Continuing Study and Work in Estonia

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An international student can work as much as you want as long as it doesn’t interfere with your studies. Meaning you are allowed to study and work in Estonia throughout the year as long as you pass a full load of courses and pass within the degree time frame. (If your degree is four years, you need to pass it within four years). There are many full-time and part-time jobs for international students.

Note: Failing to complete your studies within a specific timeframe would lead to termination of studentship as well as a residence permit.

4 Different Ways to Manage Study and Work in Estonia

As a student, you can work in four different ways to continue your study and work in Estonia.

• On-Campus Work

• Off-Campus Work

• Co-op placements

• Internships.

We won’t discuss co-op placement and internship here. Your course coordinator can guide you on this.

Working in Estonia after completion of Study:

All non-EU students can stay nine months in Estonia with permission from their university to look for jobs right after graduation.

Ways to get a job in Estonia:

Your opportunity to apply to all jobs will be limited if you don’t know the Estonian Language. But, finding a job may not be as straightforward or as challenging as you might have thought. It is prevalent for international and domestic students to continue studying while working.

Here, it is common to send your CV to a potential employer by email. Along with your CV, you need to write a motivational letter explaining why you are the best candidate for the position and why they should take you. Sometimes, the job you will apply for has the potential wage of the employee.

Steps of Securing Job to Balance Study and Work in Estonia

Steps of securing a job in Estonia for students

• Visit www.workinestonia.com

• Ask your acquaintances, classmates, and friends

• Career center and Information desk at your university

• Go to the company website’s career section to find opening job opportunities.

• Visit www.cvkeskus.ee

• Visit www.cv.ee/en

• Visit www.ej.ee

• Visit www.linkedin.com/jobs/jobs-in-estonia

• Visit emta.ee

• Visit http://www.ej.ee/est/

• For part-time or one-time gigs, visit goworkabit.com

• Visit Facebook Group 1

• Visit Facebook group 2

It would be wise if the job you are applying orientates toward your long term career goal. This part-time job experience would not only add experience but also provide you with excellent industry experience.

Study and Work in Estonia: Have Plan to Launch Startup?

Estonia is the hotbed in the European Startup Ecosystem. If you plan to start a business in Estonia, you would be amazed by the local start-up support ecosystem. Finding mentorship, funding, and help would be one hand away.

For more information on Estonian startup information, please visit:

• Garage48

• Startup Wiseguys

• Tehnopol StartUp Incubator

• Look for start-up opportunities at the university you are studying

Important note: 

Before settling in a job, ask your employer about the working contract, number of holidays, insurance coverage, and tax situation. If you are earning less than Euro 520/month, you won’t need to pay tax.

Getting jobs in Estonia will require you to prepare your CV in Europass format. Before leaving your home country, it would be wise to prepare your CV in Europass format. You will get many Europass CV template on the internet.

Learn more about Europass CV from the official website.

[Official Estonian Job Market guideline]

The minimum wage in Estonia per hour

An international student in Estonia can earn €3.48 gross per hour (2020). So, if you work full-time, then you will make €584 per month.

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