Is it possible to get a 'student type job' such as a barman in Oslo, being only an english speaker?

Answer 1

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Not really. There are a lot of students looking for jobs with flexible hours, and most of them speak both languages (at least). If you walk into a restaurant/café/bar with a CV in English and only speaking English, they'll turn you right out. My Scottish boyfriend works in a student type job (he speaks Norwegian), and I've seen it happen to countless people that come in to apply. The only places that have English as a working language tend to be in science, engineering and similar tech fields.

It's expected that you can communicate with Norwegians in Norwegian, not to mention immigrants who may not speak English at all. It's also a disadvantage since most people do speak English well, thus it's not really a marketable skill if it's your only language. Tourist shops usually require a minimum of 3 languages. You might be able to get a cleaning job, but many of those also list that you need Norwegian. Most jobs stipulate that you have to be able to understand what's going on around you and at least basic instructions in Norwegian, even if you don't have customer contact (like a cook). There are occasional exceptions to this, but it usually involves a good contact who works there. If you take a beginner's course in the language though, so that you understand the basics, that should be enough to get you started.

Source(s):

American in Norway

Answer 2

Considering 90% of bartending involves dealing with the general Norwegian public, no. There should be lots of backpacker's jobs around the place though that cater for english speakers, you're best bet would be to go for one of those IMO.

Answer 3

Yes, if you want to learn Norwegian. You will need to make the effort, even though all your customers will speak good English

Answer 4

As Norway isn't in the EU you are going to find it difficult to find any kind of job over there but you will find no problems communicating as 99 percent of the people ther speak fluent English.