Hi there,

How hard would it be to find a flexible, well-payed job in switzerland, for someone who's mid 20s, and have 5 years experience in office job, but doesn't have a "paper" specialization or degree in something?

Office jobs are neither high paying, nor flexible.

Which Swiss languages do you speak fluently?

Tom

Degrees are not mandatory. But it depends what you mean well paid. Probably a checkout assistant in Denner is well paid by Italian standards.

You do not need a degree for a secretarial/PA position and they are relatively well paid here. The company is going to have to find a reason for employing a foreigner, which is likely to be a big hurdle. There are shortages where it is much easier to get a post e.g. as physio or nurse. AFAIK this does not extend to general general office workers.

I would assume Italian to be one based on their profile.

A degree isn’t required for roles outside of being a secretary either … some roles yes, but many do not

I've heard of office assistants getting 84k a year. Very stressful, and way underpaid for the value they add to the company.

Unfortunately they love their pieces of paper in the DACH countries. The reverence one is supposed to hold for those who hold a PhD "Herr/Frau Doktor" regardless of subject studied and ability is a peculiarity I've never managed to grasp.

Most high paying white collar jobs still require a degree in Switzerland. Meanwhile other countries have started to see the fallacy that degree=ability and are starting to move away from it. I still think it will be a long time before Switzerland catches up.

OP seems to be from the EU so the rules about prioritising a Swiss worker don't apply here.

But, yes, I agree that a degree is not necessary for mid-level secretarial.

To the OP, some kind of Business Admin qualification is useful but if you've been doing similar work up to now, make sure your CV is abundantly clear of the tasks you can handle.

That's more or less the 2-3 year apprenticeship formation of Kaufmann/Impegiato di Comercio around here. Usually companies hire people who made the their apprenticeship practical hours with them. But, there are other business who do not like to invest in the formation of the young. Thus, they hire workers formed in other companies or people outside the educational track of Switzerland. If you can effectively sell your experience in CV and interview, you'll get something.

As st2lemans mentioned above, more than 1 Swiss language is quite helpful. Italian/French + German will get you something.

Flexibility is...complicate. Cantons have different holidays, school holidays for children are different. So, business allow part time work, but working during certain weeks of the year is a bit rigid, non-negotiable. In the end, it depends on the business.

Even if the people with paper degrees spends the whole day doing powerpoints for endless meetings...this is the people you sell per hour at the daily price of people in countries that have started to see the fallacy that degree = ability. God has a wicked sense of humor

No, you do not need a degree to have a meaningful career in Switzerland. However, all things being equal, when inexperienced people are applying for roles, a company will usually prefer someone with a degree.

I moved to Switzerland from the UK in 2019 and I work in IT.


Do I have an degree!?!?!?!?!?.......Nope! And I have been working in IT for nearly 18 years.

Great, OP don't have to worry at all when he/she comes to CH with 14 years of experience by the year 2032

They are.

Tom

Hi paying office work in Ticino? Not going to happen, especially if they don't speak other Swiss languages such as German and French!

2k/month for cross-boarder workers.

Tom

Yes, but in Ticino office work requires also German, and ideally also French. English is also a nice to have, but far less important than German.

Thus, the languages question.

Tom

The IT industry is a special one full individuals like yourself, who call themselves experts; whom for those of us who do have degrees in IT consider special cases.

there are some CEOs of big companies who don't have degrees..

Companies that pay the best salaries are usually the better known ones I would say, like Nestle.

And the better known ones usually require you to have a degree; without it you don't get pass the recruitment robot they use to filter out 95% of the CVs that come through the door.

Take a step back and ask yourself the reasons you're looking to come to Switzerland. Sure it is a beautiful place but so is Sardinia or Tuscany in Italy. Assuming your not an academic what do you love to do and were would be the best place to do just that. I am not kidding when I say the world is open to you with 5 years work experience in your mid twenties; you will never be more employable than you are right now.

1) You do not necessarily 'need' a degree if you do have relevant experience and are a good fit for the role. Yes, even at 'big companies'.
2) Comparing CH to Sardinia or Tuscany is just ridiculous logic and in terms of economy, culture and climate CH is very different.