English only speaking jobs

Learning the local language of any country is absolutely essential in order to successfully work there, don't you think? How would you communicate with your superiors, co-workers, clients or customers?

What about day-to-day living? How do you communicate with local merchants when you want to buy something?

Medical emergencies? Well you could be actually risking your life or the lives of loved ones if you are unable to communicate effectively with local doctors and nurses.

Expatriation involves a whole lot more than just picking up and moving to a different country. It takes a lot of hard work and in many cases LEARNING new things, like languages, customs and traditions, etc.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

My husband and in laws are all Hungarian so I'm ok with day to day living. I can speak enough to go grocery shopping and get around town but I'm not at a professional level. But, I'm learning, which will take some time. But, in the mean time I need a job. 😀

Hello Brandi Szucs 

I would suggest you browse through the job opportunities on our section Jobs in Budapest and place an advert in a work field you are interested in, stating that you can only speak English and is presently learning Hungarian.

Regards.

Kenjee

wjwoodward wrote:

Learning the local language of any country is absolutely essential in order to successfully work there, don't you think? How would you communicate with your superiors, co-workers, clients or customers?

Depends on who you work for. Some companies have local offices that mandate those in the office speak the language of their parent company's home county. If you only offer intra office support services, and do not interact with local customers or clients, then to work there one does not necessarily need to speak the local language.

I am not saying learning the local language is not important, and jobs are indeed rare if you do not speak the local language, but it does not necessarily mean one must know that local language it to work in a foreign country.

klsallee wrote:

wjwoodward wrote:

Learning the local language of any country is absolutely essential in order to successfully work there, don't you think? How would you communicate with your superiors, co-workers, clients or customers?

Depends on who you work for. Some companies have local offices that mandate those in the office speak the language of their parent company's home county. If you only offer intra office support services, and do not interact with local customers or clients, then to work there one does not necessarily need to speak the local language.

I am not saying learning the local language is not important, and jobs are indeed rare if you do not speak the local language, but it does not necessarily mean one must know that local language it to work in a foreign country.

I for sure can attest that I got my job and came to Hungary while knowing no Hungarian at all but the job I got requires English 99% of the time. Of course after a year and a half living here I know and can effectively communicate in Hungarian but there are jobs, even if only a few, where no Hungarain is needed. Good luck with your job search!

That is a difficult question to answer without seeing your Résumé.

Maybe find out what US or British multinational companies have offices in Budapest, and ask the local offices if they have any job openings that cater to English only speakers in your field of expertise or experience.

Thanks everyone for your responses. 

Hi,

I think it really depends on what field you are looking into. Software development for example is done in English anyway, I had multiple coworkers who spoke little or no Hungarian.
You could always teach English, obviously. There are other schools as well at all levels and ages with international students, so most people would have to speak English there, so they could hire you to do anything there, really.

In today's world and in global economic environment the language of buisness and international cooperation is English. If you work in one of those global industries you don't need to learn local languages unless they can really benefit you culturally. I currently live and work in Finland and would not bother learning Finnish as all my co-workers speak fluent English (not my first language) and our work environment is English only. The only language I would learn is the one that inreaches me culturally like say French for example. Otherwise I see no point in it.

The "expert" on Brazil and Canada has obviously never tried learning Hungarian.
Yes, in theory, all migrants should learn their host's language.  I've been here 3 years, my husband in in-laws are also Hungarian, and I can hardly communicate.  Shopping and going to a doctor (which they have for expats, plenty, who speak English) is hardly the same as getting a job.  I'm a little offended on your behalf that this "expert" gave irrelevant and rather patronizing advice on a Hungarian thread.

Anyway, if I am stuck in this country for long after graduation, my plan is getting a TOEFL certificate and teaching or tutoring, privately if need be, or perhaps getting a job in a private kindergarten.

Oh come on, don't be rude, he means well and there is no harm done.

Yes, Hungarian is quite distinct from most (if not all) other languages, you can't just "pick it up" the way you can German, French, or Dutch once you know English, so short- to mid-term plans better include a job where you are not required to be fluent.

