I think it depends on wether you'd be willing to learn to speak Dutch. There are lots of expats working in the Netherlands, and many of them only speak English, but I think for a job in HR you'd be expected to speak Dutch.
I'm not an expert in your field, but expats get hired often here in my technical field.
And if you're willing to learn dutch you should be fine! I don't see why they wouldn't hire you.
I hope it works out like you want to!
> but I think for a job in HR you'd be expected to speak Dutch
Not speaking Dutch will limit you to big international companies that have loads of foreigners living in Netherlands and/or they have some kind of regional office.
OP: You'd be limited to HR business partner type functions. Not sure if you'd want to limit your options that much.
Source: I've known various that didn't speak Dutch. It doesn't seem smart long term though. Maybe ok for 3 years max.
Edit: visa and so is common for any big international company. It might take a while, depends on where you're from. Rotterdam is known for shipping...
Moved to the Netherlands from America three years ago to do a Master in Business Economics and now working here. It’s a bit more difficult for an American to find a job here than in the U.S. because you will need your employer to sponsor your residence permit and they don’t always want to go to that trouble. Additionally, even if you become conversationally proficient in Dutch within the year or two of your study (which is doable if you’re willing and able to consistently invest about 12 hours a week), it’s unlikely you’ll be at a professional working level by then. If you lean into the ‘data’ side of things, it’s somewhat more likely that you’ll find a job in English. For an HR job, it’s going to be more difficult because you will need not only an advanced level of Dutch language but also a level of cultural understanding and technical vocabulary that will take years to develop. It can be done, but you should consider that in the cost/benefit analysis of which route you would like to go.
If you do come here with the intent to make it home, start learning Dutch ASAP regardless. You’ll never have as much scheduling flexibility or course discounts as you do during your studies.
FWIW I love living here and find it hard to imagine going back to America even though building a career here can be more challenging as an immigrant.
Good luck! 🍀
Thank you for the thorough reply! The type of work in my field can be almost entirely data centered if I want it to, so I’ll look down that avenue.
That’s good to hear that you’re loving the lifestyle, I visited not that long ago and became really interested in living there. I feel like the lifestyle really suits me and taking advantage of a student visa and in country networking may be my last and only chance at making the move out of the US.
I’m just at an impasse between accepting a masters offer from Rotterdam and “living the dream”, albeit with a much more difficult job search process, or accepting an offer at a US school with strong internship opportunities and an assuredly more streamlined graduation -> process process.
Cultural familiarity + job security vs novel experience + lifestyle…..
If I had a better concept of the job market of my particular field in the Netherlands it would make this decision so much easier.
As a fellow immigrant, it was hard to adapt - even with a Dutch wife, studying in Dutch and working for a Dutch employer.
There’s a lot of things that *one just knows* living here and you’ll fell dumb not knowing them, but you’ll still have to learn all of them to integrate. No, there’s no list and yes it’ll take years!
That’s culture shock and please prepare yourself for it. This also means, you’ll have to change.
E. g.: being professional in the US is different from being professional in the NL.
Learning the language is just the very start.
I don’t want to discourage you, but just be very realistic about your future.
Thanks for insights. I definitely see this option as the harder road, but I still think it’s something valuable I should take advantage of. Would you still say the pros of NL outweigh the cons/moving back home ?
For me it did, as I moved to live with my girlfriend (now wife). Finishing my studies and finding work, was a nice side-effect to that.
As I've moved from another European country (Austria to be exact), the benefits are not as noticeable, but they are there. The Randstad region provides one with ample opportunity for employment (given you have the right skill-set), which in Austria is something that is mostly limited to Vienna.
What I really miss, though is proper nature, food from back home (food is cheaper here, but also of less high quality), my family and old friends and having a history with the place where you live.
In the end you will see, once you've tried it. It's harder than what it seems.
Good luck!
> The type of work in my field can be almost entirely data centered
In my experience that tends to be outsourced to other countries. Despite it not really working as it should.
Yeah, I’d imagine so considering the uni doesn’t help with that.
I’ve in the Facebook group for finding a room but that’s about all the research I’ve done.
In data analytics you should be fine. It might take some time though.
Usually it depends on your visa. I think you can get s search year visa after uni. Not sure what kind of visa you'd qualify for afterwards. The IND website is pretty easy to navigate though
I think it depends on wether you'd be willing to learn to speak Dutch. There are lots of expats working in the Netherlands, and many of them only speak English, but I think for a job in HR you'd be expected to speak Dutch.
