r/EUCareers

Working and looking for a job in France?

Hey guys,

21 year old Irish man here, looking to go work and live abroad in France ideally in the Paris/bordeaux/lyon/marseille areas…

Only issue is im finding it really hard to find good websites and places in/around Ireland to be applying for jobs in France, perhaps it’s silly to look here for a job there but i have experience in retail, hospitality, management, food preparation and serving, key holding responsibilities.

Does anyone know/know any websites or companies perhaps that can help me out with my search..

I’m currently studying french via Duolingo and will also be beginnning actual french classes but people also say that the best way to learn is just go with learning the basics and learn as you go.

Any help is really appreciated and thanks in advance…

Hi everyone,

I’m currently studying a higher vocational degree in System & Network Administration in Belgium, and I’m curious about the experiences of people who work in IT.

After graduating, I’ll probably start as an IT support/IT administrator, system administrator, or something similar.

During my studies, I’m learning about:
System administration
Network administration
Microsoft 365 / Azure
Windows Server
Linux Server
Servers and virtualization
IT infrastructure
Cisco/networking

I’m mainly wondering what I can realistically expect in terms of gross and net salary after graduating.

For those working in Belgium:
What was your starting salary after graduation?

How much experience did you have?

What do you earn now after 3, 5, or 10 years?

Which IT roles would you recommend if my goal is to increase my salary over time?

I’m mainly interested in realistic experiences from Belgium, preferably from people working in or around Limburg/Hasselt.
Thanks!

Hi everyone, I’m a future Schuman trainee and I’ve been having a hard time finding a room in Brussels for 5 months. I’ve already tried looking in a lot of Facebook groups, but I haven’t found anything so far, and since I won’t be able to visit in person, I’m very scared of possible scams (a friend of mine got scammed despite doing a video call). I’ve also tried platforms like HousingAnywhere and SpotaHome, and I’ve been trying to get info from co-living companies like Ikoab, Cohabs, Colive, CoHoming, Synergie Life, and Live Colonies. I feel like I’ve tried everything. I wanted to ask how you’re all going about it, and if you have any suggestions on reliable places to look?

Hi everyone!

I graduated from Bulgaria with a degree in law. I'm working hard right now to get ready for the Bulgarian bar exam, which will be written in October and oral in November. Although I didn't do as well as I had wanted, I had already thoroughly studied for the prosecutor's exam.

I'm currently truly undecided about whether to pursue a legal career abroad or in cross-border EU practice, or to try again for a prosecutor pathway domestically.

One reason I’m leaning toward opportunities abroad is my growing frustration with the local job market. Interviews often lack any meaningful evaluation of actual skills or knowledge, relying instead on subjective impressions of the candidate. I’ve found that discussions go nowhere—sometimes because my background is seen as too diverse or not specialized enough, other times because employers assume I’ll demand a higher salary, even when the real issue is that the role simply pays poorly and that’s not disclosed upfront. It’s difficult to extract clear, useful feedback from the process.

I’d appreciate some insights on a few points:

- If you’ve transitioned from a national bar qualification into EU-focused or cross-border legal work, how did you manage that shift? Did it involve joining a law firm with international clients, working for an EU institution, moving in-house, or something different altogether?

- Is obtaining an additional qualification in another EU country worthwhile, or does mutual recognition under the lawyers’ establishment and recognition directives generally suffice?

- In the job market, does specializing in private international law (conflict of laws) hold real value compared to more conventional areas like commercial or EU regulatory law?

- For those who’ve gone through hiring processes in other EU countries—do those interviews tend to focus more on concrete skills and knowledge, or are they similarly subjective to what I’ve experienced?

- Any guidance for someone starting out in a smaller EU jurisdiction who’s weighing a traditional prosecutorial career against pursuing broader international opportunities?

Would really appreciate perspectives from people a few years further along, including "here's what I wish I'd known."

Thanks!

I'm 23 and I've been working in the UAE for almost 8 months now as a Junior Software Developer / .NET Developer.