I guess it cannot be any harder than Russian! I came to Russia to obtain my TOEFL Certificate, which I did on June 30, and originally the plan was to adjust my Russian work Visa in a bordering country, which would have been quite a simple process. But unfortunately, due to the Ukraine crisis, American Teachers who want to keep teaching in Russia have to go back to the US to obtain a new Visa. This is what I was told by two major schools in Moscow, which is why it doesn't make any sense to learn Russian. I might as well look for greener pastures in Hungary.

Sorry, at the time of posting, I was a bit frazzled by other wonderful Hungarian business. However, this is not the only post by this expert that is condescending and very unaware of the way of life in Hungary, so I kind of wish he would stick to his Brazilian forum.

octobop wrote:

Sorry

For what it is worth, I did not find your comment rude. Just a frank, to the point, "calling it like you see it" American reply. Non-Americans may find us rude at times, but that is simply a cultural thing.

Hi there,

I suggest to look for a job here:
http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm

Choose Budapest as a location and keyword and you will find only English offers (sometimes job require both English and local language, so please read carefully).

Good luck!

Hi

If you haven't find a job yet, we are setting up a call center.

Let me know if you are interested

Dani

@ Dani > I suggest you to post your job offer in the Call centers jobs Budapest section.

Thank you,

Priscilla

Brandi,

I believe this website is the ruler for foreign language only, albeit I haven't used them.

Good luck,

Thanks!

I suppose if you aren't a professional office worker of some sort then you might find work in a Irish or English pub in the city swinging mugs of beer.
You could try teaching exercise classes, house or flat sitting, baby sitting for other ex pat's or handing out those flyers for bus tours downtown.
Hard to give advice without knowing what your skills are.
I am retired but still hold current papers on my NV hairdressing. Had an American friend I met here in Budapest several years ago who was from Calif. like me and married a Hungarian from Canada who's entire family moved back to Hungary.
She was interesting, worked in Budapest as a hairdresser with her US paperwork, specialized in hair coloring, didn't make enough money even though she was working in a high end salon in the city.
Nothing like the money she was used to in the US.
She and her husband moved back to Canada after 10 years of struggling in Hungary,nothing they tried worked out for them. His family was very well off with real estate in Budapest but they got tired of the family supporting them so long.
She learned st; Hungarian by selling items at the boot sales and getting into it with customers, learned the hard way to get around in HU.
Had given birth to her 2 kids without speaking Hungarian and this was a good 16 years ago.
Don't worry about language too much, many people know English in the city these days. I can't even use my little bit of Hungarian in the shops because the shop keepers speak better English then I speak Hungarian. They always stop me and start in English.
Most people talk way to much anyways and the important issues have a way of working out.
I visited Hungary in 1978 when everyone around me didn't understand a word of what I was saying. They would come over to where we were just to have a look at an American, like I was from Mars.
Wish you luck ,maybe post more info about your job skills and maybe someone will hear about something for you.

Another idea I thought of was working making change in a booth.
Most people who come in are foreign and don't understand Hungarian only perhaps English.
it seems rather easy because you only have to make change from a few major countries, they don't change funds from every country.
The math should be easy with a computer, easier then many other jobs.
I have noticed though that most job that are advertised in store windows are written in Hungarian even if the add says they want a person that speaks English. Guess knowing a little bit of Hungarian is helpful, you can have your husband help you out with that part, he can ask the small details and get you in a job.
Don't be afraid of not knowing the language, if we live in fear we would never be able to leave our homes.
It takes a brave person to move to a new country.

Just thought this might be interesting to hear about.
In the late 1990's I was working as a table games dealer in Las Vegas, NV.
One of my co workers, another dealer was from Hungary.
Her sister taught her how to deal cards but she could not speak a word of English when she landed her dealing job.
The American, cowboy bosses liked her enough to allow her to use cue cards her sister had written for her to cover most situations . They were written in HU and in English. If she had any big issues on a game she would call a boss over and show them her cheat sheet.
If she could do that when working with real money, large sums at a fast paced job then I think someone in Hungary can hire you with a little bit of understanding and show you what is expected from you at work.
My husband and tons of his friends all arrived in NYC from Budapest in the early 1970's without speaking more then 3 words in English. Maybe the American attitude is more excepting of others then in HU.
That women became one of the best dealers we had at our casino, moved to the mid west for the opening of a brand new MGM Grand casino where she was made a manager, just keep trying.

James wrote:

Learning the local language of any country is absolutely essential in order to successfully work there, don't you think? How would you communicate with your superiors, co-workers, clients or customers?

