Written by Redwan
12 Mar 2015
Let’s be honest, we have all probably asked this once before thinking about coming to Sweden. And I will comply – I am no exception!
But regardless, I did end up coming to Sweden and must say it has been one of the best decisions I made. If you list down all the necessary aspects you need to move to a new country, then fear not…Sweden has it all!
Coming to our question about studies, let me tell you that Swedish education system is one of the best you can find. And to your pleasure, it is taught entirely in English at Masters and PhD levels. In Bachelors, however, there are English-taught courses but are limited. So if you wish to pursue a postgraduate degree, keep Sweden as one of your top priority. Very flexible educational environment, cooperative faculties, cordial administration and… lotslotslots and lots of group work.
This reminds me of a joke I heard here.
‘To take a decision, Swedes hold a meeting to decide when they will have their next meeting to see if everyone can make it and then fix meeting again to take the decision ‘ 😛
Bottom-line: Swedes respect group opinion and take decision as a whole, one of the star point of Swedish education and professional setting. So if your communication and coffee skills aren’t up to the mark, start working on it!
About jobs, Sweden has ample opportunities but the golden saying remains the same – ‘Trick is to find the right one for you’. It’s true that Swedish companies often prefer candidates having local language skills but let me tell you, there are tons of multinational companies all around Sweden, whose corporate language is English. These can be your go-to companies if you want to find English-speaking jobs. But hey, learning Swedish isn’t that hard as I mentioned in one for the previous blog post. Once you are here, take some Swedish non-credit courses or join SFI (Swedish for Immigrants) and get some Swedish language skills going. Not only you start feeling comfortable owing to it but such can be a good add in your CV too, where you can show the employers that you are curious about Swedish and want to learn the language. Many companies see it as a positive and might overlook the fact that you aren’t completely fluent, ending up considering you for the job.
So in one word – No! You don’t really have to know Swedish to come to study or even work in Sweden. But why not take this opportunity to learn the language and improve your communication skills. I am learning myself and it’s easy, fun and helpful!
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Image taken from internet