I work for a globally recognized company, but it's not an IT company. I'm working on their internal/in-house software products, so I'm not doing client projects.

My current salary is AED 4,000/month, and that's basically it — no accommodation allowance, food allowance, etc. I'm currently managing my expenses with that.

I'm trying to figure out what I should actually focus on over the next few years.

I don't necessarily want to become extremely rich. My biggest goal is to have a good, peaceful family life and be financially stable. Obviously, I'd like to increase my salary and have a better standard of living, but I don't want to spend my whole life chasing money either.

One thing I'm confused about is whether I should build my career in the UAE or eventually move to Europe.

I could stay here for a few years, gain experience, improve my skills, switch to better-paying companies and see where that takes me. Or I could start preparing for migration to Europe while I'm still young.

And then there's the question of marriage. Is it better to migrate before marriage and establish myself there first, or is it perfectly fine to get married and then move with my family later?

I'm also considering doing a master's degree (probably an online MCA) while working, mainly to improve my qualifications.

If you were 23, with around 8 months of UAE work experience and a salary of AED 4,000, what would you focus on right now?

Would you stay in the UAE and try to grow here, or start preparing for Europe?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who have actually lived/worked in the UAE and then moved to Europe, or people who decided to stay in the UAE long-term.

I'm not looking for a "Europe is better" or "UAE is better" answer. I just want to understand what path might make the most sense for someone whose main goal is a stable career and a peaceful family life.

if you don’t get shortlisted, do they tell you exactly why? like imagine everything is fine but there is a document missing or a mistake, do they point it out?

Hello everyone!

I am applying to the BB, and as the title says, I am wondering about the relevance of my competences for the various DGs of the Comission. The question moght sound silly, as it might seem I didn't do my research or am unaware of the obvious (SANTE, HERA), but my problem is the following two things:

1. When researching a DG, I can't seem to find more specific tasks and work of specific units inside of the DG. For example, I know that SANTE A.1 deals with antimicrobial resistance - but what and how I cannot seem to be able to find.

2. I guess there might be medically adjacent work in other DGs as well, but because of the aforementioned cluelesness about the specifics of narrower organization and day-to-day work, I am not familiar with it.

I would really appreciate if you could share your experiences and/or point me in the direction of interesting DGs and units where I as a young doctor with some clinical and scientific experience, as well as with years of experience in the NGO sector (youth work, education) would be a good candidate.

Thank you in advance:)

Cheers!

Hello, this Autumn I’m taking both CAST FGIII and AD5 exams / reasoning test. Does anyone know what is the expected difficulty of the exam for AD5 generalists compared to the one of CAST FGIII?
Does AD5 equal the difficulty of the CAST FGIV exam? Many thanks!

I have a question. For example, at EUIPO (Alicante), their website says that permanent AD officials can only be recruited through an EPSO selection process (exam). However, I’ve read in some places that it is possible (and more common) to join as a temporary agent and, after having your contract renewed twice, become permanent.

Is there anyone here who is a permanent AD in an EU agency who could share how they got their position, and whether they know of colleagues or others who followed a similar path?
Many thanks!

Hi! Im portuguese! It seems there are not many portuguese working for the European Instituions. I have a couple of questions since I always dreamed of working for the EU, and few years ago I have given up (thinking everything is nepotism, like in my country). So:

1- I have a degree in law, another in Political Science and post graduation in European Studies. Im a portuguese lawyer. My language skills are upper intermediate in English, 3 years of French, 3 of German, 1 of Italian and 6 months Chinese. Is my CV worth giving a try, again?

2- Should I improve more both english and french? to what level? and thinking for what job type inside EUI?

3-Is age a problem? Up to what age is not a problem?

4- Is it easier to get a good job if I know people working there?

Thanks!

Hey, next year I will try to apply for frontex. Probably as an intern because I don't have experience in that field but have in other law enforcement and government institutions. If I'm not gonna make it what alternative would you offer except for my country's border patrol? Private/ngo/other eu institution?

