LewisMarty

I am a dual citizenship (USA & UK) student currently entering my 3rd year of studying BA Economics, at Swansea University.

Growing up, family vacations would always take place in the U.S as we would visit family on my father's side. I have always considered myself more of an American than a Welshman and I have always had the desire to move west and settle in the U.S as soon as I was old enough.

Upon the completion of my University studies I intend to move to the U.S, however I have so many decisions to make in order to make the move a successful one.

1- Location
I have family in St. Louis and Southern California. In an effort to ensure I am not dropped in an entirely foreign world I would like to be relatively close to them. I am well aware that California is not a cheap place to live and may prove to be expensive to move to however it may offer far more in the realm of employment, which will be a necessity to ensure my stay is a permanent one and not a holiday.

2- Employment
What kind of prospects are there for an Economics graduate in the US? I am incredibly open-minded/undecided on what I actually 'want to do' with my degree and would be willing to work any job that would pay my way in the U.S. However, I haven't got the faintest clue regarding where to start looking for employment.

I suppose what I am saying is; if anyone could provide any helpful advice, information, internet links and so on that could get the ball rolling I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Lewis

JAJ

As in the United Kingdom there may not be many openings specifically for economists. Once you have established a career direction, you should be prepared to do more specific education, possibly a Masters or state certification in a profession.

A few things you absolutely need to know as a U.S. citizen outside the country:

- Assuming you're male, you need to register with Selective Service. You should have registered at age 18, but if you haven't they will accept a late registration, up to your 26th birthday. Failure to register can have adverse effects on you, including ineligibility for certain jobs and Federal assistance. So if you haven't registered yet - do it now. http://www.sss.gov

- You should normally file U.S. federal tax returns, even if your income has been below the filing threshold.

- If you have more than $10k in bank accounts outside the U.S. you need to file a form TDF-90 (also known as FBAR) with the Treasury Department. If you haven't done that, don't panic - you can file the outstanding forms and it's not going to be an issue as long as you have not been evading U.S. tax.

- Do you have a Social Security Number? If not, you need to get one through the U.S. Embassy in London before you go to the U.S. to live

- If you were born in the U.S. then you need to understand that you're British "by descent" and what you will need to do to get British citizenship for any future children you have.

LewisMarty

I very much agree. My economics degree will hopefully be a solid foundation from which I can specialize into a desired industry.


Yes, I have had a SSN for the majority of my life. I was an 'Air Force Brat' and was given a SSN growing up on USAF bases.

I have never filed an American Tax Return. Would you suggest I do that prior to my move? Even 12 months in advance?


Thanks again,
Lewis

BTJ

For any year you met the earnings threshold you are required to have filed a return. I imagine as a student you would likely not meet this threshold. Have a look at Publication 54 (pdf link).

Bob

The IRS office in the London embassy is very helpful. Chances are you wouldn't have needed to file, but it's still worth filing 3 years late returns.

As for work, what exactly do you want to do? Might be more opps in CA, but then again with no experience, a smaller market might be easier to crack.

It's all about networking anyway, so get yourself on LinkedIn, join groups related to your uni and the type of jobs and associations you are interested in and build up a contact base.

Good luck!

nun

Whether or not you move to the US get up to date will all your US tax forms and filing requirements. Even if you have no earned income it's probably best to file a 1040 to make sure things are seamless when you do start earning. Also understand the issues of non-US pensions and investments for your US tax filing and how they might interact with your UK taxes. Make sure you have US health insurance covered before you move. If you move without a job or a place at a University you could easily find yourself with no medical insurance.


for jobs why not just check out

http://www.monster.com