News Round-up: Top Ten Places to Work Abroad & More…

Welcome to the first News Round-up! I hope that you had a great time enjoying the end of summer. Some interesting articles about living and working abroad have come through my inbox, so I’ve decided to start some periodic news and blog roundups to show you who is talking about work and volunteer abroad news.

Here are a few links from the past week to keep you in the know!

• Are you concerned about moving abroad to only learn less money than you would at home? This article lists the 10 ten places to work abroad for the money. While the salaries are relative to those in the United Kingdom, you can still get a sense of what kind of careers abroad translate if you live in the United States, Canada or Australia where the exchange rate is similar. (Shelter Offshore)
• Another plug for living and working in Russia: Apparently expatriates living in Moscow are among the wealthiest in the world. Thirty-five per cent earn more than $250,000 per year. What’s the bad news? It’s not exactly easy to find a job. “The opportunity at the junior and middle level of management has been all but eliminated and foreigners are largely now only hired for these jobs if they know how to live in Russia, speak the language and do not present large relocation costs,” the article says. (Business News Europe)
• If you’ve been thinking about taking a job abroad (specifically a teaching job) and need a little help understanding the pros and cons of living and working abroad, check out Farnoosh Torabi’s breakdown of all things making the move to living abroad, including some information about how to use a teaching job in Asia to transition into another overseas career. (CBS MoneyWatch)
• Do we have Mother Teresa to thank for “voluntourism”? Are all volunteer abroad trips actually based on missionary work? The Christian Science Monitor seems to think so. “Mother Teresa’s program was a precursor to VolunTourism,” says David Clemmons, founder of voluntourism.org, by e-mail. “There was no grand, long-term commitment… In this way, Mother Teresa was ahead of her time.” (Christian Science Monitor)
• Even more tips for getting started working abroad, especially how to turn from a volunteer to a full-time paid employee abroad. This article provides a great listing of “Paid Volunteer” opportunities like the Peace Corps, United Nations Volunteers and Doctors without Borders. (Transitions Abroad Magazine)
• I really love this U.S. News and World Report article about a couple who weren’t ready to retire, but who decided to move abroad and start their own business as if they were. This is a great alternative work-abroad story that we don’t normally hear much about, and it is especially interesting given the current economy. This is a great, quick read if you have an entrepreneurial spirit. “We had fun kicking around ideas for businesses we might both enjoy,” Ann says. “And the better we got to know the island, the more niches we saw that needed filling,” says the couple. It doesn’t get much more entrepreneurial than that! (U.S. News and World Report)

If you’ve seen anything interesting in the news that might be useful for people who are thinking about working and volunteering abroad, please feel free to leave it in the comments!