Where and what could work?

[Fudgethatkay]

I have someone who I am trying to help come back to the states to look for work...but he only has a 2 year degree cause his parents won't pay for the rest of his 4 year.

He has two of those degrees. One from an English school in Japan, and another from here in the local city college in Liberal Arts. (He was supposed to go into linguistics)


Lets say he had his work permit and green card, what kind of full time field could he look into for the states? I was thinking insurance, airline agents, the like...

Any ideas? This is really important because....its influencing me too...I'm not done with school myself so I cant support him...

[Kittish]

I'm gathering that your friend is multi-lingual. If he's fluent in English and whatever other language(s), you might suggest he look into employment with an interpreting service.

[Fudgethatkay]

I'm gathering that your friend is multi-lingual. If he's fluent in English and whatever other language(s), you might suggest he look into employment with an interpreting service.

Im looking into some. Most of them require four-year unfortunately...but he has experience and lived in America for a few years before he was sent back by family.

[BlaqueKatt]

airline work(or anything to do with transport of persons or cargo) requires something known as a TWIC(transportation Workers Identificaion Credential), which is very rarely given to non-us citizens. And costs about $200 for the credential, background checks and fingerprinting, some airlines will not even allow an application to those without one.

[wolfie]

airline work(or anything to do with transport of persons or cargo) requires something known as a TWIC(transportation Workers Identificaion Credential), which is very rarely given to non-us citizens.

In trucking, TWIC is needed only for people picking up/delivering at ports. I haul a dry van (don't go into ports), so I don't need a TWIC card. People in the container division (virtually all runs are to/from a port) have it. It's not restricted to U.S. citizens - I don't know of even one U.S. citizen working for Arquebus Motor Freight.

[Sapphire Silk]

If he's a US citizen or legal resident, and is in good physical condition (doesn't have to be an athlete, just healthy), he could join the military. They would probably take him in a stone cold minute if he's fluent in a foreign language. And the military would help him finish school so that when he gets out, he can do whatever he wants.

He could also try the Federal government. He's limited in how high he can do with a 2 year degree, but he does have enough education for entry level.

He needs to keep up that language skill. It makes him more marketable throughout his life.

[Soulstealer]

A work permit usually requires an employer to sponsor so you'd have to find one that could. If he can get a green card then whatever he wants and can get, they're legal residency that's not dependant on employment.

[sms001]

If he's a US citizen or legal resident,

I think Fudge's "come back to the states " meant that he'd been here previously, not that he's an ex-pat wanting to return.

[Fudgethatkay]

I think Fudge's "come back to the states " meant that he'd been here previously, not that he's an ex-pat wanting to return.

My apologies, yes, this is what I meant.

He is a Japanese national.

[Sapphire Silk]

My apologies, yes, this is what I meant.

He is a Japanese national.

Oh. I assumed differently.

He needs an H1 B visa, then. He needs to find a job that has a shortage of American applicants. That could be tough with his limited education. Sure, he can still market being multi lingual, but that's not enough to get a visa to come work here. It doesn't sound like he has the kind of education attractive to employers. They can get American workers with the same educational background.

A better approach might be to apply for a student visa and try to go to school here in the US. He'd best look at smaller state universities with lower tuition. If his grades in Japan are good, he'd have a shot at scholarships. He won't be eligible for federal student aid, so he'll have to pay cash or get a scholarship.

Honestly, the odds are not in his favor if his family is not willing to support his further education. He's better off staying in Japan, saving his money, and paying for school there on his own. If he wants to come to the US after that, he needs to pick a highly skilled or professional job that has a shortage of trained people if he wants an H1B visa.

He needs to major in something other than Liberal Arts. If he actually goes back for linguistics and becomes fluent in more languages than Japanese and English, then he'd be marketable in the US. Chinese would be a good choice; American businesses still do a LOT of business there. He should research languages with growth potential.

Spanish won't help him one bit. The market is glutted. Arabic might be useful.

[Fudgethatkay]

Looks like our other options are more likely then....

[JambaBamba]

Insurance is a good field to get into, depending on what he likes doing (working with people, working with numbers and away from people). Right now there is (in many but not all states) a shortage of insurance professionals. Part of the reason for the shortage is many of the roles require a license, issued by the state. Being bilingual can definitely help with some of the positions in insurance.

My one suggestion on insurance is to try to find non-sales roles. Starting out in sales in Insurance can be difficult and frustrating - look instead at analyst roles (if you like working with numbers and excel), claims, or account management (if you like working more with people).