How do I find work opportunities abroad?

Hello again, Danny: thanks for the feedback! Any time you get advice from someone it's always excellent to give feedback and thanks because that's why we do this work . . . to help out. So, definitely, please reach out to the alums from your college and take advantage of your career center staff. They, too, like feedback and repeat visits. It makes them feel good about the work they do. Linked-in is a great way to connect with alumni and your career center may have even set up a special group for your school and/or they may have an alumni directory that is searchable by career field. At any rate, networking is a very good skill to add to your job hunting skill set. Best of luck!

Hi, Danny: probably the easiest way to go abroad is through your school's study-abroad program, but I'm guessing you already have considered this. Another thing to consider is to look at non-profit organizations who take volunteers/interns to help with their missions. This may not be exactly related to a career in Finance, but it would definitely give you insight to international economics. I suggest you visit the website Idealist.org which is a wonderful resource for students interested in international issues. I'm also assuming that you have tapped into your school's alumni database, especially looking for alumni who live and work abroad. They will have the most relevant advice since they have come from a similar background. I might also suggest you attend some of the public programs offered at Harvard's Kennedy School in Cambridge. Their faculty and many, many of their visitor and speakers are economists who are interested in international relations. Take a look at this page as an example of the kinds of programs at HKS: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers-programs/by-topic. If you DO attend an event there, be brave and talk to those attending or to the speakers themselves. You might find some great contacts/info. I hope this gives you some new ideas. Also, did I suggest you should be studying a foreign language? That goes without saying if you're interested in international affairs. I'm open to questions if you want to follow up.

Hi Danny,

Great question! Some resources to consider are school study-abroad programs, NGOs and specific companies within your field that operate overseas. Another great source is International Organizational Careers at http://iocareers.state.gov/Main/Home.

Have you considered jobs working in the federal government? There are several government agencies that offer worldwide employment. Of particular note and two that I have personal experience with are U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and U.S. Department of State. If you are interested in foreign aid and development work, then USAID would be the better option as they are primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. If you are more interested in foreign policy, public diplomacy, and economics, then the State Department would be the better option.

The State Department has several internship and exchange programs for both high school and college student to allow them to experience first-hand U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy at work and explore various careers. Both State Department and USAID have a wealth of information on their websites regarding careers. I would highly encourage you to visit both of them and check out the various programs, jobs and benefits of each one. The Statement Department will probably offer more opportunities for travel as they operate 294 diplomatic missions across the world and USAID has missions in over 100 countries. Both also offer jobs in the business functions as well (i.e. management, human resources, finance, etc.).

You can always teach English in China or Korea, they have zero requirements in most cases (college degrees help). Or if you don't mind not making money you can volunteer, Peace Corps, PlaygroundIdeas.org etc. Contact the professor at your university that is responsible for internships etc. Try checking into Study Abroad programs as well. Mine had a couple that were mostly free, there are also plenty where you pay your tuition and everything as if you were in your home state but you're actually overseas, you just pay for flight and housing.