Going Abroad: Why Go Global?

The Top 5 Reasons to Work Abroad
by Allan Hoffman

Monster Tech Jobs Expert

Some say it helped them sort through career goals, others emphasize the way living in France, Israel, Thailand or just about anywhere outside of Canada offered a fresh perspective on their own culture. If you're thinking about working abroad, now is the time to consider this basic question: What's your motive for going? Here are five of the top reasons cited for choosing international work:

1. Adventure

If you speak to people who have worked abroad, you are likely to be wowed by their stories. While teaching English in Japan, Jeffrey Adams did everything from eating a bowl of "dancing fish" -- live, eel-like things -- to presiding over a Japanese wedding. Dan Robinson, who was covering Sudan for radio, found himself running down the street in an attempt to escape tear gas during the overthrow of the government.

Even the small things, like navigating the trains and food shopping, take on a sense of adventure when you're living someplace completely unfamiliar. For Deanna Van Buren, who is working as an architect intern in London, travel and adventure topped her list of reasons for deciding to work abroad. "Living in England provides you with a great platform from which you can visit other countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa," she says.

2. Global Perspective

Even if you move to another country for the adventure, you're likely to come away with much more than amusing anecdotes. "It helps you understand yourself better and enables you to relate and adapt to other cultures with an open mind," Van Buren says.

When you work abroad, you deal with differences every day, from the way corporate meetings are conducted to how people socialize. To gain a more global perspective, it helps if you're not surrounded by other expatriates from Canada. "You get to see Canada through the eyes of another culture," says David Ray, who worked as a farmhand in France.

3. Career Growth

When Eddie Brown got out of graduate school for international relations, he considered a job in Canada. Instead, he chose to work for a nonprofit in war-torn Sierra Leone, overseeing a multimillion-dollar budget and the distribution of thousands of tons of food.

"For me, this job is something I could never get in the US with the level of responsibility I have," says Brown.

Not every job offers that level of accountability, but working abroad is one way to step outside the typical career paths available in this country. In the corporate world, in particular, where business is often carried out on a global scale, international experience is valued as proof of one's ability to handle challenging assignments and work with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds.

4. Self-Understanding

Let's face it: The decision to work abroad carries some risks. After all, you're leaving much of what you know behind. What's more, you may be stepping outside of a clearly defined career path.

But those steps, while risky, often carry immense rewards, especially when it comes to gaining new insight on your life and what's important to you. "Once you do it, it makes you realize there's a lot you can do that you didn't think you could," says Kristen Bergevin, who worked in London and Scotland for six months.

5. Foreign-Language Skills

If you've taken a year or two of a foreign language in university, a job abroad is one way to put your knowledge into practice.

Of course, not all international jobs provide the same chance to gain new language skills; in many Asian countries, for instance, you will not be expected to learn the language. But for many people who work abroad, the experience provides an opportunity to become fluent.

Consider Jaime Untz, who served ice cream for one summer at a sidewalk cafe in Germany. On the way to her first day on the job, she kept thinking about the words and phrases she would need to use. "I remember thinking constantly about what the next thing I would be asked to say, so I could find the words," she recalls. Serving ice cream to German tourists solved that dilemma. After three months, Untz gained a fluency she would otherwise never have had.