Women in Red: Getting paid to live abroad... in this economy? I say yes!

Kate Ashford  |  04:04 AM, Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Maybe you’ve pictured it: Sipping espresso while typing on your laptop at a café table in Paris? Or, perhaps, working from a quirky little office in Buenos Aires? Having a meeting over sushi—in Kyoto? Kyoto certainly "sounds" more exotic than Kentucky. But alas, Kentucky (or likewise) is where you are: stuck toiling away in a little grey cube somewhere in the domestic U.S. of A.—and you’re wondering how you can make life a little more... sexy. Responsible! But sexy. How do people manage to land paid positions abroad? Do they know a guy who knows a guy?

Or maybe—and this isn’t so far-fetched—you’re not toiling away in a little grey cube. Maybe you’re one of the 14.8 million unemployed and you’ve been job-hunting for a while now. And lately, your friend who took a position in Abu Dhabi doesn’t seem so crazy after all. In fact, he seems pretty smart—not only because he escaped the U.S.’s dismal job market, but because the United Arab Emirates is one of the top countries in which expats mentioned “money prospects” as a key reason for moving there. (Others include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Russian Federation, and the Philippines, just so you know.)

More than a third of 18- to 29-year-olds are out of work or out of the workforce, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. And facing an economy going nowhere fast, overseas opportunities are more appealing than ever to recent college grads and 20- and 30-somethings. If you’re not tied to a mortgage or a family yet, jetting to Manila for a couple of years while America gets its feet back seems like less of a harebrained idea and more of a shrewd business move. Last year, the Peace Corps saw 18 percent more applicants than the year before, and Reach to Teach, which offers English-teaching jobs in Korea, Taiwan and China, got twice as many applicants as usual. What’s more, the number of people going overseas for internships has doubled since 2000.

And it’s a great time for it, if you have the urge. You’re probably not missing out on a whopping salary with benefits here, and if the Peace Corps looks a little wonky on your resume, so what? Your future boss will understand why you dabbled in some international work for a while, even if you were in the middle of an illustrious accounting career at the time. (Being further up on the food chain doesn’t protect you from layoffs.)

So how do you translate your desire to fly the U.S. coop into an actual job that pays actual dollars? (Or yen, or pesos?) One good resource: The BIG Guide to Living and Working Overseas. As it turns out, there are plenty of ways to get from Point A to Point Brazil if you’re determined and willing to take the right steps. Translation: It is possible to get someone to pay you to live in Prague. But it may not be possible to get someone to pay you a lot to live in Prague. Here are your basic options:

Teach English. Of all the methods of landing a paid position overseas, this one seems like one of the easiest, provided that you’re committed and flexible about where you want to go. You don’t have to have a teaching degree or experience teaching, although it certainly helps. And you don’t have to know the language in the area where you’re headed—you can pick that up once you’re there. If you only have a college degree, you may have more luck looking for a post in a developing country. (You’re probably not going to land a choice spot in Barcelona, for instance.) Contracts typically last two to three years, giving you an excellent chance to immerse yourself in the culture and become fluent in the language. At that point, you’re in an great spot to pursue other opportunities there, if you so choose. Danny Kofke, a teacher in Georgia, and his wife (also a teacher at the time) taught English in Poland for two years. “We wanted to have a chance to see other countries,” says Kofke, who is also the author of How To Survive (and perhaps thrive) On A Teacher's Salary. “We loved it. We were actually thinking about staying in Poland and starting a family, but I think our parents would have killed us.” There are numerous teacher placement agencies out there, including sites like FootprintsRecruiting.com and ESLCafe.com.

Join the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps isn’t just for recent college grads—although they may be more willing to live in a jungle hut than someone ditching the corporate world at age 40. “It’s not a luxurious lifestyle,” says Bill Nolting, assistant director for education abroad at the University of Michigan’s International Center. “It pays enough so that the volunteer lives at the level of the local people.” That means Senegal, not Spain—and in fact, while you can state a preference, the Peace Corps will probably place you where you’re needed most. Volunteers commit to a stint of 27 months, although there are vacation days (and full benefits). And the organization might provide a great stepping stone to an overseas job afterward. “Almost everyone who has an international career has a background in doing international volunteer work,” says Jean-Marc Hachey, author of The BIG Guide to Living and Working Overseas. “Those are great experiences.” Start at PeaceCorps.gov for more info.

Go back to school. (No, this isn’t a Rodney Dangerfield reference.) More to the point, if you’re still in school—finishing undergrad or getting a graduate degree—don’t leave without taking advantage of the free resources you’ve got at your fingertips. (That’s “free” if you don’t count the tuition checks you’re writing. But hey.) Many colleges have career placement or international offices (or both) that can help you find grants, scholarships, internships, and other opportunities abroad—and help you apply for them. It doesn’t get much better than that. For instance, check out the University of Michigan’s International Center, which offers helpful info even for non-students.

Do research on your own. If you do something in an arts- or science-type field, there may be fellowships or research grants that would pay for you to work elsewhere. Kelly Hayes-Raitt, for instance, a political advocate from California, has been traveling steadily for the past couple of years while she writes a book, living for free while housesitting or enjoying fellowships at writers’ colonies. One fellowship took her to Bialystok, Poland. “I find out about writing fellowships through online research, from a listserv I subscribe to, and by reading bios of other writers,” she says. She also rents out her house in Santa Monica to help cover expenses while she’s away. Make Google your friend.

Join a company with international offices. Seems like a no-brainer: Want to work in Hong Kong? Get a job with a firm that has an office there, and let it be known from the outset that you’re open to an overseas move. Some industries are better for this than others—consulting, for instance. “Consulting companies are the best people to move you around,” says George Eves, founder of ExpatInfoDesk.com. “They have offices everywhere and they have the client base.” In fact, I have two friends who wound up abroad—one in London, one in Amsterdam—because they work for big consulting outfits. Just be aware that you may have to work for a firm for a while before you’re valuable enough to send to an overseas office, and it may not be all it’s cracked up to be. For instance, you may be based in the London office—working on a project three hours outside the city. Or you may be based in a city that wasn’t your first choice. “But it can still be a good opportunity to see the world or travel in different ways, even if you aren’t in that big city you wanted to be in,” Eves says.

Try the government. Heard of the Foreign Service? Sure you have. U.S. Foreign Service officers work in more than 265 offices worldwide. Unfortunately, you can’t just volunteer—spots are extremely competitive. “You have to have all the international credentials that they’re looking for,” Hachey says. “Of the 1.6 million federal non-military civil servants, there are only 35,000 that work abroad.” But the Foreign Service isn’t your only option. My brother-in-law landed a position abroad through the Department of Defense Education Activity, teaching students with special needs in Japan on a small Marine base. He was later transferred to Germany, where he remains today with his wife and two children. Check out the State Department’s site at careers.state.gov.

Do your own thing. I’m a freelance writer. Frankly, if I didn’t mind the long distance calling fees and strange hours, I could do what I do from Copenhagan. Or Australia. Or pretty much anywhere with a phone line and a high speed Internet connection. (I draw the line at dial-up.) If you’re self-employed and provide a service that doesn’t require frequent in-person meetings (graphic design, say), you may be able to telecommute from Tel Aviv.

Get creative. I have an editor friend who convinced his company to let him work from France for a month. He swapped his Manhattan one-bedroom with a Parisian who was looking to stay in New York for a few weeks, and he explored the streets of Paris by day and worked remotely during normal East Coast business hours. It’s not a year in France, for sure, but it beats staring at the same four cube walls anytime. To switch up your own work life, check out strategies in The 4-Hour Workweek or on fourhourworkweek.com.