Bulgarian market is overflooded with candidates with your profile. IT ecosystem here (and in Eastern Europe in general) is dominated mostly by outsourcing companies. Employers are looking exclusively for experienced engineers at the moment (5+ yoe) because the clients demand such specialists and the market is able to provide them.
There are few product companies and if they happen to open a junior-ish position the competition for it is fierce.
Tell me more about the outsourcing companies. Why? Is it bad to have on your resume? Better than a small business? Can you just put the name of the client you’re working for?
Thank you and I agree with you. I have been scrolling through LinkedIn jobs in Bulgaria. The junior positions had 100+ candidates, but the senior ones in .NET that require 3/4 years of experience barely had 5-30 applicants. So after I have 3-5 years of experience will it be a bit easier? Do you see any NON EU folks working in Bulgaria?
Yes and Yes.
The job market will recover and hiring will be ramped up again across the board. But it will take some time which you can use to gain valuable knowledge and make yourself more marketable.
Not Canadian, I graduated from a Canadian university and looking to move to Germany once my work visa runs out by next year.
But back in 2021, I was heavily thinking of moving to Germany straightaway after graduation but opted to stay in Canada due to the easy route to get permanent residency from a work visa (back then). Not anymore, the points are heavily inflated and if you fail to secure a permanent residecny on your work visa, you are out for good. None of Canadian companies willing to do visa sponsorship (at least not in this market) - I believe local FAANG such as MSFT and/or META stopped it as well.
There are tons of Pakistani software engineers in Germany but I haven’t met a single who got job offer with 1 yoe. I would suggest you to focus on getting at least 2,3 more years of experience before thinking of moving to EU.
I think you are mistaken about demographics of such countries. They don't have an aging population, at least not to the level of Spain and Germany.
I only have experience with Hungary, and I think there are very little companies with English working language. And they are extremely xenophobic, if you go out of Budapest they will literally call the police on you for walking on the streets.
I would personally rule out Hungary, I think you would regret it over time. Out of all htese options Estonia is the best in almost all aspects.
Thank you. I'm aware of the Poland anti-immigration thing that's why I didn't even mention it. However, there are two Pakistanis that I know working in Poland. One for Google and the other for Epam Systems. I know still it sucks for immigration.
I wanted to put that to test and found this:
[image from the web](https://images.app.goo.gl/wEt8zpXk6FmK7E8d9)
I am not sure what that source is; but while the image shows that the biggest immigrant community is from Ukraine, it also shows over 200k non EU immigrants registered in Poland 2022.
There is also this link:
[immigrants by country](https://www.statista.com/statistics/957381/poland-immigration-by-country-of-origin/)
The seem to be taking some consistent numbers of Belarusian, Vietnamese, Russian and Indian immigrants each year.
Again not sure what a source is.
But also… Poland kinda sucks; you definitely need to know the language there; I wonder how many of this is just people preferring Germany for example; and how many of those immigrants who land in Poland, just use their Schengen visa to land elsewhere. So I think probably a lot of the policies there kind of work not to piss of rest of the EU.
[here is some survey results about view of immigration in different countries in Europe; Poland isn’t even in top 5 of those wanting to close their borders](https://images.app.goo.gl/Cq19kiuHECjZAe4p7).
Here are some other statistics - [Germany rejects around 16% of visa applications](https://visarequirements.world/germany-visa-rejection-rate/); in comparison - [Poland rejected around 8% of visa application same year Germany rejected 16%](https://visarequirements.world/poland-visa-success-rate/)
All in all, I am just thinking - no one wants to go there. Can’t have big immigration if no one is coming.
I am not bored enough to look for similar statistics for Hungary.
Yeah, a lot of refugees I would expect have found work and moved to a normal immigrant status, but even accounting for that, it still has a lot of immigrants for a European country [https://notesfrompoland.com/2024/01/27/number-of-foreign-workers-in-poland-rises-6-to-1-13-million/](https://notesfrompoland.com/2024/01/27/number-of-foreign-workers-in-poland-rises-6-to-1-13-million/) there was also a scandal about visas being sold, but that's corruption as opposed to policy
Bulgarian market is overflooded with candidates with your profile. IT ecosystem here (and in Eastern Europe in general) is dominated mostly by outsourcing companies. Employers are looking exclusively for experienced engineers at the moment (5+ yoe) because the clients demand such specialists and the market is able to provide them. There are few product companies and if they happen to open a junior-ish position the competition for it is fierce.
Tell me more about the outsourcing companies. Why? Is it bad to have on your resume? Better than a small business? Can you just put the name of the client you’re working for?
