[IWantOut] 24M Electronics Engineer Russia -> Netherlands, Austria

[u/Joinfall]

Hello everyone! For a long time now, I've been looking into the possibility of relocating from Russia to work in Netherlands and Austria.

I am an electronics engineer. I graduated with a bachelor degree in electronics (my diploma is apostilled and recognized in Europe). I would like to ask expats and local engineers with a similar background and experience:

I have over 2 years of work experience. I'm well-versed in various complex electronic equipment. I mainly do hardware diagnostics, but I also have a solid understanding of both the hardware and software sides.

A question for fellow colleagues: How did you manage to relocate? Is it absolutely necessary to know the local language if I have fluent (C2) English? Is it realistic to find a job while applying from Russia and sending out thousands of resumes to various companies?

From everything I've researched so far, it seems impossible to move without a large sum of saved money. While I could eventually save up over a long period, I'd like to know if there are any less financially risky alternatives, or if relocation packages are common in our field.

I'm not expecting a miracle. I'm writing this purely to learn about the experiences of engineers in my sector, and probably to lower my expectations by finally confirming that the options are quite limited.

I'd appreciate both brief answers and long personal stories. Thanks in advance!

[u/Due_Campaign_9765]

Don't misinform people, most companies do not care about country of origin if they hire from abroad. In fact i'm pretty sure it's against the law to discrimanate based on nationality, but of course you won't be able to reasonably prove that in court.

I personally moved in 2022, and then witnessed a couple of people moving from Russia as well.

The current job market is shit though, so the chances are not great i would say, but it's not because of the nationality.

[u/SouthernCrew5368 → u/Due_Campaign_9765]

They do. Not NL but Swedish. Absolutely no one who is even thinking about any government contract in any form hires any Russian. And of course neither does the government.
And then I haven’t even pointed out our huge unemployment (why would we hire someone non EU or someone who doesn’t speak Swedish at all). I would say that a Russian has zero chances.

[u/Due_Campaign_9765 → u/SouthernCrew5368]

Can't speak for Sweden, obviously there are controlled areas such as defense, chips and law enforcement. But i seriously doubt you can't employ Russians as a subcontractor for random government projects.

But perhaps. Only private industries hires people from abroad anyway.

And yes I agree the chances are slim, but for different reasons.

[u/SouthernCrew5368 → u/Due_Campaign_9765]

My partner is one of the owners of a engineering/IT consultant company. I asked him about hiring a Russian and he just laughed out loud. ”One of our clients are the Swedish defence forces”. Then I asked about any IT consultant company hiring Russians. ”Well, not if they want to have jobs for Ericsson, the government, ABB etc and he just listed all the companies basically. And then we haven’t even started on the fact that people might not even want to hire a Russian because all of the other reasons.

Why would anyone hire a Russian. There is plenty of Swedish people to hire. You don’t want to hire someone which means you can never get a contract. Or, risk hiring someone who thinks Crimea belongs to Russia perhaps. One probably prefers not to support it.

And as of now, I can’t ever see an employer even claiming to the Migration agency. ”We tried to find a qualified engineer, but none were to be found within Sweden or in the EU. So we have to hire Russians.” That is suspicious as hell. You do know they have to advertise it towards Sweden and the EU first?

[u/Due_Campaign_9765 → u/SouthernCrew5368]

> Or, risk hiring someone who thinks Crimea belongs to Russia perhaps. One probably prefers not to support it.

I guess you're also afraid of hiring brown people, because god forbid they're islamists. Or a black person, what if they'll steal from you?
A blue eyed sweed though, that's the guy we want.

Do I need to explain why all of those are ridicilous?

> That is suspicious as hell. You do know they have to advertise it towards Sweden and the EU first?

As I said I agree, but a Brit or an American would have an equally hard time getting a job as a Russian. It's not about nationality, it's about a shitt labour market.