Ask HN: How can a Stanford developer get an internship in Stockholm?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7742768

by jesseclay • 12 years ago

2 5 12 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I'm graduating from Stanford University in just a few weeks and would absolutely love to live and work in Sweden for this upcoming summer (anywhere from 2-6 months). While I grew up in the United States and don't speak Swedish, I do have French citizenship. I love full-stack web-development and have also made several iOS applications. I can contribute from day one but also want to be in an environment where I can learn a ton.

Anyone here know of any places I might look? Better yet, anyone looking for someone like me? Thanks HN!

theivan2• 12 years ago

Hey,

I live in Stockholm, actually from here. Maybe I can help you out, at least a little bit.

First off, not speaking Swedish is fine. Almost anyone above the age of 7 speak English well enough. And second, since you are a French citizen you are allowed to work here without to much trouble.

I'm sure a lot of companies would love the help, hell I could use it myself. But Stockholm is not all good. It's extremely expensive and interns (praktikanter in Swedish) are not paid. At least I've never heard of one that get paid. You'll need a lot of resources and somewhere to live before you get here. Apartments in the city or close to it are hard to come by.

I could go on forever. But the bottom line is. Sweden and Stockholm are a great place to be but it's expensive and you need to be ready for it.

If you have any more questions I'm happy to help.

Cheers,

jesseclay2• 12 years ago

Thanks for the reply!

Wow, had no idea it wasn't customary to pay interns. That makes me wonder if I could get a job with someone doing a temporary contract for summer? Would that be unheard of?

theivan2• 12 years ago

The whole concept of interns in Sweden is different compared to the US. Here you intern while you study or even as a part of your education. There are a few smaller startups that are looking for interns sometimes. Most likely unpaid though.

Temporary contracts are more common. I'm currently on a 4 month contract at a huge telecom company.

My suggestion would be to just google whatever you want to work with and add Stockholm to the search. Most companies here have some kind of English homepage. If not - look for; Lediga jobb, Lediga tjänster, Karriär, Jobba hos oss. Those are probably the most common ways of saying "Work with us" or "Available positions". After that you just look for job ads with words or programming languages you recognize.

Good luck!

supersystem• 12 years ago

I'll give you some links:

http://swedishstartupspace.com/ http://www.meetup.com/STHLM-Tech-Meetup/ http://startuplocation.com/stockholms http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/11/european-sta... http://www.thelocal.se/20140508/stockholms-like-a-party-with...

Working shouldn't be a problem, living is the tricky part.

Ask HN: How can a Stanford developer get an internship in Stockholm?

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