How difficult is it to pursue a career in another country?

Congratuations on wanting to pursure working internationally. As an American, there are certainly opportunities to work abroad, but the ease with which you can do it will depend on a number of factors:

-The countries where you want to work: Each country has different immigration and visa regulations that affect who can be considered for a work visa and how difficult it is to employ non-residents. If you happen to be dual citizen, or qualify for dual citizenship, that would make it easier to work in that country.

-The industry you are interested in: In some industries, like language teaching, diplomacy, post-secondary teaching, petroleum engineering, it is very common to see people hired to work outside of their home country. This will also vary based on the country where you might be interested in working. Certain fields need international hires because there are not may trained people in the area.

-Whether you are working for a local firm in the country or an international organization: International organizations are more experienced in dealing with immigration and visa issues and thus are more likely to hire a candidate who needs a work visa. If you want to work for an organization based in the country you want to work in, it may be more challenging since they may not be prepared or willing to sponsor a work visa application. Many Western countries make it very tough to hire such applications.

-The level of education or experience required: Unless you are working in an industry where international hires are common, positions that will consider applicants that require work visas are generally specialized positions requiring either quite a bit of education or experience. As I said before, hiring a candidate that requires a work visa can be difficult and expensive, so the organization needs to reap special benefits for hiring such a person.

I hope that helps. If you get a better idea what kind of work you are interested in or where you would like to work, I could give you a more specific answer.

Karen,
Living and working abroad can be amazing & challenging!! For you at such a young age, and just about ready to venture into the real world, you need an idea of exactly what you want to do. Much like Jaron stated in his post, most jobs abroad are specialized areas and you will need a significant amount of education. The one area that I do know well, is teaching English as a Second Language. Many companies only require you to have a Bachelor's degree, and it does not always need to be in English. These companies simply want Native English speakers with a bit of education to work in their schools or institutions. This is an excellent opportunity to work and travel overseas. The benefits are usually pretty good, and the reward always outranks the pay and benefits. Depending on your interest, another area you could seek to travel abroad is through the Peace Corps or Teach for America (yet another teaching opportunity). If you network actively and manage to be in the right place at the right time, you can land a position with a great reputable company that provides the opportunity to travel or simply offers a position in a country they are expanding in. Again...all this depends on what area you are seeking out after high school. Once you determine that, we can discuss further!! Good luck in the meantime!!

Dear Karen,

I strongly suport you on going abroad. I did that too a few years ago, and now I can say it was the best thing I've ever done!
I am from Spain, I studied languages in college, and I always loved to travel. I know, travelling is not the same than moving to another country, but it's the beggining...!
There are lots of ways to do it, there are really interesting programs to study in Europe, for instance, that will help you develop your career and find a good job after that.
Since you are still in highschool and have a lot of time to find what you really want to do in life, I recomend you to take a "gap year" and discover the world by yourself, and without pressure. You need to get out of your comfort zone first, see if you like being so far away from home, etc... after that, everything will come easy! It is very common nowadays to be an au pair (that's what I did to improve my english while I studing a masters. Best experience ever). This is a really good option if you are not sure where to go, what to do, and what to expect (also, the au pair agencies normally take care of proccesing your visa, what makes everything much easier!). The experiences you will live through this "adventure" will change you forever, and will help you to find the "real you"...!!

Also, in some countries you can get a tourist visa for 3-6 months (depends on the relationships with the countries) where you can work some hours a week, like teaching your language, or work in a summer camp. Normally they are called "Work and Travel", and it's also a good idea for starting the travel adventure!

It's a tough decision, but it'll for sure worth it!
Anything I can help with, here I am!!
Good luck!!

Maria.