Students from BiH go to work in the USA: They can earn up to $14,000 in four months

Only last year, around 150 Bosnian-Herzegovinian students traveled to work in the United States during their break from university in BiH, and some of them earned up to $14,000.

Silvana Vasić, coordinator of the non-governmental organization BHV Education for BiH, based in Banja Luka and Sarajevo, which mediates between BiH students and the US Embassy in BiH, told the Patria news agency that student interest in going to work in the USA from BiH increases by up to 25 percent each year. This year, they expect to send around 200 students to the USA. Students most often work in hospitality, hotel, retail, and some other jobs.

Student interest in jobs abroad is high, but only first- and second-year full-time students who are not older than 30 are eligible.

BHV Education was founded in Croatia 20 years ago, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2003.

- Students we send to the USA can stay there for four months based on a work permit, plus one additional month as tourists. If they use that time wisely, they can earn between $8,000 and $14,000. That is enough to cover travel and accommodation costs in the USA, and they can also save some money - says Silvana.

BHV Education does not only offer students the opportunity to go abroad for work. They have created a whole system for going to foreign countries for learning and improvement. For example, Silvana says, there is a real rush among students to go study in Denmark. Education in this country is free. Interestingly, these benefits are more often used by students from Herzegovina than from Bosnia.

Students are no less interested in going to Great Britain, Norway, or other countries, where local governments offer loans for education, and the loan is repaid only after finding a suitable job.

Going to foreign countries for education, says Silvana, has multiple benefits for high school students and students from BiH. The school program in many Western countries is such that after studies, students most often become very high-quality people, writes Patria.