After the degree: work rights, graduate school and coming home

A degree abroad is usually also a bet on a country. Post-study work routes let graduates stay for a period and look for a job, and their length, conditions and salary thresholds are set by governments that revise them regularly — sometimes with little notice.

Questions to ask before you accept an offer

1. 1Is there a post-study work route at all, how long does it last, and does the length depend on the level of the degree?
2. 2Does it require a job offer, a minimum salary, or a sponsoring employer — and how many employers in your field actually sponsor?
3. 3Can the route lead to longer-term residence, or does it end and send you home regardless?
4. 4Is your degree recognised in the country you eventually want to work in? For regulated professions this is the whole question.

The careers service is part of what you paid for

Internship applications in many fields open a full year before the job starts, in the autumn of the second year. Universities with strong employer relationships run those pipelines on campus, and that access is a large and underrated part of the difference between two similarly ranked places. Ask the careers service, before you enrol, which companies recruit there and whether they hire international graduates.

If the plan is graduate school

Bologna-system degrees in Europe are three years and expect a separate master's; four-year degrees elsewhere often stand alone. If a research career is the goal, undergraduate research experience and the relationships with professors who will write your references matter more than the name on the certificate — and small departments are frequently better at both.