Working overseas

Experience of living and working abroad can help foster long-term collaborations (and friendships). In some academic fields, working abroad is seen as an important factor for career progression.

Finding a research position overseas

• Networking: a common way to find positions overseas is through networking. Actively ask academics you meet if they have any upcoming vacancies or talk to overseas visitors in your department. Ask your supervisor about academics they could recommend.
• Funding: see the right hand bar for some starting points for funding schemes available to work abroad
• Advertised vacancies: check job websites, periodicals and learned societies' websites in your field for vacancies. Sign up to receive relevant newsletters. Also look at individual institutions' websites as advertising positions can be expensive and so may be limited. See the right hand bar for some starting points in finding vacancies.
• Short-term visits: short overseas visits are also worth considering. It is a good way to gain experience and develop networks. For example the Royal Society International Exchange scheme is intended to stimulate new collaborations between scientists in the UK and overseas.

Working overseas in non-academic jobs

Look at home-based companies with overseas offices as a starting point. Your institution might also have an overseas campus. Fluency in the local language may be more important for non-research roles although English is increasingly the working language in various professions internationally, particularly in academia and technical sectors.