Offshore yourself: Making the move to Dublin

The Celtic tiger — Ireland’s high-tech boom — isn’t roaring quite as loud as it once did. A downturn in the overinflated housing market has helped slow the economy in Ireland, but many of the U.S. companies that fueled the boom by opening offices around Dublin remain on the hunt for experienced tech workers.

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What’s hot: Because Ireland’s tech industry is relatively young, companies there face significant challenges finding the deep technical know-how they require to ensure a competitive edge. As such, many are eager to look beyond the shores of Ireland to lure the right folks to fill open tech posts.

Ireland’s homegrown technology industry is quite small; the opportunity for foreign workers is often with U.S. companies that have set up shop there. A recent study found that 74 percent of U.S. companies in Ireland said that they have experienced difficulty finding skilled labor, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Dublin. That meant that 60 percent of companies in the study said they recruit outside of Ireland.

Those U.S. companies in Ireland are looking for developers, engineers, testers, and researchers, since the majority of them are technology-oriented companies. Sixteen of the top 19 U.S. companies in Ireland, by number of employees, are either technology or biomedical firms.

Pam Sindall, who recently worked for a year as a business intelligence analyst for the Office group at Microsoft’s European headquarters in Dublin, is one such tech veteran who rode deep technical experience to Ireland. Already working at Microsoft’s Redmond, Wash., headquarters, Sindall had more than just skills in her corner — she was a known quantity on which Microsoft ultimately placed its employment bet.

U.S. and multinational tech companies: Dell, Intel, IBM, Ericsson, Google, Oracle, Bell Labs, and Microsoft are among the many companies seeking tech veterans for Dublin area operations. And for those posting openings, the emphasis is, by and large, on experience.

Ireland’s Celtic tiger was initially fueled by U.S. companies that located call center and manufacturing operations in the country. But as the boom grew and prices rose, those operations shifted to cheaper locals, like India and China. In hopes of retaining jobs in Ireland, the government over the past few years has initiated incentives for companies to move up market, namely by encouraging them to open up research facilities in the country. That translates into opportunity for educated researchers and other technology workers.

Red tape: Corporate sponsorship emphasizing specialized skills used to be the best bet for obtaining a work permit in Ireland. But last year, a new law came into effect that could make it easier for non-European Union citizens to work in Ireland. A new green card system was initiated that lets essentially anyone earning more than €60,000 and many people earning less to buy a green card.

Historically, proving that a non-Irish candidate has skills not found among Irish workers on market was a necessary — and often arduous — process for companies hiring IT pros from abroad. Sindall, who lived there before the green card process and even had Microsoft on her side, experienced delays getting permission to work in Ireland.

Language: Fluency in English is a must for most jobs in Ireland. But with a growing population of people from abroad, Ireland is accepting of people who speak English as a second language. In fact, being multilingual can be a plus for people looking for certain types of jobs in Ireland since the country has built a reputation in recent years as a hot spot for localization work. Speaking multiple languages can be valuable for people at companies like Google and Microsoft, which do work in Ireland tweaking their Web sites and services for different languages and cultures.

While local people are required to study the native Irish language for many years in public schools and the state sponsors a TV and radio station in the language, visitors virtually never hear it spoken by people on the street. While it might be fun to learn a word or two in Irish — slainte, or cheers, can be useful in the pubs — it’s not in any way required.

Financials: For those looking to cash in on the Celtic tiger, beware lofty expectations. Dublin offers salaries on par with those in the United States, yet the cost of living is more expensive than most U.S. locations. A study done by UBS and released in March ranked Dublin the fourth most expensive city in the world, up from 13th in 2005. New York, the top U.S. city on the list, appears in 18th place.

Yet the draw of working in the vibrant, cultural center of Ireland can more than make up for the cost-of-living gap, Sindall says.

Family: The new green card system in Ireland purports to make it much easier for spouses and dependants to live and work in the country. A spouse or dependent of someone with a green card can look for jobs and are qualified for a spousal or dependent work permit.

Ireland doesn’t have an American school as such, although in 2007 a new school catering to international kids through the fourth grade, the International School of Dublin, opened. Ex-pats often choose to send their children to private schools, many of which have religious affiliations.

Americans interested in moving to Ireland should think seriously about health care implications of their move. Health care in Ireland compares very badly to its European neighbors. Ireland ranked 16th, behind almost all of its Western European neighbors in a 2007 study done by Health Consumer Powerhouse, a group that issues the ranking yearly. Plus, even a good insurance plan through an employer in Ireland typically leaves people paying more out-of-pocket expenses than some Americans may be used to.

Daily life and culture: Sindall, who became interested in working in Dublin after a former manager took a position there, wouldn’t trade her year in Dublin for anything. She was, however, surprised how different day-to-day life was at first.

“When I initially went, I was overwhelmed by having to figure out how to work everything,” Sindall says. Simple tasks like making phone calls, working the washing machine, and turning on the heat are very different in a Dublin apartment than one in the States, she adds.

Customer service is also something to get used to, Sindall notes. “Frankly [in the U.S.], customer service is getting everything I want,” she says. “In Dublin, customer service is, ‘You’re in my shop, and I’m letting you in.'”

But for Sindall and many high-tech ex-pats who have signed on for a tour in Dublin, craic — Irish for good conversation and good times — more than made the stint worthwhile. “You could be standing in line anywhere … and make some lame joke, and someone is always there to laugh and top it,” Sindall says. “It’s the part I missed the most when I came back.”

Ireland has the youngest population in Europe — 20 percent of the population is under age 15, according to Eurostat — so it has a youthful vibrancy. In practice, that means that the city center is lively, particularly on nights and weekends when the streets are abuzz with pub- and club-goers. But that doesn’t make Dublin unwelcoming to families. There are quieter suburbs and developments outside of downtown.