Chile Forum

I am looking at relocating since I would only have a 1 in 5 chance of finding a job in the US after graduation. I'll be graduating from a flagship state school in about two years; what does EE Pay in Chile?

Thanks for your replies.

$US 1200 per month mas o menos out of collage with no experience.... if your lucky

Do you know of anything paying better, such as mechanical or civil engineering?

Why would you look in Chile for an engineering job in the first place? Are you Chilean? Bilingual?

Salaries are generally low here. And living costs are high.

You occasionally see work for graduate engineers in the mining industry in Chile.

You can check the major national newspaper for help wanted

http://empleos.elmercurio.com/

Bechtel is looking for a EE with 5 years of mine experience

http://empleos.elmercurio.com/aviso.cfm?idaviso=723339

Foster Wheeler looking for electrical designer who speaks English

http://empleos.elmercurio.com/aviso.cfm?idaviso=727378

Chilean engineers often try to get to US/Canada/Australia to get decent work and pay.

FWIW

I am looking for somewhere with better prospects than the US. Even $1,2K is better than the naught I would receive if I stayed. Furthermore, Chile's financial situation compared to that of the US is more stable.

I am not Chilean, and my second language is Mandarin, but compared to Mandarin, Spanish should be simple. One would think that I would be knocking on China's door, but I went to Shanghai and could not picture myself spending my life there. I have two years before graduation; two years' study would not bring me to fluency, but at least it would give me a leg to stand on. I have enough savings should I decide to spend a year or two in the country...how far would $50K go?

In lieu of Chile, would you advise Argentina or Uruguay?

Fenrisulfr wrote:Do you know of anything paying better, such as mechanical or civil engineering?

to get good money in chile you put in your time elsewhere then move to chile.......

not the other way.....

too many chileans for a dime a dozen with no experience....

i have seen some gringos work the trade shows, and find a gringo company already established here to find a job..... some gringo companies prefer not to hire chileans because of cultural differences, these are the ones that will pay you more!

Simply put… no Spanish, no job.

I first moved to Chile after I completed my Architectural Technology program and tried finding a job. Even with a family connection and considerable knowledge in Energy Efficient and Green Building techniques (well compared to the locals anyways) I still couldn't find a job in my field and ended up working in a call centre.

My wife and I talk about moving back in a couple years when I have more management experience and my Spanish is better. In Chile, being foreign is sometimes and advantage, if you know the language and the customs.

My sentiments exactly; if one does not know the language, how can one work in something as collaborative as engineering?

That said, how much Spanish experience did you have when you resorted to working in the call centre?

Enough to make it though the interview process... so a basic conversational level. I had been living there for 6 months so by that time I could understand a lot but putting my thoughts into understandable sentences was still a bit tricky.

And for engineering you have to know all the technical jargon as well. I would wish you the best if you decide to make the move but it won't be easy.

Have you looked at moving to Australia? Try http://www.seek.com.au/JobSearch?DateRa ... From=quick for an idea of $$.

Degree + no experience + no Spanish = No job in Chile. If you had tons of experience than a foreign company would be your best bet. I could not imagine working on an engineering project in China without knowing the language.
I think sometimes people pick up a newspaper or watch the news and see how the Chilean economy is performing and think that jobs are here for the taking but for a lot of them it helps to have connections. And the pay is always going to be better in North America. If you want to live in the same lifestyle as US, Chile will actually be a lot harder grind depending on where you live.