Career Talk for Internationals - graduates promote working in Austria

How can international students find the right job in Austria? What should they keep in mind when looking for internships and positions after graduation? On April 3, 2025, five of our successful alumni from international study programs returned to Wels Campus for the Career Talk for Internationals and shared their experience with current students. They graduated from FH Upper Austria’s programs in Automotive Mechatronics and Management (AMM), Innovation and Product Management (IPM), Electrical Engineering (EE), and Sustainable Energy Systems (SES) over the past eight years and are now all working in companies in Austria.

One of the speakers, Ulfat Hasangarayev, originally from Azerbaijan, began his journey with FH’s International Foundation Programme (IFP), a program that prepares and qualifies international students for entry into higher education. “My reality in Austria, as a foreigner, has honestly felt like building the life I once dreamed of. I say this from the heart and from experience. I’ve found amazing friends, supportive colleagues, a 10/10 work environment, fair systems and regulations that truly work, kind people who help you feel integrated, and nature that feels like heaven plus so much more,” Ulfat summarized his experience. He is now working at TGW Logistics Group as a Cognitive Systems Developer.

Regarding where to start looking for internships and job opportunities, Chetana Vangala, an SES graduate from India now working at ENERY Development GmbH, strongly recommended students attend career fairs (such as the FH Karrieremesse at Wels Campus on October 8-9, 2025) and follow up with HR managers. She also found the immigration services provided by ABA extremely useful, guiding not only skilled migrants but also employers through the bureaucracy.

María Molina, an Innovation & Foresight Expert at PALFINGER AG, and her Colombian compatriot Esteban Gamez, now working at KREISEL ELECTRIC, shared insights on job interviews from both the candidate’s and the employer’s perspective. They emphasized the importance of being authentic rather than producing a perfect CV with the help of AI tools. 

Another factor that has been very helpful for finding great positions and internship opportunities has been networking with professors and alumni of the program. Ben Finger, an EE graduate at FRONIUS International, reported how he started at that same company with an internship, which a fellow student in the year above recommended because of his programming skills. He was then able to shift focus later for his Master’s thesis and transitioned from software into hardware development. In 2017, Ben had moved from the U.S. to Austria, the country of his grandmother’s heritage, for Bachelor’s and then Master’s studies in Electrical Engineering. He is bilingual and, unlike most international students, faced no language barrier. Admitting that learning German is not an easy task and doesn’t just happen, the panelists agreed that it is worth the effort. There are companies in Austria with English as the working language and an increasing number of multinational teams, but “it just makes life so much easier,” as one of the speakers phrased it.

Another message that all five panelists agreed upon: Austria is a great place to work, and employers shouldn’t be afraid to hire internationals. The five alumni on stage are just a few of many successful examples of FH Upper Austria graduates who stayed in Austria after their studies. More than 90 international students enjoyed the networking at this year’s Career Talk for Internationals at Wels Campus. They all hope to find internships and career opportunities in the region despite the current economic situation.