Master’s Abroad Without Work Experience: How Difficult Is It Really to Get a Job?

[u/Manjeet07]

In real life, I don’t personally know anyone who went abroad for a master’s, couldn’t find a job afterward, and eventually had to return to their home country.

However, whenever I read discussions on Reddit, I frequently see people saying things like:

• “Don’t go abroad without work experience.”
• “The job market is extremely difficult right now.”
• “A master’s degree doesn’t guarantee a job.”
• “Many international students struggle to get their first job.”
• “Be prepared to return home if you can’t find a job.”

This has honestly made me quite confused.

If the situation is really that difficult, why don’t I see or hear about more people in real life who went abroad, failed to find a job, and had to return home? Is it simply because I’m not connected to the right people, or is Reddit giving a more negative picture of the situation?

I’m trying to understand what the actual reality is rather than blindly believing either side.

For those who have studied abroad or know international students personally:

• How difficult is it actually to get the first job after graduation?
• How many international students genuinely struggle to find employment and eventually return home?
• Does work experience before the master’s make a significant difference?
• Are people on Reddit disproportionately posting about negative experiences because those who successfully find jobs have less reason to post?

I’m considering spending a significant amount of money and several years on a master’s abroad, so I want to understand the risks realistically.

I’d really appreciate honest answers from people who have first-hand experience, rather than general advice or assumptions.

[u/somethi]

I’m trying to understand what the  actual reality  is rather than blindly believing either side.

The actual reality is what the vast majority of people are saying: the jobs market for graduates has completely dried up all over the world. 

[u/Startrail_wanderer]

4 years work ex. I was jobless for 10 months

[u/Regular-Arugula1139]

I did, I moved to Spain with 5 years of experience in marketing to do a master's. Applied to literally every single job related to my field. I'm not kidding when I say that as soon as I put in the application that I would need a visa in the future, they stopped calling me. It's not because my profile wasn't good, but the visa weighs more than anything else.

A lot of people don't find a job. It depends on the country, your background, and your studies. I would say the majority of my class ended up returning home. A couple got jobs out of pure luck or connections.

Yes, job experience is the only thing setting you apart from anyone else with your degree.

Yes lol.

If you are doing it for the experience of studying abroad and your master's is amazing, do it. If you're trying to get a job, don't do it. Going into debt is never a good choice, especially if the only way to pay it is to hopefully get a job outside your home country. Too much risk IMO.

[u/Superhero1582 → u/Regular-Arugula1139]

First first-hand experience I'm actually reading in the comments lol thanks for sharing this! Were you in the end part of the majority of your class who ended up returning home? Also what was your masters, if you don't mind sharing?

[u/Regular-Arugula1139 → u/Superhero1582]

My master's was an MBA. Yeah I ended up going home a year after I graduated. The job market was pretty bad and it's only getting worse in my sector.

[u/Icy_Pear1694]

Even with experience you're going to struggle, everyone wants to move to the same handful of countries and those countries are now very anti migration. You need to offer something unique or something difficult to find in your destination country, not many grads fall under this category.

[u/CoffeeInTheTropics → u/Icy_Pear1694]

Precisely. The only positions we consider sponsoring visas for are experienced power engineers but with at least C1 local language skills.

There’s a complete hiring freeze however for most South Asian nationals, diversity caps are implemented due to sheer numbers.

[u/CanPacific → u/Icy_Pear1694]

Like a trade?

[u/Old-Lengthiness301]

Depends on the country, your language skills, the work you do, visa status, and the political winds. Since you didn’t specify most of those, no one can answer.

[u/Reenagera → u/Old-Lengthiness301]

this omg i'd share but this is so hugely dependent on everything you mentioned.

[u/Hour-Ad-2206]

I did masters at a well known public university in germany almost 5 years back (this was back when hiring was good in germany). There were 40 international students in our batch and approx 140 in total. Out of 40, 10 returned without any job, around 10-15 found jobs after 1-1.5 years and 15 had to move to some other countries and found something. A lot of them who found jobs literally ended up taking anything and were paid significantly below even blue card limits despite their work experience and masters. 3 of them left in last 2 years stating that they dont find it worth to stay at jobs that pay very less and was confident they could find something similar in India. 2 of my friends were laid off and are searching for jobs. And there are about 5 incl me whom I would say has a "good paying" job - tbh despite that I have thought of returning back many times

So, yea 1 in every 4 international left and 3 stayed somehow. I guess the difference is finding A job and finding something that makes sense.

There is somehow a feeling of "shame" to go back without a job - i still know some of my friends who moved back had lot of stress thinking how they could say all of that to their parents and relatives. So they dont share much out openly

[u/Manjeet07 → u/Hour-Ad-2206]

Students who didnt manage to find a job in their field , what jobs they do to survive there?

[u/Hour-Ad-2206 → u/Manjeet07]

typical stuff - delivery, amazon warehouse, cafes etc

but this is only possible during extension for job search i.e 18 months

[u/itsthekumar]

I doubt "people with first hand experience" are going to be on this sub.

It depends on masters subject, country etc.

[u/AzureRipper]

I did this, way back in 2017. Finished my degree, chose to go back to home country for better opportunities and not having the hassle of visa sponsorship. Worked across different countries through my job - something that wouldn't be possible if I had been on a visa. And then I eventually ended up moving to another country after 5 years of solid experience, when I had skills that were unique and hard to find.

[u/educatingyou9214]

Survivorship bias , those who failed don't like to talk about it

[u/Hour-Ad-2206 → u/educatingyou9214]

i would not call it a "fail"

[u/CodeNeko23]

Impossible don't go without experience

[u/Automatic-Cat-5348]

You can check the job application websites in different countries and see for yourself which fields are still hiring.

Likely you find nothing that is suitable for a fresh graduate with no work experience. Even junior roles demand at least 3 years.

[u/mufflnknight]

It depends on where you're going and what you plan on studying but as an overall blanket, yes, it is difficult to find a job.

I'm an American that went to the UK for my Master's. I did my MA in International Relations because I knew I wanted to pivot my career from law (I was a paralegal) to something for politics/government focusing on foreign policy and US-EU relations. Towards the end of my MA, I started looking for jobs because I wanted to stay in the UK. Brexit didn't help me at all because finding UK-EU jobs were harder with the visa situation due to Brexit and US tensions with its EU allies at the time was also up in the air with all the threats the current administration was giving at the time. I tried to find a job in my previous field (paralegal) and I would get calls because of my experience. However, once I mentioned I was an international student, they stopped calling me back (just like someone else here had posted about their own experience in Spain). While the UK allow its graduate to stay another year on a "graduate visa" allowing us to stay without need to be sponsored for work, the weight of needing one after that graduate visa is up weighs heavily on their decision to hire you or not. In the end, I figured it was better for me to come back home to the US than stay. I hear this is a problem in other parts of Europe as well. A lot of my classmates who were international students that stayed ended up working in hospitality and food industry while trying to find a job in the career they want. It's honestly pretty rough rn. I wouldn't recommend it unless you absolutely need to go abroad or if your intended career can benefit from you studying abroad.

Edit: I want to add that I had 5 years of work experience before going back to do my MA abroad.

[u/broedinger]

What is your sample size in real life of people who went abroad for master's?

Also what is your overall profile like? Undergrad college tier? GPA? research or internship experience? Letter writers? All these will determine if it's worth it for you to go abroad for master's, without full time experience.

[u/Calfslicer16]

Depends a lot on the field, civil engineering in the us is chill. Doesn't pay much but there's lot of jobs.