This post has been a long time coming. We get asked over and over again ‘Can I find this or that job in Norway’ and ‘How much money will I get’. Sometimes I feel like a magic 8 ball – ‘ask me later’. From now on everyone who wants to find out if they will get a job with such-an-such education, with such-and-such experience and get what wage, will be directed here so they can hopefully read, even study, the information they need rather than blindly asking us every day.

There are two types of jobs in Norway – educated and uneducated.

To get an educated job you need at least a bachelor degree from a recognized and quality university. Many universities, especially from the Balkans or un-heard of universities in some obscure little corner of the world, are not recognized in Norway. Even some degrees from England are not recognized in Norway. Your university should meet the EU standards of education. Your degree must be at least 3 or 4 years long with enough theoretical and quality weighting for it to be considered. If you got your degree at some back alley online university in Thailand then your degree will likely not be recognized. University or college certificate level, no matter what level, are generally not good enough to be considered for degree requiring jobs. If you want a good chance at getting a good job in Norway it is best to have a masters degree from a well known university.

To gain recognition in Norway for your university qualifications you need to get accreditation. NOKUT is the Norwegian organization who is the authority on accreditation: http://www.nokut.no/en/

Having higher education will give you more options to search for work. It is financially safer for you to apply for jobs before coming to Norway. If you look for jobs while inside Norway it will cost you a lot of money and time. The cities (and work) is spread out over the country and you will likely have to travel all over the country for interviews costing lots of money. The people who hire educated workers normally have time to look for good candidates. Usually educated workers start after three months from being hired so if you have got a job in Norway while in your home country you will have time to move to Norway and settle in before starting work. Your employer might even give you a financial relocation bonus. If you are already in Norway, you will have to wait until your jobs starts and pay for another four months of living before your first pay check.

If employers are looking for international workers they will advertise internationally and quite often in English. Universities are a big employer of international workers. So are the oil, computing and health industries. In most cases your contract will require you to learn Norwegian. Knowing Norwegian is a big plus in getting a job in Norway but it will take you at least seven years of regular study before you could know Norwegian well enough. Don’t kid yourself. Going for jobs that require you to know the markets, systems, law, language, culture and people of Norway such as marketing, sales, tourism, accounting, banking, is like running on water – a waste of time and effort. Don’t go for such jobs unless you are aboslutely sure you know the markets, system, law, language, culture and people of Norway.

There are many uneducated jobs in Norway, mostly some form of cleaning, child care or farming. To get these jobs it is easier to already be in Norway. They are advertised in local newspapers, on boards and online. These jobs get filled quickly so employers won’t wait for you to get your immigration papers approved. You will need to be approved already to live in Norway. These jobs are very hard to get as there is an influx of eastern europeans crossing the border, living here for three months at a time in hope of getting any work they can. Some travel here with no money and live on the street. If you have education it will be hard to get employed in a uneducated position because the employer knows that as soon as something better comes up for you you will leave. Employers want people uneducated for uneducated jobs as they will likely stay longer in their cleaning/farming/day care job. If you decide to stay in Norway to look for a job it will cost you lots of money if you don’t want to live on the street. This is a huge risk without any guarantee of getting a job. Many people return to their home country poor and beaten by Norway.

We get asked a lot by readers ‘Will I get a job in Norway…’. The answer we want to say is ‘no’ but we don’t want to destroy peoples hopes. The bottom line is, if you do not have the capacity to study it out yourself if you will likely get a job or not then you are not a good candidate for employers in Norway. We have provided good information about jobs, environment and wages and still we get asked simple questions by ‘highly qualified’ people: ‘I have a masters in ocean engineering and a bachelor in ocean geography with ten years experience as a foreman of deep sea drilling – will I get a job in Norway, what job can I get and how much will it pay?’ Honestly, if you don’t know your own industry and how to get a job in it, you will likely not get a job in Norway.

We understand that uneducated people need help to get work in Norway – they should first check out nav.no – but if you have a degree from a university and yet you cannot figure out for yourself the most simplest things on getting a job in Norway, such as what is the government job agency and how to apply for a workers visa, then you are not what Norwegian employers are looking for. (Yes, I am repeating – but it is important!) Employers need competent, tough survivors that can make it in the toughest of climates being isolated from society because of the language. If you have to ask us rather than researching yourself you will not survive Norway. In Norway you will be on your own, there will be no one to help you understand the language, to help you shop, to know the law, to know the systems unless you speak Norwegian or have a Norwegian relative that will help you.