Hi everyone,

I recently passed an AD5 competition for translators and I am now on the reserve list. I am also a law graduate, and my longer-term career interests are not limited to translation: I would also be interested in legal, policy and other non-linguistic roles within the EU institutions.

I have already spoken informally with someone working within the EU institutions, who told me that being on a translator AD5 reserve list does not necessarily mean that I can only ever be recruited as a translator. According to them, I could potentially be considered for other AD-level positions as long as I meet the requirements of the vacancy and have the relevant qualifications and experience.

However, I would really appreciate hearing from people who have actual experience with EU recruitment and internal mobility.

1. Does an AD5 translator reserve list effectively restrict you to translator/linguist posts?

Can an institution recruit someone from such a list for a different AD5 role — for example as a Legal Officer, Policy Officer, Data Protection Officer/Specialist, etc. — if the candidate meets all the requirements of that particular position?

Or, in practice, are translator reserve lists used almost exclusively by the linguistic services?

Has anyone actually seen people recruited from a specialist/translator AD reserve list into a substantially different function?

2. Which EU institution would you consider the best employer?

For those who have experience with more than one institution, how would you compare the:

• (ECA) European Court of Auditors
• Council of the European Union
• European Commission
• European Parliament
• (EESC) European Economic and Social Committee

in terms of career development, internal mobility, working environment, management culture, work-life balance and opportunities to move between different policy areas?

I have occasionally heard that getting into the European Parliament can be particularly difficult and that networking/internal connections can play a significant role. Is there any truth to this, or is this mostly an exaggeration?

Are there similar differences between the Commission and Council?

3. Are there particular Commission DGs known for having a good working environment?

Obviously this can vary enormously depending on the unit and manager, but are there DGs that generally have a reputation for a good working culture, reasonable workload, supportive management and relatively low levels of toxicity?

Conversely, are there DGs or types of services that people tend to avoid because of workload or organisational culture?

I would be especially interested in experiences from legal, digital/data protection, justice, employment/social policy, HR or general policy departments.

4. Can EU agencies recruit someone from an EPSO AD5 reserve list?

If my reserve list was established for recruitment by certain EU institutions, can a decentralised EU agency also recruit me from that list?

For example, could an agency see my profile on an AD5 reserve list and request/recruit me directly, or are agencies normally limited to their own selection procedures and CAST recruitment?

I would be particularly interested in hearing from anyone who entered an EU agency through an EPSO AD reserve list.

5. Once you become a permanent official, how easy is internal mobility?

Suppose I am initially recruited as an AD5 translator but later find a vacancy for an AD5/AD6 Legal Officer or Policy Officer for which my law degree and professional background are relevant.

Can I simply apply internally and, if selected, move to the new post?

Or are there restrictions because my original competition was for translators?

In other words, once you are already an official, does your original EPSO competition continue to define your career path, or does your actual grade, qualifications and experience become more important?

6. How long do you normally have to stay in your first post before moving?

I assume that completing the probationary period would normally be expected, but what happens after that?

Is internal mobility realistically possible after, say, 1–2 years, or are officials generally expected to remain in their first position for a longer period?

Are there formal minimum periods, or does it mainly depend on the institution, vacancy and agreement of the services involved?

7. Is moving from translator to Legal Officer/Policy Officer realistic?

This is particularly relevant to me because of my legal background.

If I start as an AD translator but continue developing experience in law, EU policy, data protection, etc., would moving later to a Legal Officer or Policy Officer position be considered a relatively normal internal mobility move?

Or are linguistic careers fairly separated from the rest of the AD career structure in practice?

I would especially appreciate hearing from anyone who has personally moved from translation/linguistic services to a non-linguistic AD position.

8. Would it make sense to accept an FGIV position first if an AD5 offer does not come quickly?

I have also successfully gone through an FGIV selection procedure.

If I do not receive an AD5 offer immediately, would accepting an FGIV Contract Agent position inside an EU institution or agency make it easier to later move into an AD5 position?