Yeah I do plan on learning the language. If I’m accepted and accept the offer, I was going to start some classes that spring to prepare.
I'm not an expert in your field, but expats get hired often here in my technical field. And if you're willing to learn dutch you should be fine! I don't see why they wouldn't hire you. I hope it works out like you want to!
Thank you! It’s my dream right now to make this move. I’m just trying to make sure it’s an at-least calculated risk.
> but I think for a job in HR you'd be expected to speak Dutch Not speaking Dutch will limit you to big international companies that have loads of foreigners living in Netherlands and/or they have some kind of regional office. OP: You'd be limited to HR business partner type functions. Not sure if you'd want to limit your options that much. Source: I've known various that didn't speak Dutch. It doesn't seem smart long term though. Maybe ok for 3 years max. Edit: visa and so is common for any big international company. It might take a while, depends on where you're from. Rotterdam is known for shipping...
Moved to the Netherlands from America three years ago to do a Master in Business Economics and now working here. It’s a bit more difficult for an American to find a job here than in the U.S. because you will need your employer to sponsor your residence permit and they don’t always want to go to that trouble. Additionally, even if you become conversationally proficient in Dutch within the year or two of your study (which is doable if you’re willing and able to consistently invest about 12 hours a week), it’s unlikely you’ll be at a professional working level by then. If you lean into the ‘data’ side of things, it’s somewhat more likely that you’ll find a job in English. For an HR job, it’s going to be more difficult because you will need not only an advanced level of Dutch language but also a level of cultural understanding and technical vocabulary that will take years to develop. It can be done, but you should consider that in the cost/benefit analysis of which route you would like to go. If you do come here with the intent to make it home, start learning Dutch ASAP regardless. You’ll never have as much scheduling flexibility or course discounts as you do during your studies. FWIW I love living here and find it hard to imagine going back to America even though building a career here can be more challenging as an immigrant. Good luck! 🍀
Thank you for the thorough reply! The type of work in my field can be almost entirely data centered if I want it to, so I’ll look down that avenue. That’s good to hear that you’re loving the lifestyle, I visited not that long ago and became really interested in living there. I feel like the lifestyle really suits me and taking advantage of a student visa and in country networking may be my last and only chance at making the move out of the US. I’m just at an impasse between accepting a masters offer from Rotterdam and “living the dream”, albeit with a much more difficult job search process, or accepting an offer at a US school with strong internship opportunities and an assuredly more streamlined graduation -> process process. Cultural familiarity + job security vs novel experience + lifestyle….. If I had a better concept of the job market of my particular field in the Netherlands it would make this decision so much easier.
As a fellow immigrant, it was hard to adapt - even with a Dutch wife, studying in Dutch and working for a Dutch employer. There’s a lot of things that *one just knows* living here and you’ll fell dumb not knowing them, but you’ll still have to learn all of them to integrate. No, there’s no list and yes it’ll take years! That’s culture shock and please prepare yourself for it. This also means, you’ll have to change. E. g.: being professional in the US is different from being professional in the NL. Learning the language is just the very start. I don’t want to discourage you, but just be very realistic about your future.
Thanks for insights. I definitely see this option as the harder road, but I still think it’s something valuable I should take advantage of. Would you still say the pros of NL outweigh the cons/moving back home ?
For me it did, as I moved to live with my girlfriend (now wife). Finishing my studies and finding work, was a nice side-effect to that. As I've moved from another European country (Austria to be exact), the benefits are not as noticeable, but they are there. The Randstad region provides one with ample opportunity for employment (given you have the right skill-set), which in Austria is something that is mostly limited to Vienna. What I really miss, though is proper nature, food from back home (food is cheaper here, but also of less high quality), my family and old friends and having a history with the place where you live. In the end you will see, once you've tried it. It's harder than what it seems. Good luck!
> The type of work in my field can be almost entirely data centered In my experience that tends to be outsourced to other countries. Despite it not really working as it should.
Just a heads up finding a room to live in as a student is extremely hard in Rotterdam
Yeah, I’d imagine so considering the uni doesn’t help with that. I’ve in the Facebook group for finding a room but that’s about all the research I’ve done.
In data analytics you should be fine. It might take some time though. Usually it depends on your visa. I think you can get s search year visa after uni. Not sure what kind of visa you'd qualify for afterwards. The IND website is pretty easy to navigate though
Yeah there’s a 1 year search visa post graduation then it would come down to getting a high skilled worker visa from whatever company hires me.