Looking for a job abroad.

[vjgone]

Hello DR1,

I’ve been checking this site for a while now, I finally decided to register. Quick question, do most of the members here live in Dominican Republic? Or are you guys located in the States? I feel a little rude already posting, I guess its one of the reasons I registered.

I linked my resume & cover letter at the bottom of this letter, I’ve removed my name and e-mail address, if interested you can PM me for my contact information. I’ve tried looking for a job located in DR with what some would say average income here in the States. I know DR pays grunt wages, yet I still believe that there has to be a company originally from the States / Europe or not but that pays. I’m looking into a salary of 22-28 maybe 30kUSD a year after taxes.

I’m 23 and have 6 years of work experience in a large corporation based in the States; I’m also a college graduate working on my paralegal certification. Graduated from Hofstra last year was looking into going to law school in January. After debating for a while I decided to put all of this to a stop. My grandfather was diagnosed with cancer, he’s really the only family I have and I’ve decided to spend the remainder of his life with him in DR.

Anyways, long story short; I’ve applied to a few jobs abroad. JetBlue (If anyone here works for JetBlue here is a link to their crew member recommendation site:

https://bcss.jetblue.com/irj/portal?...FORTUxMTk5Mjk3

I’ve also applied to A.C.S. Affiliated Computer Services; they were a little unprofessional over the phone, at least the DR office. Maybe there was a miscommunication but I booked a sit-down and confirmed. A week later I re-called just because I live in the States and the traveling expenses, magically someone (despite my interview) had filled the position internally.

So I guess if anybody knows of a job or someone / company that is hiring, please don’t hesitate to send me a PM for my contact information.

Thanks to all for your time.

PS: I'm also fluent in Spanish (speak, read and write).

Resume & Cover Letter
Cover Letter.doc
Resume.doc

[reese_in_va]

vjgone,
Welcome to the site.
I would have to say 1/2 live here and 1/2 are from "abroad", not just from the states.
But this may be a low number for the folks living here???
Personally, I think your salary expectations are grandiose, especially after paying taxes~
I am sorry to learn of your grandfathers health and I understand your wanting to be with him during this time. Since he is your "only" family that makes it even tougher.
I would have to tell you, and again this is only MY personal opinion, is that you go get yourself in law school.
Perhaps you can come and visit your grandfather for a while and then go back home, get your paralegal certification and then start studying for your future bar exam. This in the end can only further your career and salary expectations. Your still young, you have your whole life ahead of you, now is the time to make something of it, don't put off what you can do today, while your still healthy and have only just gotten out of Hofstra (your mind is still fresh).
Then, when you make your millions, come on down and set up camp!
Best of wishes and again welcome.

[vjgone]

reese_in_va,

Thank you for your reply. The pay doesn't have to be that exact amount, I think as long as I'm making 20k USD then I should be fine. I don't plan on really partying, having a great time, etc, I just need money for my basic needs. Food, electricity, and any other type of necessity I might need in DR. Living abroad wont be as permanent as I made it sound. Unfortunately, my grandfather has very little time left, 5 maybe 6, maximum 8 years left. I do plan, in the future to continue law, really its my passion. I've been looking into practicing law in DR, it's just an idea I've been playing with if things get prolonged. Of-course at the moment, I have no knowledge of how I'd start preparing for law school abroad, or what are the requirements needed to become a lawyer there. Ofcourse, I'm thinking way too ahead of myself, first I need a job which I guess is why I'm here.

Again thank you for you time,
vjgone

[SKing]

I wish you the best. It may be hard, but keep your spirits up and keep looking. I cannot give you any heads up about jobs because although I live in the DR, I work in the states. What part of DR is your grandfather in?
SHALENA

[mountainannie]

Originally Posted by vjgone

reese_in_va,

Thank you for your reply. The pay doesn't have to be that exact amount, I think as long as I'm making 20k USD then I should be fine. I don't plan on really partying, having a great time, etc, I just need money for my basic needs. Food, electricity, and any other type of necessity I might need in DR. Living abroad wont be as permanent as I made it sound. Unfortunately, my grandfather has very little time left, 5 maybe 6, maximum 8 years left. I do plan, in the future to continue law, really its my passion. I've been looking into practicing law in DR, it's just an idea I've been playing with if things get prolonged. Of-course at the moment, I have no knowledge of how I'd start preparing for law school abroad, or what are the requirements needed to become a lawyer there. Ofcourse, I'm thinking way too ahead of myself, first I need a job which I guess is why I'm here.

