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A tough summer ahead for Irish J1 students in the US

By
DANIEL O'CARROLL,
Published Friday, June 11, 2010, 2:22 PM
Updated Saturday, June 12, 2010, 10:34 AM

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Tough summer season in the US for Irish students
Tough summer season in the US for Irish students


Irish college students spending summers stateside on J1 student work visas are reporting another difficult summer on the United States job market.

Over 20,000 J1-student travel visas were issued by the United States Consulate in Dublin last year. This year’s numbers are thought to be almost as large.

The usual destinations feature prominently as ever in the list of key J1 destinations: New York, Boston, San Diego and Chicago loom large for Irish student job-seekers. Other lesser-known destinations like Ocean City and Montauk, Long Island are also maintaining their popularity.

Although this year’s J1ers seem to be enjoying relatively more success than last year’s crop, the going has still been described as tough by those currently out on a J1.

Conor Hinds, of Cork, Ireland, is currently in San Francisco looking for work, but has been disappointed with employers’ responses so far.

 “There’s been nothing so far” said the disappointed traveler. “I’d clean toilets if I had to but I haven’t even been able to find that”.

Hinds added that he had not been able to capitalize on what he described as his “extensive” domestic experience. “I’ll clean the dishes and vacuum the floors if I have to but I haven’t even been able to find that sort of work!” said Hinds.

Hinds said that the large number of Irish in San Francisco “wasn’t helping” the situation, adding that he thought it was “crowding out the job market”.

David O’Donovan, also of Cork, has had somewhat better luck. The 19-year-old currently finds himself selling clothes in an Ocean City beachside shop: “It’s good”, said O’Donovan, who added that in contrast to Hinds most of his friends had been able to find jobs also.

Many Irish, though, continue to find it near impossible to get an offer of work. Alex McCarthy has been in New York for two weeks but is nearing desperation point as he struggles to find job offers.

A makeshift Irish jobs center has been set up in a New York Irish bar, where job advice is served with a pint, but despite this new amenity many Irish still find themselves unable to find anything.

“It’s not quite what I had expected”, said a Galway student who wished to remain nameless, “I’d come to  New York assuming that I’d just pop into the nearest Irish pub and get working that afternoon, but stuff hasn’t quite panned out like that all!”.

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5 Comments

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allie.ready2wk | Aug 30, 2010, 02:59 PM EDT
I have a J-1 and H2b visa company. The job market has been tough the last two years. I feel for the students seeking work. In reality Americans will not scrub toilets or clean hotel rooms for min wage. The jobs are only offered after Americans keep turning them down. They are out there but the employers are still unsure due to the economy. If they would think about it, hiring foreign workers could actually help keep their business going......

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Ms.Gail | Jun 14, 2010, 11:03 AM EDT
Advice to next year's students. Start in Sept, searching the net for the city you want to visit. Think about the type of employment you'd like, contact the local chamber of commerce to determine which businesses in the city provide the goods or services requiring the work the student would like to do. Research the company. Contact the company and ask about spending the summer working for them. Do that until an offer is tendered and accepted. One paragraph here, part time job for student.

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Adoptsalot | Jun 14, 2010, 10:42 AM EDT
Somebody should have told these kids the real story, 10.6% of Americans workers are claiming Unemployment benefits, and the total unemployment number is estimatated to be 16.6-19.2% when you include those that have expired their benefits or did not qualify for them. Going to be really tough to find anything that will pay the bills.

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zoeyue82 | Jun 12, 2010, 10:56 PM EDT
ss

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atekhaculture | Jun 12, 2010, 09:09 AM EDT
It is a great pleasure joining the site, i feel Home

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