Finding job opportunities is difficult for anybody, but for some of us, it is almost impossible to find the career we want in our home country. Whatever the reason, it is sometimes necessary to move abroad to work, or it might be that you need to study abroad before coming back to start your chosen career. Moving abroad is a big decision to make but if you are going to do it, there are a lot of things you need to consider before you do. Here is a checklist of important things to be aware of before moving abroad to work or study.

Is it the right decision?

Before you make any commitments, think long and hard about whether this is actually the right decision. It is a major life change to make, and it comes with a lot of risks. You might find that you don’t like the country that you move to, or that the job you have moved for is not what you expected it to be.

If this is the case it will be difficult for you to just leave and come back. So before you decide to move abroad, make sure you have done thorough research into your alternatives. If there is any way that you could get the same job, or study the same course in your home country, this might be a better choice.

Research

If you have decided that you definitely want to go, you need to do extensive research into the country you are moving to. Look at whether you will actually have the opportunities that you are moving over there for, you don’t want to arrive full of hope, only to find that you can’t start your chosen career over here either. It is also a good idea to take a holiday to the country beforehand, so you can experience living there for a while before you actually move.

You should also be thinking about all of the practical considerations, like how the laws over there differ from your home country, otherwise you might accidentally get yourself into trouble. Try to learn the language as best you can during your research phase so once you get over there you won’t struggle to get yourself established.

Money

Moving abroad is very expensive and you need to work out how you are going to pay for all of this. If you are going to another country to study, you could look into postgraduate scholarships that will help you with some of the funding. If you are going to work over there, you might have already secured a job. In that case you will just need the first few weeks money to get somewhere to live and keep you going until you get your first paycheck. If you have not secured a job yet, you will need to save up a good chunk of money. You need to be realistic about the fact that it could be a long time before you find a job so go with enough money to last you at least 3 months, if not more.

If you bear these things in mind, there is no reason why your move abroad won’t be successful.

This post has been contributed by Ryan Gatt, it may contain affiliate links.