There is a difference between dreaming and reality. If you dream to have lots of money and a good life in Norway for you and your family, then it is just a dream. If you do all you can to get a good quality education recognized in Norway, learn the language, visit on holiday and try to immerse yourself in the culture then it is likely that your dream can become reality. I would say you’d be setting yourself up for the best possible chances of a life in Norway.

Lets look at wages in Norway. The wages below are in yearly incomes in Norwegian kroner. They are not based on official government statistics, they are my from my personal knowledge.

NOK 0 – 350,000
Poverty wage is anything below 230,000. Most basic out-of-high-school wages are 230,000-280,000. Expect 250,000 if you work at supermarkets, gas stations, fishing/farming, child care centres, retail and cleaning services, even cooks and most trades at entry level. Expect up to 280,000 if you have some responsibility in these jobs or are in hospitality/tourism. This is barely enough to live on in Norway. A family cannot survive on this without financial help from the government – both parents will have to work. Expect to get this if you don’t have a university education.

NOK 350,000 – 430,000
The bottom end is a fresh-out-of-university wage. It is also a trial wage. By Norwegian law employers have up to six months to trial their employees and as such can pay them a lesser wage. New teachers, IT, nurses/health, engineers, office/admin, trade workers and uneducated managers (like in retail) expect this wage. This is generally the top wage for leaders and managers who are uneducated. For a family to live, buying a house and a car, both parents must work and bring in this wage.

NOK 430,000 – 650,000
The bottom end is for leaders and managers in the health and education, IT, office/admin sectors – basically people with experience and it is the bottom end for master grads, also for experienced teachers/nurses and engineers. The bottom to mid is for banking, finance and business, leaders in the local government and new middle-management in oil/mining. The high end is for dentists, doctors and veterinarians in the government sector, university researchers/new professors, oil/mining industry leaders and leaders in engineering. Most Norwegians aim to be in this bracket for a comfortable life. Still, both parents need to work to maintain a stereotypical Norwegian lifestyle.

NOK 650,000+
Lawyers, judges, international diplomates, leaders in medicine, government, banking, higher education, oil/mining sector, – some high risk jobs and ‘inconvenient jobs’ hit this mark. etc.

So – long story short – if you are uneducated, expect less than 280,000. If you have a bachelor degree expect 350,000 – 430,000 at the beginning. If you have a masters degree expect 430,000 – 650,000 at the beginning. And if you are the best in your field in a money rich industry expect 650,000+.

If I haven’t mentioned your exact industry above, relate it to a similar industry to find out a guestimate of earning potential.

I hope those wondering if they ‘will get a job in Norway’ and ‘how much they will earn’ will read all this post to get a better idea rather than just ‘throwing it to the wind’. One of the most important things to remember about getting any job is no matter how prepared and well educated you may be, luck and timing is still added to the equation.

We wish you the best of luck in your job searching efforts in Norway and hope this post has come to you with good timing.

Berry season is a delight in Norway.  The cool summer climate makes the berries ripen slower and develops a wonderful sweetness and flavour.  Berry season starts around late June with strawberries and finishes around the middle of October with black currants.  There are many lovely berries in between that bloom in the forests naturally and start off a wonderful season of fresh desserts and jamming.  Here are some of the most common picking berries in Norway:

Late June – Strawberries (jordbær)

Norwegian strawberries are highly prized because of their vibrant sweet flavour.  They don’t usually look so perfect like the intensive farmed ones from Holland and they are picked ripe so they have a lovely redness inside.  Strawberries are often eaten with just a sprinkling of sugar and a dollop of cream and they are a favourite for decorating cream cakes.  Many Norwegians grow their own strawberries.  Once a year shops have Norwegian strawberry specials where people stand in long lines to buy cases of strawberries.  These berries are meant for home freezing and jamming to last throughout the Christmas season.  Sometimes in the bigger cities street sellers sell Norwegian strawberries in punnets.

Norway also has a wild strawberry that grows in secluded places.  It is very small but bursting with flavour.  These berries are highly prized and some families have kept their special patch secret for generations.  These strawberries can only grow in the wild and are slowly dying out.

