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> Working abroad has some appeal for me: new experiences, perfecting my
> English, perhaps even making a bit more money than now.
Depending where you go, it may be OK to make a lot less. I'm currently
teaching English in China and am quite well off here on a wage that I
couldn't live on back home. When everything is cheaper and the
employer provides housing, you don't need a lot of money.
> Has anyone on this list experience with working in these countries
> and looking for work?
I lived in Saudi Arabia, which was a very difficult place for a foreigner
to live, even when I was there. It might be worse now, with the risk
of violence against foreigners.
Alcohol is illegal, women cannot have drivers' licenses, etc. My
ex-wife hated Saudi when we were there, has since moved to
Dubai, which she says is much better.
> Or other suggestions where to look for work?
The best overseas jobs are the ones where you get hired in your
own country (or some other Western country) to work overseas.
Those typically give you a salary comparable to what you would
make at home, plus extra benefits like housing, airfare, etc.
There are some big German construction companies doing a lot
of work in the Middle East. Could you be of use to them?
In China, Volkswagen is the largest car maker. Mercedes just
built a big new plant near Fuzhou. Seimens are here. Nokia are
huge and might hire other Europeans.
If I were you, I'd be looking at German business news sites,
trying to find out which companies have new projects, or
other operations, overseas.
Also check for German organisations with some sort of
overseas project. For example, here's a design school
in Hamburg with a Chinese project that I happen to
know about because it is at my university: http://www.design-factory.de/
No doubt there are others, and likely some with projects
in the Middle East.
There are websites that specilise in overseas jobs. The only
one I recall offhand is escapeartist.com It does not currently
work for me, but that may be because the Great Firewall of
China has blocked it for some reason. It might work for you.
There are several others; a web search should turn them up.
You might also check if your gov't has programs to send
people abroad to teach German. The British Council are
the biggest English-teaching organisation in the world. I
know the French have L'Alliance Francais doing something
similar. Not sure about Germany.
Finally, various gov'ts abroad have programs to bring in
foreigners for various jobs. Here's a link to Japan's: http://www.jetprogramme.org/
That program wants university graduates under 35. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs runs it, does interviews at
Japanese embassies. Most recruits are native English
speakers and are given jobs in high schools, usually
as assistants to a Japanese teacher. Conditions are
good, far better than the private language schools. I
do not know if they need Germans, perhaps for the
universities.
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