For example, would being an internal candidate, building an EU network and gaining institutional experience significantly improve my chances of eventually being recruited from the AD5 reserve list?

Or would you recommend waiting for an AD5 opportunity instead, assuming there is no urgent need to accept the FGIV position?

9. How long do AD reserve lists normally remain valid?

I have heard very different estimates, including people saying that some reserve lists can remain usable for many years — even around 7–8 years in some cases.

What is realistic in practice?

Do institutions normally extend successful reserve lists repeatedly, or should candidates assume a much shorter effective recruitment window?

10. Finally, what exactly is the “third language” requirement for AD officials?

I have heard that, after recruitment, an official needs to demonstrate knowledge of a third EU language before the first promotion.

Is that correct?

Does this mean that an AD5 official cannot be promoted to AD6 until they demonstrate sufficient knowledge of a third language?

Is there a particular deadline, for example two years after recruitment, or is the requirement simply linked to the first promotion rather than to a fixed period of time?

Sorry for the long post, but I am trying to understand the EU career system before making some important decisions about my first position.

Any experiences from current or former EU officials, contract agents, HR colleagues or people who have gone through internal mobility would be extremely helpful.

Thank you very much in advance!

Hi, I'm from india, with a technical background, I want to have a stable career in tech especially within EU

I recently graduated with a comp sci engg degree

The faang jobs or other tech jobs are good but seeing the layoff trends, i don't find them worth putting efforts for,

Is there any career path to EU

Especially within AI governance , software engineering or other related fields even if its mixed with policy making within tech or some mix of tech and non tech?

Hi everyone,

I’m sorry if this is not the appropriate sub-reddit, but other Italy-specific subs may not be specific for International orgs taxations. I am offered a 12-month paid EUI traineeship in Florence in November 2026. I’ll be tax resident in France until then and will move back to Italy for the traineeship (I am Italian).

The EUI doesn’t withhold tax and says trainees are responsible for their own tax obligations, but however trainees do not benefit of the same exemptions of staff members.

I heard that EFSA trainees for example do not pay taxes on their grants. Has anyone experienced this and could clarify how this works - specifically for EUI?

I would like to know how this works before accepting my offer, cause this could impact a lot my overall living experience.

i am principal business analyst with gross salary of 78k with 13 th month salary .i want to shift to new company how much salary should i expect from my next employer with my exprience in luxembourg .

Hi everyone,

​I’m an IT professional based in Spain with over 12 years of experience, currently in my 40s with a young family. I’m exploring opportunities within EU institutions (EPSO competitions, CAST, or agency contracts) primarily for higher compensation and long-term financial stability, as EU salaries generally offer a significant step up compared to the local market here.

​However, the major sticking point for me is the idea of uprooting my family and relocating. Before committing serious time to prep, I’m trying to get a realistic picture of how feasible this move actually is.

​A few questions for anyone with experience in the EU system:

​Remote Work Options: Are there legitimate possibilities to work remotely from Spain (or other EU member states), or is physical relocation to Brussels/Luxembourg strictly mandatory for permanent/contract roles?

​Timeline Realism: If I commit to studying seriously over the next 2 years while working my current job, is that a realistic window to pass an EPSO IT selection process?

​Family Relocation Reality: For those who did move with a partner and children, how manageable was the transition (schools, integration, local cost of living)? Did the increase in net pay justify the move? Iam not sure about this...

​Alternative Pathways: Is it wiser to target EPSO directly, or should I look into local EU agencies based in Spain or third-party contracting first?

​Any honest feedback, blunt reality checks, or advice on how to approach this would be hugely appreciated.

​Thanks in advance!

EDIT / Clarification based on initial comments:

​Thanks for the responses! To clarify my situation: I already hold a very stable senior IT position in a major company in Spain. Because I already have high job security, I am strictly NOT interested in temporary contracts, freelancing, or external consultancy roles (like DIGIT TM, CAST, or agency contracts).

