Ok, first of all the "duck out every three months to get a new stamp on your passport" doesn't work anymore. Under the Schengen agreement, you're allowed 90 days out of 180 in the Schengen zone, so you have to leave for at least 90 days.
Practically speaking, without family ties, you pretty much have to find a job first and then have your employer "sponsor" your visa. This is, as you might expect, something of a hassle and an expense for an employer so you need to have something to offer in the job market that is unavailable locally. It usually also means that they will expect you to have a conversational level of the local language.
The ideal situation is to have a US employer send you over to Europe, but most companies reserve those sorts of positions for upper level and/or long-term employees. When I found a job in Germany (twenty years ago), I had 15 years of work experience in the US (as an accountant), three languages and a year of international experience (i.e. an exchange position in the UK) to offer. It took me 18 months of job hunting to find a job over there and I wound up spending nearly $20,000 (ultimately tax deductible) funding a trip over so I could take interviews "while I was in the area."
I know you said you don't want to hear it, but your chances at finding a job in Germany would be far, far better with some additional training and a few years of experience working in the US under your belt. Administrative work won't get you overseas. You need to be at a managerial level at least, preferably with some experience working "internationally" (i.e. working with colleagues or customers from a variety of countries and backgrounds).
Your other options are the student route (though you will have to return home after you're done), become an au pair (I think you can be one to age 30) but again you'll have to go home after your term is up, visit regularly and make friends and scout job opportunities while you're in the country then see how that develops over time.
Cheers,
Bev
Practically speaking, without family ties, you pretty much have to find a job first and then have your employer "sponsor" your visa. This is, as you might expect, something of a hassle and an expense for an employer so you need to have something to offer in the job market that is unavailable locally. It usually also means that they will expect you to have a conversational level of the local language.
The ideal situation is to have a US employer send you over to Europe, but most companies reserve those sorts of positions for upper level and/or long-term employees. When I found a job in Germany (twenty years ago), I had 15 years of work experience in the US (as an accountant), three languages and a year of international experience (i.e. an exchange position in the UK) to offer. It took me 18 months of job hunting to find a job over there and I wound up spending nearly $20,000 (ultimately tax deductible) funding a trip over so I could take interviews "while I was in the area."
I know you said you don't want to hear it, but your chances at finding a job in Germany would be far, far better with some additional training and a few years of experience working in the US under your belt. Administrative work won't get you overseas. You need to be at a managerial level at least, preferably with some experience working "internationally" (i.e. working with colleagues or customers from a variety of countries and backgrounds).
Your other options are the student route (though you will have to return home after you're done), become an au pair (I think you can be one to age 30) but again you'll have to go home after your term is up, visit regularly and make friends and scout job opportunities while you're in the country then see how that develops over time.
Cheers,
Bev
