# Where do I start?



## DWE (Jan 8, 2010)

Hello all, I'm new to the site!

I'm 18 and I'm currently at university in the UK, was born and raised here. I love this country, but I want to experience other cultures and I adore the Italian language, the people and the food. 

When I finish my degree (biology), I'd love to go to live and work there. However, I realise that in 2/5 (depending on whether I choose to do a doctorate or not) years time, things may have changed with regards to applications/entry and work. 

That said, could anyone give me a brief overview of what I'd have to do in order to gain entry to Italy to live and work, where would the best place to live for a job in the biological sciences field be, and any other tips.

Any help is greatly appreciated,

Thanks!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

DWE said:


> Hello all, I'm new to the site!
> 
> I'm 18 and I'm currently at university in the UK, was born and raised here. I love this country, but I want to experience other cultures and I adore the Italian language, the people and the food.
> 
> ...


Welcome to the forum!
Unless certain politicians decide to pull UK out of EU (unlikely, thankfully!), as British citizen you have the right to live and work anywhere in EU (plus a few other countries) without any visa or permit. So your passport is all you need to go to Italy and look for work. 
But as it has been said a number of times before, having the _*right*_ to work doesn't mean it's easy to find a suitable job. Italy has a perennial problem of high youth unemployment, and many Italian graduates find it really tough to gain employment commensurate with their qualifications. It's been a feature of Italian society for most young people to stay at home (with their mum and dad) well into their 20s and even 30s, to save money and survive on poorly-paid jobs until they get their breakthrough and become financially independent. For you, the problem is compounded by the fact that your Italian is likely to be less fluent (language is something you really have to work hard on), and your qualifications are non-Italian. While there is such a thing as mutual recognition of qualifications, there can be all sorts of bureaucratic delays and complexities (being Italy) and employers on the whole prefer to appoint locals. 
So where does this all leave you? Try to spend some time in Italy, perhaps doing a part of your studies there, to polish your language skills and become familiar with Italian ways, as well as to improve your CV to potential Italian employers. Maybe the simplest is to work for some time with a UK employer with a presence in Italy and hope for a transfer, or gain employment with an Italian firm established in UK. Or working for international organisations, diplomatic service may be another. It will be really tough I think just to go over there and compete on equal terms on the job market. You need to go out there, with enough savings to last at least 6 months to a year, and network hard among contacts and scour expat publications, websites etc. Or perhaps a career in academia may be possible, though you need to be internationally renowned, with solid research and publication record usually at post-doctorate levels, to be considered for a job.


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## DWE (Jan 8, 2010)

Thank you for that informative post! I really appreciate it.

I'll continue to work on my Italian throughout the duration of my degree (it's not great at the moment), and I'll talk to my personal tutor who has a lot of connections and really helps undergrads and postgrads find work in lots of roles and places.

Cheers!


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## DWE (Jan 8, 2010)

Where are the hubs of technological and biological jobs in Italy? I assume the north but specifically, whereabouts? Thanks again.


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## DWE (Jan 8, 2010)

Anyone?


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