The Risks and Rewards Of Working Overseas

CVs part of recruitment for international jobs. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Being the face that stands out from the crowd is not an enviable role for the average person. It is this fear of standing out in the open, exposed to danger, that keeps people from making a move that might have some high risks in the short term but big rewards in the long term.

This fear of being exposed is a limiting factor when it comes to students finding/pursuing internships, either here or abroad. It can be a graduate’s first full time job in their field of choice or it can be the feeling in the heart of someone who has decided to live the American dream, even though their own family is thousands of miles away and halfway around the world.

Not blending in is a feeling that will eventually go away once the person has decided to take the risk and finds out the risk wasn’t all that large after all. There are still problems that can arise in the real world and the biggest problem of all is a lack of money. Sometimes the lack of money applies directly to you and sometimes there’s someone else who is counting on you.

The Financial Dangers of Internships

Internships are usually something where you understand you aren’t going to be making a ton of money right up front. The problem is the positions are usually ones that require all your time and attention so you aren’t really in a position where you can get another better paying job and work on the side.

If you are going overseas you need to pay special attention to how your money is going to translate and how your money will spend. You don’t won’t to head over to a foreign country thinking you’re swimming in money, only to spend your last dime (or euro) in the first week.

Adjusting to Jobs in Foreign Countries

Just because you have a good paying job doesn’t mean you don’t need to worry quite a bit about budgeting your money. Plenty of people simply don’t understand how price tags translate from one country to another. This leads to overspending on items they would never buy here in the states.

Workers who are used to the dollar can go from having a bulging wallet to an empty bank account rather quickly. It pays to have someone they can count on to help with the transition if financial problems rear their ugly heads.

Working Abroad … in America

There are still plenty of people who are still trying to live the American dream by moving from a faraway land to the US, leaving their family behind in the process. Sometimes the financial burden is felt as a sort of vice versa, with the family left behind being the ones who are seeing money problems. In this situation in particular, and in all the situations in general, something like an ach transfer can be the light at the end of the tunnel. Getting money as quickly as possible will solve the immediate problem and allow people to adjust to other issues in a more timely fashion.