Late July – Cloudberries (molter)

Cloudberries are a favourite in Norway and the most expensive berry to buy – this year they were NOK 350 a kilo!  They are nick named Arctic Gold, ‘gold’ because of their colour, but these days the name is quite fitting for the price.  Cloudberries only grow in the wild and one has to brave mountain climbs, swamps and mosquitoes to get to the good patches.  They grow similar to strawberries with a system of underground vines.  The berries are so delicate that they cannot be washed after picking otherwise they will disintegrate.  There has been much research done on the clouberry but they are still not sure if the berry is pollinated by air or insects. But the berries need a long warm up to the season, lots of sun for the final ripening, to be at their best.  The berries in the mountains take longer to ripen than the lowlands because it is cooler higher up.  Norwegians have their favourite ‘personal’ cloudberry fields.  It is a tragedy when someone else discovers your space and has picked before they are ripened, so much that it has actually been made illegal to pick unripened berries.  When the berries ripen their tastes moves from a sour-bitter to a sweet apple-like flavour.  Cloudberries are often eaten with just whipped cream – simple is best to capture the flavour.  The berries make a lovely jam and because they are so delicate they naturally make a tangy sauce mixture which goes great with yoghurt and ice cream.  Norwegians always pick more than they can eat fresh so they can freeze them for the winter season.

We are lucky enough to have our own private cloudberry swamp on the farm.  The horses are too lazy to graze for berries but when we go picking they come calling.

For a comprehensive picking guide to clouberries see our post Guide to Clouberries

Crowberries (krekling or krøkebær)
These berries aren’t widely used because they are bitter and tough to eat.  They are mainly used for juicing and are often collected as collateral as they often grow in the same areas as bilberries.  They are a diuretic and because of this in Norway they are also called ‘piss berries’ (pissbær).

 Mid-August – Morello Cherries (moreller)

Morello Cherries grow in Norway but are originally from China.  They are a very common summer berry bought in the stores.  These cherries are mainly eaten naturally but can be made into compotes.

Blackberries (bjørnebær)
These berries grow in the south of Norway as they like a warmer climate.  They have a long picking season from August to October.  They grow in peoples gardens but about 34 of the 40 species in Norway grow naturally in the wild, many of them are red-listed on the extinction list.  They are very good for cake decoration and are warmed up to pour over ice cream.  They are also eaten fresh over breakfast cereals or in fruit salads.

Late August – Bilberries (blåbær)
Also called the Arctic Blueberry, bilberries are a very common, naturally grown ‘blue berry’ in Norway.

They are found in wet forests usually on hillsides and in gullies.  On the bush they are blue but when picked they turn black.  The berries are purple inside and work well as a natural dye.  It is well know that these berries are very good for you during the flu season.  They have a higher nutritional content than shop bought berries and actually have as much omega3 in them as salmon.

The berries grow in abundance in Norway and are easy to collect.  Berry collectors are used to quickly graze large areas.  This seems like a good idea but it also plucks off many leaves and scrapes the branches.  Berry pluckers can easily destroy good berry fields.

Another hazard is lemmings.  The past year we had a lemming season in the North – a plague of lemmings swept over the land and bushes were depleted of good berries.  We prefer the ‘fair picking’ method of hand work.  This leaves the bushes intact, allows gentler handling of the berries and makes less cleaning afterward.

Bilberries are used for teas, desserts, breakfast, juices, cordial and as a jam on pancakes.  We also love them in our smoothies.

Raspberries (bringebær)
There are two types of raspberries in Norway – wild ones and garden ones.  The wild raspberries are a lot smaller than the traditional raspberry, more tangy and a little more robust.  The leaves can be used for tea and have a medicinal value.  They were brought to Norway in the early 1700s from Central Asia.  These berries can act like a pest and grow aggressively when left to its own devices.  The berries are used for cake decoration and filling, jams and sauces.

Early September – Cowberries (tyttebær)

Financially, cowberries are the most important wild berry.  It is picked commercially and is used mostly in sauces and jams for game meat, meatballs and Christmas rib.  Cowberries are used for a common Norwegian dessert called Troll cream – beaten egg white with the berries and sugar.  The berries grow mostly on moist mountainsides on a small shrub, in clumps of three or four.  Berry pickers are used to harvest them.  They prefer cold summers and spread under ground like cloudberries.  This is an old Norwegian medicinal plant used to cure urinary tract infections.

Late September – Red and Black Currants (rips and solbær)

These berries are native to Norway but do not grow wild anymore.  It used to be a medicinal plant before they figured out they could make wine from it.  It is a common plant in peoples gardens and they are also grown commercially in Norway.  They are mainly used for juicing and jams, wines and liqueurs.  Only a small amount is traded fresh.  The taste is quite strong and so only a little in used for flavouring or topping cakes.

