touristy areas. All I need is enough to pay my half of rent, as I'm actually doing a degree open university anyway so didn't want anything to taxing. I don't know if being midway through a degree would help or hinder.

Anyway thanks again for the reply, if you still think it's unlikely then I'll let you know how I get on as chances are I'll go over there anyway, I just thought after reading your reply that my original post didn't explain enough.

Sapna

Sir Harry le Fise Lake

Gospod!

No, I had not misread you at all. but from your answer, I suspect that secretly you don't really want a "realistic" assessment of your job prospects, ie you want to hear a positive answer. (understandable, of course - we all would in your circumstances.)

As for forklift truck driving - well, I have never done it - but I have worked in an industrial environment, and in such the overriding concern drilled into me was safety.

If I were the boss of a warehouse or such like, the LAST thing I'd want is a non-native speaker driving my forklifts, someone who might not understand garbled instructions or orders, and thereby potentially initiate an accident.

I'd say you stand more chance at picking up some casual English teaching than driving a fork lift!

But, I've been wrong before, and I will go there more than once again, I'm sure .......

I think something related to tourism might just work out. Never heard of it, mind. As I wrote before, there are thousands of Slovenes (eg students) well educated, who know the linguistic and cultural ropes, ready to jump for eg bar jobs.

Think about it - you own a pub or restaraurant - you have one vacancy, and you have five applicants: two attractive young 20 year old slovene female students, two strong 20 year old male students, who all speak decent English - and maybe German, or Italian, or Hungarian.

And then there is you, a foreigner, who can barely mutter a few words in Slovene, but has the unique advantage of ........ er, what?

What you need is to be in the right place, at the right time - and to find someone who simply takes pity on you - has the 'OK, I'll give this fellah a chance and see how it works out' attitude.

Believe me, I'm interested if it does, because I've so rarely heard of examples in Slovenia.

Well, ok, I'll be brutally honest - not rarely - nikoli - NEVER!

(this is not to say I've not heard of foreigners working out a niche business for themselves in Slovenia - I do know of such examples. But they were planning to stop long term, so look at the opportunities totally differently - you are not talking about that.)

sorry - but you did ask for a "realistic" answer.

HlFL

Sapna

Okay fair enough, and you were right obviously I was hoping for a more positive answer. I don't know too much about Slovenia. Despite having a Slovenian girlfriend, but we've been living together in china, so I've only been once for a holiday 7 years ago. So it's good to know what to expect even if it isn't much.
I've got enough saved to live there for a couple of months at least and luckily if it doesn't work out there's a job in the uk I can jump back into anyway, so I guess I'll give it two months, try and get as much of the language as I can till then and if it's really not working I can just go back.

Either way I'll let you know.

M AND G

Old Harry is right . You need some good luck but the secret to selling yourself, selling anything in fact is a numbers game.
Ask one girl out during the week and you are likely to have no date on Saturday.
Ask 2 out each day and the chances are you will have a date on Saturday night!
The same in getting a job, think you are being positive trying for a couple a day and you will probably not get anything. You can even ask people who said no the first time as they might have been let down and need someone.
I have been doing this in my marketing career for what seems like centuries but it was my father who told me this simple truth..... And he went out with lots of women as a young man!!
Good luck, great country, great people but difficult economic times.
Ask nicely and Harry might put a word in the British Consuls ear.....he has friends in both high and low places!
Let us know how you get on and post about life in Sloland.
Kindest regards, Michael

booboo24

Their is quite a lot foreigners working in Slovenia. Like M&G said its getting yourself out there and not giving up, I would imagine that that is the case in most EU countries.
The fact that your girlfriend is Slovene will help a lot.
Good luck with it all and do keep us posted.

Sapna

Thanks for the replies. I've not yet found work but things are looking okay. I have two interviews set up in Slovenia. Both in tourism. Back in England now, but will be heading to Ljubljana shortly.

Sir Harry le Fise Lake

Sooooooo, Sapna, ..... what's been happening then?

Have you

a) got both jobs, and are so busy working that you've forgottne us?

b) Got neither, but are still hoping?

c) other (broken up with punco? Gorn back to China? )

H lFL

Pepperlacy

yes too are interested. Bye bye. By the way are looking for a swap. Some where for my large family. Two small business people who hope to work here one day.