u/Manjulika_

Hi everyone,

I’m a recent graduate with an AI and Security background needing some objective career advice. My ultimate long-term goal is to build a stable career within EU institutions and European organizations, and I am currently torn between two 1-year traineeship offers starting this October.

Option 1: eu-LISA (Strasbourg)

Status: Official offer (deadline to accept is in a few days).

Pros: Good traineeship salary + relocation, closer to my partner, and the interviewers were nice.

Cons: The role is Network Infrastructure/ITIL. It’s a bit more physical (data center, Layer 2/3, firewalls) than the software/AI engineering I’m used to.

Option 2: Eurocontrol (Brussels)

Status: Verbal offer (Mentor says I'm his #1 choice, but HR won't send the official offer until late July).

Pros: Amazing tech stack (RAG pipelines, LLM APIs, agentic AI). The mentor is incredibly supportive.

Cons: The pay is only €1,350/month, which seems very tight for Brussels.

My Dilemma: Do I take the official eu-LISA offer, even if the day-to-day tasks are more traditional networking/IT infrastructure rather than cutting-edge AI, which I think I will enjoy more?

Also, if anyone has personal experience working at either eu-LISA or Eurocontrol, I would love to hear your thoughts on the work culture and day-to-day life! Any insights would be hugely appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I’m a recent graduate with an AI and Security background needing some objective career advice. My ultimate long-term goal is to build a stable career within EU institutions and European organizations, and I am currently torn between two 1-year traineeship offers starting this October.

Option 1: eu-LISA (Strasbourg)

Status: Official offer (deadline to accept is in a few days).

Pros: Good traineeship salary, closer to my partner, and the interviewers were nice.

Cons: The role is Network Infrastructure/ITIL. It’s a bit more physical (data center, Layer 2/3, firewalls) than the software/AI engineering I’m used to.

Option 2: Eurocontrol (Brussels)

Status: Verbal offer (Mentor says I'm his #1 choice, but HR won't send the official offer until late July).

Pros: Amazing tech stack (RAG pipelines, LLM APIs, agentic AI). The mentor is incredibly supportive.

Cons: The pay is only €1,350/month, which seems very tight for Brussels.

My Dilemma: Do I take the official eu-LISA offer, even if the day-to-day tasks are more traditional networking/IT infrastructure rather than cutting-edge AI, which I think I will enjoy more?

Also, if anyone has personal experience working at either eu-LISA or Eurocontrol, I would love to hear your thoughts on the work culture and long-term career prospects! Any insights would be hugely appreciated.

Hi everyone,

​I’m a recent graduate (AI/Security background) needing some objective advice between two 1-year traineeships starting this October.

​Option 1: eu-LISA (Strasbourg)

-​Status: Official offer (deadline to accept is in a few days).

-​Pros: Good traineeship salary + relocation and the interviewers were nice.

-​Cons: The role is Network Infrastructure/ITIL. It’s a bit more physical (data center, Layer 2/3, firewalls) than the software/AI engineering I’m used to.

Option 2: Eurocontrol (Brussels)

-​Status: Verbal offer (Mentor says I'm his #1 choice, but HR won't send the official offer until late July).

-​Pros: Amazing tech stack (RAG pipelines, LLM APIs, agentic AI). The mentor is incredibly supportive.

-​Cons: The pay is only €1,350/month, which seems very tight for Brussels.

​My Dilemma: Do I take the official, well-paying eu-LISA offer, even if the day-to-day tasks are more traditional networking/IT infrastructure rather than cutting-edge AI?

​Also, if anyone has personal experience working at either eu-LISA or Eurocontrol, I would love to hear your thoughts on the work culture and day-to-day life! Any insights would be hugely appreciate.

Hi everyone!

I’m a 23F originally from Spain, and I am currently living in Galway for the next few months. I’m really loving the city so far, but I’d love to meet some new people to hang out with.

I'm always up for trying out new cafes, playing sports, going to see shows etc. (basically pretty much open to any activity).

I’m also hoping to do some exploring around Ireland while I have the chance! If anyone is in a similar boat and looking for a travel buddy for weekend trips or day tours, let me know. (Just for context, I am a woman of color and queer, looking to connect with friendly, open-minded folks!)

Thank you so much.