What about day-to-day living? How do you communicate with local merchants when you want to buy something?

Medical emergencies? Well you could be actually risking your life or the lives of loved ones if you are unable to communicate effectively with local doctors and nurses.

Expatriation involves a whole lot more than just picking up and moving to a different country. It takes a lot of hard work and in many cases LEARNING new things, like languages, customs and traditions, etc.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

This is quite rude and totally off-topic.

For most Europeans, Hungarian is probably more difficult than Russian, apart from the script.
Russian is an indoeuropean language, e.g. you have the classic preposition+case system well known from latin (English has lost most cases, but still has visible traces of them like "I/me").
Once you understand how the sentence "A motorok az autóikba valók"  (The motors belong into their cars/autos) works, you may agree :-p

job fair Wed + Thu:
   http://hvgallasborze.hu/en/

Software development does not need Hungarian in many companies.

Also, the V4 region is a kinda known location for various SSC centres, eg. many jobs in customer support of various kinds and languages which do not require Hungarian. E.g. US visa enquiries  customer service is outsourced to a swedish customer support company who have calls in a bunch of european languages come into budapest - my flatmate works there, his salary is a bit low, tho, 150k net.

Similarly, Tata, IBM, and other Multis others have many customer support jobs in certain IT areas, not requiring high level of IT knowledge. 
Not sure if *only* english is the best starter tho - you need to look into it.

I agree it is rude to put people down for not speaking a new language.
I am from the US and if we put down everyone who came off the boat because they didn't speak English then more then half the population would not be citizens.
I know so many Hungarians who came to the US without speaking English, my own husband for one.
He learned in time to survive, my grandparents lived in the US in a Russian/Ruysn/Polish area and just got on with life. My grandmother never learned any English.
My father went to school as a born US citizen born in Poland( Long story with that one) to a American born father who could barely speak English and his mother who was a Polish citizen.
He learned with kids from Italy, Germany,Russia etc. No one judged each other since their main goal was to make a new life the best they could.
I know Hungarians who live in the hills of Hawaii who speak more Hawaiian then English, hate to say it but part of the Hungarian culture is to be rude because they always love to be right. If putting someone down makes them feel better about themselves then I suppose they have to live with themselves as miserable people.
I worked in Calif. where most of the staff in a beauty salon spoke no English at all, Iranian and Spanish. I needed a translator just to do a clients hair in my own country where English is suppose to be the language, it's all good though.

If you speak English well and have a background in HR, or speak another much used European language and are interested in the HR/Recruitment field, check my ad in the HR section of the job forum thread

Dear I forget whom because I have to go through the bloody website with its ten thousand questions.

There are lots of English-only jobs in Budapest but in my experience it helps to have a little basic Hungarian.

Many jobs are filled by Hungarians claiming they can speak English. They have a lével that is to say an exam in English, but cannot really speak English to any competency. So one ends up doing it in my cod Hungarian, when I don't know a sajt (cheese) from a shovel.

You must learn some Hungarian if you want to live in Hungary. I have lived here four years. It is not a difficult language to learn.  Hungarians like to tell you it is difficult, because it is not related to any other European language - well distantly to Estonian and Finnish - so you get no "free rides" as my linguistics teacher would say,  you can't assume that a viz would be the same as a French viz or an Englsh vice or whatever (it means water)

I recommend you take some basic courses in Hungarian. It doesn't take a lot to get the basics. It will take you years to master, like any language, but if you live in Hungary the least you can do is try to learn the language a little.

Yours sincerely

Simon Trew.

Yes most software companies (softver in Hungarian) work pretty much in English. BUt in my experience most of their employees are Hungarian with an English certificate. This means for day-to-day work it helps to have Hungarian to a basic level. For example, it helps to know that the thing you control the cursor with is translated (as eger, a mouse) and that the other thing you could control it is is not translated (a trackball). That subtlety you will not get unless you learn some basic Hungarian

"For example, it helps to know that the thing you control the cursor with is translated (as eger, a mouse) and that the other thing you could control it is is not translated (a trackball)."

We have a word for trackball: hanyattegér.

Also I would be interested to look for a job that requires only English (as I can't speak Hungarian, but would love to learn some day)
As I want to earn something for my kids.. Something is better than nothing!
Any jobs??