Can I get job in Finland?

Comparing & Contrasting: Iceland and Finland?

• I have been researching and reading a lot about Finland lately and I have made almost a 100% decision that I want to move there for my Master's degree and to pursue an Engineering career (after I'm finished with a few years in the States for my Bachelor's degree). I already know a lot about Finland from the things I have read, such as: How technologically advanced it is How the people are very shy and quiet but also are very friendly and cooperative with one another How little corruption it has How effective their education system is Their excellent fluency in the English language Their scientific and mathematic literacy Their fairly low poverty rate Their use of renewable energy and preservation of their environment Their civil rights, including freedom of press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, democracy... Their national pride etc. etc. However, I have just recently become interested in Iceland and I have to say I am very impressed with it. Of the things I listed above, how does Iceland compare with Finland? I would also like to know how their job openings in the engineering field compare with Finland (since from what I've heard, there aren't a lot in Finland at the moment). I'd also be curious to know their relationship with the rest of the world (since I know Finland generally keeps to themselves) and the climate there (yes, I know it's cold as hell, but I've heard that the summer months in Finland are usually fairly nice). Final note: I know the Icelandic language is extremely difficult to learn, and how most people say it's one of the most difficult in the world. That's why I'm interested in their fluency in English because I want to know how long I can get with English alone (I'm usually not bad with picking up languages through immersion).

• Answer:

  Hey there All Icelanders speak English more or less fluently. They start studying the language when they're 10 and it's their 1st foreign language of 2-3 (depending on their level of education). I would expect the Icelandic language to be easier to learn for an English speaker as both languages are Germanic and share a certain vocabulary and grammar while Finnish is Finno-Ugric and has little or nothing in common with the Indo-European languages (French, English, German, Russian, Indian, Icelandic etc.). I'm not entirely sure I'm qualified to compare Iceland to Finland as I'm much better informed about my own country than the other.Therefore, I think I will describe Iceland in accordance to the list and give you the opportunity to compare them. How technologically advanced it is World innovation champions ;) http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/next/archives/2010/03/once_upon_a_tim.html How the people are very shy and quiet but also are very friendly and cooperative with one another Icelanders are generally more outspoken than shy in my opinion, but I have heard both things from tourists; that Icelanders are closed and not very talkative and that they are open and friendly. I guess it's very different between individuals and hard to declare something about a whole nation. How little corruption it has The whole financial sector used to be very corrupt (and more corrupt than people generally realized), but it has changed a lot after the crisis. How effective their education system is Around or over 30% of working people have a university degree and a lot of emphasis is put on maintaining equal opportunities for everyone, "irrespective of sex, economic status, residential location, religion, possible handicap, and cultural or social background". Their excellent fluency in the English language Considerable excellency, if that's any sort of an answer. Their scientific and mathematical literacy Well below Finland actually. According to statistics Iceland ranks similar to Denmark. Their fairly low poverty rate Like in other Scandinavian countries poverty is almost non-existent. Their use of renewable energy and preservation of their environment Around 81% of primary energy is derived from renewable sources, hydro power and geothermal and the country's goal is to be carbon and oil free by 2050. Their civil rights, including freedom of press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, democracy... http://www.nationmaster.com/red/country/ic-iceland/dem-democracy&all=1 http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_eco_fre-economy-economic-freedom http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/12/iceland-haven-freedom-speech-wikileaks Their national pride Icelanders are big on national pride (perhaps profusely). A part of the Wikipedia article about the culture of Iceland says: "Yet, an important key to understanding Icelanders and their culture (and which differentiates them from the majority of their contemporary Nordic peoples) is the high importance they place on the traits of independence and self-sufficiency." Icelanders are generally very proud of their language, history, nature, culture, music, handball team etc. To demonstrate that pride I will finish my answer with two videos ;) http://vimeo.com/12236680 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRAQrDduaU0 Best wishes to you :) Edit: I wouldn't say there were no jobs in Iceland. Unemployment rate is approx. the same in Iceland as in Finland (8.5%) - which is actually 4 times what it used to be. And the government is trying to restore the economy by investing in education and innovation.