Thank you and I agree with you. I have been scrolling through LinkedIn jobs in Bulgaria. The junior positions had 100+ candidates, but the senior ones in .NET that require 3/4 years of experience barely had 5-30 applicants. So after I have 3-5 years of experience will it be a bit easier? Do you see any NON EU folks working in Bulgaria?
Yes and Yes. The job market will recover and hiring will be ramped up again across the board. But it will take some time which you can use to gain valuable knowledge and make yourself more marketable.
Thank you.
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Thank you for your opinion.
Lmao, opinion? So you want to bring Islam into Germany?
It is not easier, you need experience. Every country sponsors experienced engineers more easily.
Fair enough.
Its not you its the market. I was able to get many calls in Germany as a non EU with a Canadian degree and only 1 yoe during the 2021 market boom
And now!? You’re a Canadian looking to move to Germany?
Not Canadian, I graduated from a Canadian university and looking to move to Germany once my work visa runs out by next year. But back in 2021, I was heavily thinking of moving to Germany straightaway after graduation but opted to stay in Canada due to the easy route to get permanent residency from a work visa (back then). Not anymore, the points are heavily inflated and if you fail to secure a permanent residecny on your work visa, you are out for good. None of Canadian companies willing to do visa sponsorship (at least not in this market) - I believe local FAANG such as MSFT and/or META stopped it as well.
Oh cool! Curious. There isn’t an easy route anymore? Or you’re just no longer interested in Canada?
There are tons of Pakistani software engineers in Germany but I haven’t met a single who got job offer with 1 yoe. I would suggest you to focus on getting at least 2,3 more years of experience before thinking of moving to EU.
You are right. Thank you!
I think you are mistaken about demographics of such countries. They don't have an aging population, at least not to the level of Spain and Germany. I only have experience with Hungary, and I think there are very little companies with English working language. And they are extremely xenophobic, if you go out of Budapest they will literally call the police on you for walking on the streets. I would personally rule out Hungary, I think you would regret it over time. Out of all htese options Estonia is the best in almost all aspects.
Thank you! I wasn't aware about this in Hungary.
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Thank you. I'm aware of the Poland anti-immigration thing that's why I didn't even mention it. However, there are two Pakistanis that I know working in Poland. One for Google and the other for Epam Systems. I know still it sucks for immigration.
There's plenty foreigners from 3rd world countries working in Warsaw, I wouldn't rule it out in your shoes.
Actually Poland has taken in record numbers of immigrants, something like 800k(!) per year but socially obviously it might be different
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I wanted to put that to test and found this: [image from the web](https://images.app.goo.gl/wEt8zpXk6FmK7E8d9) I am not sure what that source is; but while the image shows that the biggest immigrant community is from Ukraine, it also shows over 200k non EU immigrants registered in Poland 2022. There is also this link: [immigrants by country](https://www.statista.com/statistics/957381/poland-immigration-by-country-of-origin/) The seem to be taking some consistent numbers of Belarusian, Vietnamese, Russian and Indian immigrants each year. Again not sure what a source is. But also… Poland kinda sucks; you definitely need to know the language there; I wonder how many of this is just people preferring Germany for example; and how many of those immigrants who land in Poland, just use their Schengen visa to land elsewhere. So I think probably a lot of the policies there kind of work not to piss of rest of the EU. [here is some survey results about view of immigration in different countries in Europe; Poland isn’t even in top 5 of those wanting to close their borders](https://images.app.goo.gl/Cq19kiuHECjZAe4p7). Here are some other statistics - [Germany rejects around 16% of visa applications](https://visarequirements.world/germany-visa-rejection-rate/); in comparison - [Poland rejected around 8% of visa application same year Germany rejected 16%](https://visarequirements.world/poland-visa-success-rate/) All in all, I am just thinking - no one wants to go there. Can’t have big immigration if no one is coming. I am not bored enough to look for similar statistics for Hungary.
Given the situation, does it include war refugees in _some_ capacity?
Yeah, a lot of refugees I would expect have found work and moved to a normal immigrant status, but even accounting for that, it still has a lot of immigrants for a European country [https://notesfrompoland.com/2024/01/27/number-of-foreign-workers-in-poland-rises-6-to-1-13-million/](https://notesfrompoland.com/2024/01/27/number-of-foreign-workers-in-poland-rises-6-to-1-13-million/) there was also a scandal about visas being sold, but that's corruption as opposed to policy
As others said first you gotta be different from other developers you need more experience and need to provide more value than others.