Returning to South Africa: Job Opportunities

GreGorGy

GreGorGy

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Jan 18, 2005
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Agreed - the US is better for you. Especially Halloween when they know how to pumpkin.
 
A

Agent47

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May 13, 2013
Messages
304
news24 said:
Good Morning myBB,

I have been working abroad for the last 7.5 years, spending the last 2.5 yrs in Houston, Texas. I am employed in the upstream oilfield industry. I am on US L1a visa which is valid till Jun 2017, with an option to extend by additional two years.

US, have been very fun, however I am homesick, and am planning to return to SA as soon as next month. The biggest challenge is being employable in South Africa. The experience that I have gained over the last years cannot easily be utilized in SA unless offshore drilling and/or Fracking takes off in the country. By qualification I am a Geologist, but I hardly used Geology in the last 4 years of my career. I thought about transitioning into the mining Industry but the requirement for job posts is to have a extensive mining experience or BSc. Honors, I only have a Bachelor's degree.

I could opt to stay in USA, but that would just leave me miserable. I really want to return to South Africa. Any advice on what to do?

Thanks in advance.
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I am with you man....Was in Houston couple months last year and now in Ireland, want to be back in SA within the year.

To those with the amazing advice to stay there, you move there and see how soon you want to return. Culture shock is one of the biggest things making life miserable.

I know they started Fracking in Mpumalanga around 2 years ago, not idea what the status is currently, but they upgraded the roads and started building house and guest house in the Ermelo area like crazy. Maybe something to look into?
 
Nerfherder

Nerfherder

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Joined
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TEXTILE GUY said:
You want come back to this racist bantustan???

Employment is poor at the moment .... Its an employer's market.Having said that, skills are at a low too.
BBEEE laws have just been amended, in favour of the majority race group .... this will affect employment.
Crime is worse in SA than in the USA by far .... despite us here trying to rationalise things.

I have been spending a fair amount of my time in Orlando / De Land / Tampa (Fl) area each year, but live in SA, (too old to move, young enough to travel frequently.)

Personally, I prefer the USA to SA ATM since the Zuma administration, and SA is getting expensive,

Good luck anyway - whatever you decide.
.
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News24 is black
 
Dave

Dave

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satanboy said:
USA....no thanks.
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Now there's a generalisation, you write off a country the size of a continent with 50 semi autonomous states with widely differing customs and culture as "no thanks"?

Narrow minded, or what?
 
Hectic

Hectic

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Joined
Sep 15, 2009
Messages
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news24 said:
Good Morning myBB,

I have been working abroad for the last 7.5 years, spending the last 2.5 yrs in Houston, Texas. I am employed in the upstream oilfield industry. I am on US L1a visa which is valid till Jun 2017, with an option to extend by additional two years.

US, have been very fun, however I am homesick, and am planning to return to SA as soon as next month. The biggest challenge is being employable in South Africa. The experience that I have gained over the last years cannot easily be utilized in SA unless offshore drilling and/or Fracking takes off in the country. By qualification I am a Geologist, but I hardly used Geology in the last 4 years of my career. I thought about transitioning into the mining Industry but the requirement for job posts is to have a extensive mining experience or BSc. Honors, I only have a Bachelor's degree.

I could opt to stay in USA, but that would just leave me miserable. I really want to return to South Africa. Any advice on what to do?

Thanks in advance.
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Just add the Honours and experience on your CV.
You are guaranteed to get the job.
It works for our government and other departments.
 
C

ceciliahaak

Active Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2014
Messages
58
Hi news24

This is a tough position you're in, and I don't think anyone can really give you an objective answer. In the end you will have to decide what is best for you and your wife and child-to-be. However, here are some things you should think about (which may help you make a decision):

* Clearly you've already done some research and realise that the job market in SA is tough at the moment. As a female with an honours degree in mechanical engineering and 7 years experience, I thought it would be incredibly easy for me to find a job. In reality, it took me a year of job interviews and job hunting before I finally found something. So it's tough out here at the moment.

* What kind of lifestyle do you want to live? Both a life in the USA and a life in SA can have its upsides (and also downsides). Which one do you really want, and which one's inconveniences or hassles are you willing to tolerate? Remember - in SA we're starting to be affected more and more by things like power cuts, water cuts, random and unpredictable strikes by various service sectors (the post office is currently on strike, earlier in the week there was a threat for the Gautrain train drivers to strike, nevermind all the other strikes which I'm sure you've read about). On the flip side - our standard of living is still not too bad (most of the middle class, I think, can afford to have a domestic worker come in once a week).

* What kind of future would like your for child? And how do you want to raise your child? In SA your child can grow up knowing what it means to be a child of Africa and to really understand all the cultural influences that makes South Africans so different and unique. In the USA your child may grow up to be a materialistic, shallow brat. On the other hand, your child may be exposed to crime in SA at a very young age, while in the USA (I think) the state-funded standard of education isn't too bad.

In terms of your qualification and job prospects: I had a geologist friend who did exploration geology for mines. Ironically, most of the work she did was in the rest of Africa and not really in South Africa. Another geologist friend of mine is now at De Beers in Cape Town doing marine geology stuff (I don't know the details). There's also the Council for Geosciences, but I think that's mostly research-based work.

Offshore drilling and fracking? Here? Not so much. At least not in the short term.

I don't know if this is something you would consider, but have you thought about perhaps going back to University full-time to do a masters or PhD? There are bursaries out there for eligible candidates, and it may make it easy for you to transition back into the job market in SA if you start off as a student.

Anyway, good luck with this decision, but whichever one you choose, you will be happy (our brains are wired that way). The Freakonomics guys say you should just flip a coin when it comes to decisions like this, mainly because it's irrelevant which one you choose because you are wired to make the best out of the situation anyway. So...... if all else fails: flip a coin!
 
The_Mowgs

The_Mowgs

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To the guys giving advice to him, please do yourself a favour and look up old topics he started, you will never laugh so much in your life and news24, Huston not Houston...
 
Nerfherder

Nerfherder

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Joined
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Messages
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The_Mowgs said:
To the guys giving advice to him, please do yourself a favour and look up old topics he started, you will never laugh so much in your life and news24, Huston not Houston...
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But how boring would this place be without the likes of News24, Humbert and Mushroom.
 
Wall

Wall

Sports Addict
Joined
Mar 12, 2009
Messages
30,841
news24 said:
Good Morning myBB,

I have been working abroad for the last 7.5 years, spending the last 2.5 yrs in Houston, Texas. I am employed in the upstream oilfield industry. I am on US L1a visa which is valid till Jun 2017, with an option to extend by additional two years.

US, have been very fun, however I am homesick, and am planning to return to SA as soon as next month. The biggest challenge is being employable in South Africa. The experience that I have gained over the last years cannot easily be utilized in SA unless offshore drilling and/or Fracking takes off in the country. By qualification I am a Geologist, but I hardly used Geology in the last 4 years of my career. I thought about transitioning into the mining Industry but the requirement for job posts is to have a extensive mining experience or BSc. Honors, I only have a Bachelor's degree.

I could opt to stay in USA, but that would just leave me miserable. I really want to return to South Africa. Any advice on what to do?

Thanks in advance.
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OMG! Welcome back :D
 
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