​Leaving my current secure corporate setup only makes sense for a permanent EU Official position (AD 6 / AD 7).

​So focusing exclusively on permanent EPSO competitions (AD 6 / AD 7):

​Is a 2-year study timeline realistic alongside a full-time job?

​How frequent/predictable are these specific AD-level IT competitions?

The post I wish I’d read 😜

Context: 8+ years of experience across NGO, consultancy and programme management always in/around innovation.
Saw open call for PM position at EISMEA through EPSO. Thought it would be farfetched (no EC/agency experience and from southern country), but went for it (in terms of fit, it was there).

Filled in the monstrous application using some AI. Got called for online test. They let you know the day and time and it’s take it or leave it. There were two questions, both in the same format: write/reply to an email. There was a bunch of reference materials attached to each questions, so it was interesting to see the direction they were expecting. Though I must say I went for a more corporate approach (maybe less EC/forma) a bit afraid of how it would land, but moved on to the interview (had to score at least 50% - they didn’t share my score). So I guess they liked it?

The interview
You get an email to join the EC Office 365 or whatever the hell that is in order to be able to join the interview. Follow the instructions and wait for the interview invite. Again, they set the day and time and good luck being able to make it.

I consider myself pretty ok with tech, but I did have trouble joining the Team call. I ended up connecting 10m late and using my cellphone (which probably showed my work Teams account). Shitty way to start 🫩

There were 5 people on the call (all very white, all very male, all very middle-aged). No small talk, no how are you, no nothing. This is the panel, these are the rules. Manage your own time, dont look away. Good luck, first question is (fantastic for ones morale after almost not making it because of freaking Teams).

Questions:
1 - state 3 reasons why you want to join EISMEA AND two thing you bring to the agency (asked by the panel chair)
2 - you’re at a conference and someone approaches you asking about the difference between three funding mechanism. You have a talk to give in 2m. Explain the difference and the objective of each one in the time you have
3 - also don’t remember but it was very focused on the different funding opportunities within the specific unit
4 - don’t remember 100% (the guy’s English was absolutely terrible, which makes me question who the hell they hire. I even made a clarification question that another person had to answer because the guy didn’t understand). But it was around managing an open call with limited time/resources
5 - talk about a time when a team member didn’t collaborate and how you managed it 🙄

I rushed as hell not sure they’d let me go over the 30m slot, but they didn’t seem to care. At the end the HR representative talked about next steps. The Chair even joked that I could relax 😅 funny chap.

Then after about 3 weeks got rejection email. I asked for feedback (sure they wouldn’t reply) but they did send me my scores! I’d say they were fair though a bit harsh in scoring. The pass score set by the panel was 41.5 (so and avg of 8.3 per question).

Bottom line: do apply. Practice for the interview. Study for the interview! Understand the role and the agency/sector quite well (looking back they should’ve focused more on other aspects, but again, it’s not an interview, it’s a panel, so the logic is different from corp where the context can be taught and interviews are usually for cultural fit/skills. Here they apparently expect you to have more than a superficial understanding of topics even before joining).

Good luck!

A few days ago I met a really good friend of mine I haven't seen for a while, and...his story shocked me.

He's been working for the same international organization for the past 6 years, but he never got a permanent position.

Only 6-months barely renewable contracts for temporary positions. On top of that, he is extremely overqualified for the tasks he is given to do (he literally prints sheets, makes simple power points and makes COFFEES).

So I was wondering - do these organizations even hire people at all or is it something they just stopped doing with new generations? Has any of you managed to be permanently hired or do you know anyone who did?

For reference, my friend is 29, he has a Master's degree in International and Diplomatic Scienses, a master, French - English - Italian C1, has published some stuff, and now 6 years of experience in this same organization (different divisions, but always kinda the same tasks)

He feels very much stuck and doesn't know if he should just give up on his dream at this point, maybe start a Phd or get specialized in something (but what?)😕

Any advice is very much welcomed! (I'm no expert, I'm in a completely different field, I just wanted to help)