Again thank you for you time,
vjgone

I really applaud you for wanting to come down and look after your grandfather in his final years. That is the right thing to do and you will be rewarded.

If you are coming to SD, there are always opportunities open for teachers, even if you do not have education credits.

And there is always the Call Centers... pretty mind numbing and not that much money....

If you are basing your salary requirements on what you make in the States, you should perhaps redesign and lower the salary requirement to closer to $14,000

which might get you in some doors for a starting position.

[vjgone]

Thank you all for the responses,

SKing / Shalena, my grandfather lives in Santo Domingo, but I'll stay wherever I can land a good job. I don't mind commuting daily to see him or even if it's weekly, better than now which is every 6 months to a year.

mountainannie, this is why I was trying to land a job with an American / European based corporation / office in Dominican Republic. Just because I don't want to land a entry level position or if I do, then one that pays a bit higher than 14k. I'm not sure how well I'll do as an English teacher, especially competing with people that already do have certifications (like the user 'Pig') for starters.

I mean I really don't know what jobs pay much, I know self-starting businesses make good money. Unfortunately as a recent college grad, my investments are tremendously low. Starting my own business for now is out of the question. Anyways I figured that it can't be too hard to find a qualifying job, 2 languages, 6 years in both sales and accounting, and advanced computer knowledge. Anyways, I guess for now all I can do is keep my head up and keep looking.

Thank you all again for the heads up
vjgone.

[El Rey de Mangu]

Hi,

I understand and commiserate as well as sympathize with your your situation. I see that the advice above may be accurate and helpful, so let me try to put it in perspective:


The simple reality is that there are hundreds of thousands of really bright Dominican college grads fighting for only hundreds of job offerings. I am married to a native Dominican woman and have been living and working here since 2002 (blessed with very good Dominican business contacts). Unfortunately, a skill set such as accounting or sales is completely saturated and can be filled for 15-20K pesos/month by a highly qualified Dominican.

Your second issue is that you do not hold a Cedula or even perhaps a temporary residential permit. The only option for a Domincian company in this case is to hire you as an independent consultant. If you were lucky enough to land an opportunity such as that in this economy, the company would have to cut you a paycheck, then deduct the 16% ITBIS and an additional 10% on top of that (because you don't hold a Cedula).

Even the English teaching positions go to Domincian nationals (especially in the Capital) for the reason that there are so many multi-lingual college grads here.

Something that I have learned over the years: I come from 13 years of global business consulting from US to EU to Asia and now, DR. I think the biggest misconception of foreigners is that the Dominicans lack the skill, expertise and educational background. This couldn't be FURTHER from the truth. Just ask a good friend of mine who runs his family's company and is a graduate from the the #1 business school in the US.

The other posts are quite accurate. Your options are limited to 2 in my opinion as well: 1) Call center or 2) Fund your own venture.

If you are interested in either of the above, feel free to PM me.

Best of luck.

[mountainannie]

[QUOTE=Pig;793434]

Originally Posted by mountainannie

If you are coming to SD, there are always opportunities open for teachers, even if you do not have education credits.
QUOTE]

Be careful on that one. I am an qualified English teacher and without a hijack on this post it doesn't work like this. Jobs in this area are seriously hard to fight for!!
And the money is Shocking.
Hey, I'm gunna have to take one next year!!!!

Perhaps on the Coast the jobs are hard to find but here in the Capital a qualified bilingual teacher will certainly find work. I am not speaking of just teaching English, since that field is indeed full,but really running a full classroom. While the money may be low by international standards, it does provide a living wage. If you are really qualified teacher, with full certification, then there are indeed career opportunities But you must go where the schools are...

[Chirimoya]

A good private bilingual school in the capital and a few others around the country will pay around US$1,000 per month, sometimes more. The school day finishes at 2:30 allowing teachers to supplement this income with private tutoring.