Initial observations while settling in

I have begun applying for jobs. Perhaps I am being un-realistic considering I am a beginner in the French language. I could not imagine finding a job in the states and not speaking English.

Some observations …

My first observation is that most positions in the fields I am looking for are looking for Master’s or PHd’s. I guess when university doesn’t cost $100k for an undergraduate degree , there is more motivation to go a step further. I find myself regretting not sticking it out for my Master’s but that ship has sailed. At least I have experience in industry.

My second observation is that Electrical Engineering degrees here do not translate to the same studies in the US. I could be wrong and I will have a better perspective on this very shortly. I have noticed quite a bit of variation in EE degrees in the US, too. I have friends which never studied transistors at their schools. We were drowned in small signal models, large signal models, BJT’s, MOSFET’s, etc.. After long discussions with my wife in the past, my understanding is that the French University system is, for the most part, standardized.

Due to the second observation above , there will probably be some ambiguity for potential employers. I am attempting to find a career in big data, data science, data engineering, analytics, web development, etc.. Not sure if that aligns even remotely with what their EE’s learn at University, but it is not a huge leap from my past curriculum and studies. Only time will tell. It has only been 2 weeks since I set foot on French soil and I need to be patient and keep plugging away. On the bright side, in the meantime, I can spend time with my family. I never would have had this much time with my children had we stayed in the US.

Per aspera ad astra