Finding your expat dream job in Switzerland

Switzerland is perennially popular with expats for its glorious scenery and high quality of life.

Expat professionals from across Europe and the rest of the world are attracted to the country for its high income levels and the stability of jobs in selected fields as well as its enviable quality of life. Average annual incomes are now between $80,000 and £100,000, plenty enough to ensure a more than comfortable lifestyle. Sectors in which the highest salaries are paid include IT, insurance and financial services and the pharmaceutical industry. For those in post-graduate academia, salaries are also good, dependent on the research field and the university concerned.

However, several issues make landing the perfect position less than straightforward, with job seekers placed in a queue dependent on their nationalities. Applicants from other EU member states and the European Free Trade Association, (EFTA), take precedence over all other applicants but are below Swiss applicants in the selection process. Only if Swiss employers are able to demonstrate they can’t fill a position with a Swiss or EU/EFTA citizen are so-called ‘third party nationals’ up for consideration. Foreign workers in Switzerland make up just over 30 per cent of the workforce, with 78 per cent of those employed coming from EU or EFTA countries.

Given the above, the best chance of getting a job is to have qualifications and skills in fields where Swiss professionals are comparatively rare. Skills shortages nowadays in Switzerland’s German-speaking region centre on the IT sector, engineering and the medical profession, whilst the Italian and French-speaking regions are short of trust and fiduciary service professionals as well as engineering and tech experts. Most career-oriented jobs in Switzerland can be found in online portals such as jobs.ch and Xpatjobs, but the majority of positions are filled without the need to post job adverts. For jobs in specific sectors including healthcare, networking and social media are the best bet.