Employment- Do Your Research Before Moving to Italy

[luciam]

Hello everyone. I am new to this forum and I read several posts on finding employment in Italy. I just want to give my 2 cents worth. I have been living in Italy for ten years and have had both good and bad experiences with regard to work. When I lived in Milan it took me only 3 months to find work. I have a MBA in Marketing. The work I found was not exactly what I wanted but it paid the bills and my MBA was appreciated. Then I moved to Arezzo and even though I worked for a large company the MBA was less appreciated. My salary was much lower but still higher than most people's. I was at least working in the marketing field. I fortunately was already an Italian citizen so had all my work papers in order. I ended up having to leave the company in Arezzo and then moved to Chiusi where I have been without work for many years. I just want to say that the work situation in Italy is very very precarious. The unemployment rate is extremely high and the employment contracts are very shaky. Salaries are low and taxes are high. I hate to be so negative but I want to be realistic. Please do your research before coming to Italy and best to have a job confirmed before selling all your things, house,etc in your home country. Be wise, prudent and patient! Best of luck.

[Steve Graham]

Aren't there places where you can be retrained with a useful trade that will benefit society?

[Noble]

From another post it seems luciam became a mother...will that do?

[pigro]

Originally Posted by Steve Graham

Aren't there places where you can be retrained with a useful trade that will benefit society?

Steve, I know the marketing stereotype you're lampooning, and there is some truth in it - but it's a shame to go for a cheap gag at the expense of someone who is long term unemployed despite good qualifications/experience, but nonetheless still trying to be helpful to others.

Thank you luciam - not an easy post to have written I'm sure, and hopefully will make some people stop and think.

ps - I'm not in marketing, nor do I have an MBA, just thought that the original post deserved better.

[Jinty]

Thank You Lucia,
As someone new to this forum - who intends to move to Italy I am very grateful for your posting.
Please don't let what appears to be either sarcasm or an attempt at humour put you off posting again. I also like your blog very much!

[juliancoll]

Lets give the benefit of the doubt here - perhaps Steve mistakenly hit the "laugh" icon instead of the "smile" icon. Lord knows I've done it enough times.

[Markcarter]

It is funny how touchy everyone is on this subject of finding fault with Italy. You can say what you like about your country of origin, but to say the same thing about Italy

I think this may need further research.

Mark

[Nardini]

Mark, it is a well-known fact that immigrants always are the greatest patriots when it comes to defending the honour of their adopted country. Unless they go back "home", of course. Then, they become their ex-adopted nations fiercest attacker.

[pigro]

Julian - TBH the icon chosen didn't even register with me - smile, laugh ... it makes no real difference. Apply the "would I make that comment to a strangers face" test, and the outcome is the same regardless of your expression when you say it.

Mark - I assume I'm one of the ones you feel is being "touchy". I'm not at all touchy about italy or finding fault with it. I'm not even an ex-pat. I'm touchy about a newbie here trying to post something of value to others, which required her to admit to her own difficult circumstances - only to be made the butt of a joke. I'd feel pretty p!ssed off if that happened to me, wouldn't you?

Steve strikes me as a pretty decent bloke in general based on his other posts & I'm sure the comment was meant as light relief only ... I just wanted to show a bit of solidarity with Lucia as, if the thread had been left to rest at steve's post, she'd have (rightly) felt pretty cr@ppy?

[Aretina]

Hi Luciam

Thank you for your post it brought a good deal of honest reflection to a recently heated site!
I am sorry Arezzo, where I live, was not able to support you but like many if not all places in Italy it is not always a question of 'what you know or what qualifications you have' more important is the 'who you know'.

A couple of years ago I taught the 'English' unit of a EU funded course run by the local Chamber of Commerce for people in Arezzo looking to do marketing. I was amazed at the number of people that were looking for work and they all reiterated the above 'its not what, but who'. The ages ranged from 19 to 50, around 20 people in all. Also for those looking to come to Italy to teach English, think very very carefully! It would be almost impossible to live on the salary this would bring. I was paid (with TEFL, 15 years ESOL experience, MA etc.) 11 euros an hour per contact time. Contact time with students only represents a half of the time on course when you count in preparation, research and marking. At first I was offered 8 euros!!
The school then relented and paid me as an experienced teacher!! After 20 years I thought I was!

My only experience of teaching here in Italy but I really enjoyed it, got to know some lovely people and practise my Italian! However, I felt after paying for car parking etc. I would not repeat the exercise.

Five years here now and with each year we are getting more and more support and affection from our neighbours and all the various services - garages, plumbers, etc. We could have done with more support at the beginning but that's Italy you have to live here and earn their respect! The same applies worldwide, my mother having lived in Suffolk for 60 years was still the london girl!!