Moose berries (elgbær)
There is another type of berry that you have to watch out for as they can warn you of near danger.  The elgbær, ‘moose berries’ or moose droppings, can be found on the forest ground all over Norway.  When you spot these berries you know a moose has been there and you need to be on the look out.

Cows become very protective of their young and berry season can make for a dangerous situation in the wild if you manage to get yourself in between a cow and her young.  As our whole family love picking berries together we also bring our dog.  He roams freely checking out the place, running here and there but most importantly he makes enough noise as to scare any critter that would like to have a confrontation.

So if you find yourself in Norway during this wonderful berry season and you want to go picking make sure you do your back stretches, take plenty of buckets, wear water-proof boots and pants, a mosquito hat and warm clothes, especially a light beanie for your ears and maybe a dog to give the local critters a heads up that you are in their territory scabbing their berries.  (I mean the fruit ones, not the ground ones.)

Cities are small in Norway but still cars are subject to the ‘city driving’ syndrome where short trips after a while can clog up the engine.  So every now and then, and especially in summer, it is good to take the car our for a long drive so it can stretch its legs.

We essentially have three directions to drive – along the E6 to go south through the country, the Kautokeino road towards Finnland or along the E6 north towards North Cape.  This time our Sunday drive was north towards the sun.  It was the middle of summer, the weather was sunny and dry, perfect for a casual drive.

Just coming out from Alta the windy road passes Rafsbotn, a little town.  Not long after you hit the long straight road Stokkedalsveien.  During the winter this road is very treacherous – snow, wind and ice.  During the summer it is a wonderful place of discovery… if you really look.

Half way a long the road is a quaint little church in Sennalandet, the middle of nowhere.  I think the isolation makes it very beautiful and in the winter time when everything is white the church stands like a beacon in the sea of snow.

Across the road is a small abandoned Sami tourist site.  Two skinless lavvos stand over dusty fireplaces.  We got to examine how big lavvos are structured – very handy for when we put ours up on the farm.

Skaidi is a ‘resting stop’ town.  It has a service station, a roadhouse and a hotel.  On a dry sunny day it is an oasis in the wilderness.  Ice cream goes down well in the middle of our around trip.

Cycle tourists are very common on the E6.  They usually travel in twos, often a retired husband and wife (I’m presuming).  The wife is usually 100 metres behind (and I always just want to get out and give her a little push to help her catch up).  The bikes have little trailers that carry all the essential gear.  I know it would be cheaper to cycle than driving a car through Europe but their food bill must be outrageous.

There are always opportunities to see reindeer along the road.  Reindeer are so used to cars that they often play chicken.  The reindeer are free to walk everywhere.  There are also Arctic foxes, hares and hawks to be seen if you are lucky.

As you can see in the picture below, even though it is the middle of summer and ice cream weather, there is still snow on the ground and on the small mountains.

An unexpected delight on the way home was getting very close to a moose calf.  It was just standing there by the railing looking at the cars going by.

I so wanted to jump out of the car and give the calf a cuddle but that is not a good idea at the best of times.  Moose cows are extremely protective of their young and will fight off any threat.  But sadly we couldn’t see any cow.  We got out of the car a little further up the road to wait for the cow to show herself but she never did.  We got back in the car to drive home, exhilarated at seeing the calf but worried too for its future.

Wikimedia Commons

Maternity staff at Tromsø University Hospital (UNN) have experienced an increase in pregnant women requesting to have their labour induced so they can give birth before 1st of September.

Children born before 1st of September will have a place secured in kindergarten from next year, by government regulations. Those who didn’t meet that deadline will have to wait an extra year, when the child turns two.

Pedriatic nurse Hege Hind at the UNN says the staff has been getting several requests from soon-to-be parents to induce labour artificially, specifically so the child could be born to make the kindergarten cutoff.

The hospital staff make it clear that they do not induce labour artificially, even if the mother is in week 38-39 of the pregnancy, unless there are medical reasons to do so. Getting into kindergarten is not a good enough reason, says Head of Department Siv Skarding.

Skarding thinks it is sad that our society is set up to make parents feel pressured to take such steps. Several of the hospital staff have also had to reduce their hours because they missed the kindergarten deadline.

Via Nordlys.no and NTB