Social Networking

I didn’t spend much time joining new mainstream social networks, but dedicated some time to finding some communities organized around action! (keep reading the entire post to find out what I mean)

• In 2009 I remained very active on Twitter and Facebook and said goodbye to FriendFeed. I’m still using ASmallWorld, Flickr and LinkedIn but they are not the first sites I open each day.
• Biggest resource of 2009: It remained Twitter. The diversity of people I follow or are exposed to through ReTweets and lists make it an immediate go-to for me.
• Biggest sell-out of 2009: For me, it was FriendFeed. I think Facebook buying it (and subsequently not improving or investing in it) means it’s dead in the water, and I think FF really needs to improve the way users interact (perhaps adding photos to each comment) as some very interesting discussions occurred there but also some crazy flames and ganging up, too. Also, people deleting their accounts meant entire discussions disappeared. There’s a lack of accountability that I feel other sites handle better.
• Bloggers met (in person) in 2009: This was a big year for seeing food bloggers at the BlogHer conference in Chicago, but I was a little upset BlogHer Food was announced after I’d made my plans (hurry up and announce if there’ll be a date in 2010!). I really enjoyed Travel Blog Exchange in Chicago where I met so many great travel bloggers. I continue to meet tons of Italian bloggers as an organizer for the Girl Geek Dinners in Milan.

Blogging, Photography and Computing

• Domains I have active websites on: 5
• Domains I have bought but haven’t started using: 6 (I see this number increasing very soon – buying domains is the new impulse shopping)
• 5 Most popular blog posts on this blog (written in 2009): Nutella Virgin? 50 Ways to Eat Nutella and Nutella Lover Types, The Search for the Perfect Frosting Recipe, Lemon French Macarons with Limoncello White Chocolate Ganache Recipe, Dark Mint Chocolate French Macarons Recipe, Panzanella: Tuscan Bread Salad Recipe
• RSS Feeds: I know some people are saying RSS is dead, but for me, it’s still going strong. This year I had a huge jump in feeds – from 211 to 339 feeds that I read, but I find that most people aren’t posting as much as they used to, and I’m getting much better at skimming titles and content so I don’t feel it’s taking more time. I added three new categories that I classify my feeds in: “Girl Geeks” “Travel” and “Photography“
• Camera and Video camera equipment: Still using my 10MP Canon Digital Rebel XTi, and my Canon PowerShot SD750 7.1MP for quick shots and video. But this year I’ll have the Kodak Zi8 (my Zi8 is raspberry!) as my go-to for video – I am really loving it, though I also used a Flip Ultra this summer. I had to buy another Canon 50mm f1.4 lens as I broke the first one in January in Istanbul, and this year I added the 28-135mm Canon zoom for a decent telephoto lens. But I like playing with prime lenses – I’m thinking about an 85mm, 100mm or 200mm!
• Backing up Data & External drives: This continues to be the most important part of my regime – backup! I am employing the 3,2,1 method – 3 copies of everything, 2 onsite, 1 offsite. For the onsite, Western Digital 250GB Passport and my Western Digital MyBook 750GB do fine for now, but probably this year I will upgrade to a 1 or 2TB. I’m also still using Mozy (a Pro account) to do a further backup online of my photos and other critical files, now from my Mac. Read more about How to Backup Files using Online and Offline Software on my tech blog.
• Computer: This year, to avoid the Microsoft XP-Vista-7 Bermuda triangle this summer, I bought a MacBook Pro. So far I’m enjoying it and using OpenOffice and GIMP instead of Office and Photoshop on my old laptop.

Fundraising, Donations, and Supporting Causes

This section has become even more important to me as this year I stepped up my giving efforts and put my money where my mouth is when it comes to supporting open source, services that I regularly benefit from and interesting causes.

• Working with causes, powered by Social Networks and Bloggers: we continued Ovarian Cancer for Awareness in October with a great turnout, I contributed two great bid items to Menu for Hope and gave David a hand with the Europe round-up – we raised more than $78,000! I also want to give a shout-out to the travel bloggers’ initiative Passports with Purpose which raised more than $26,000 – this year I just donated money but hopefully next year I can be more involved.
• Supporting other entrepreneurs via Kiva.org, which I had known about for quite some time, in July I bit the bullet and signed up to become a microloan lender. For now I’m concentrating on mainly female entrepreneurs. I know that I’m not donating directly to the individuals, but for now I still think it’s a worthwhile contribution that I can keep reinvesting.
• Supporting interesting projects and the arts at Kickstarter.com – it’s a community-powered lending site for projects that are proposed by individuals and teams who are then responsible for getting 100% of the funded amount (or nothing at all) by a deadline. Most projects revolve around the arts (music, photography, film, design) and new projects are being inserted often! The project owners offer special incentives to donors based on the level of donation in the form of handmade things, photos, updates, etc., tailored to the project. It’s the 21st century of patronage. Here’s my profile. (Anyone have an invite to start a Kickstarter project? Contact me…I have an idea!)

Open Source Software and Creative Commons

I continue to be a big advocate of open source software and I’m also making some strides to contribute more in terms of my own T&M (time and materials).

• CreativeCommons.net – I’ve contributed to CC and now I’ve also got a profile on the Creative Commons network that I will update as I release more works with Creative Commons licenses – so far I’ve listed my photos that are Creative Commons (easily found on Flickr) and the ebook I created this summer: “101 American Foods to Try in the USA” - if you don’t know what Creative Commons is, read my “Guide to Copyright and Creative Commons” on my tech blog, When I Have Time.
• Open Source Software I’m Using: not much has changed here – I’m still using WordPress for websites/blogs, Firefox web browser, FileZilla for FTP, VLC media player, Open Office docs and spreadsheets, PDFCreator, Synkron synchronization software, and 7 Zip zip files.
• Goodbye Photoshop: Last year I said goodbye to Microsoft Office, and this year I’ve left Adobe Photoshop and moved completely to GIMP for my photo editing, and recently I wrote a tutorial about 7 easy Photoshop Tricks you can do with GIMP for Free on my tech blog, When I Have Time.

Food, Cooking & Eating

This year, while I never stopped eating, I did decide not to keep up with the Joneses so much this year. I can’t be chasing the latest trend across the globe, stocking my pantry full of one-use ingredients, or making a ton of space in my tiny apartment for single plates, forks and endless napkins that I can’t use in normal life. When I moved apartments this year, and I had to choose between plates and memories as my meager belongings are still following me around the globe, it definitely struck me that I can’t become a food stylist with the shelf space I have available in the near future.

This year, I’m changing up my goals a bit. I’m trying to focus on a little more savory things and more “basics” – I got the book “Ratio” by Michael Ruhlman and I bought a few more cookbooks with some basics in them – I intend to do a little more offline reading this year for my cooking inspiration. Luckily I have a little space available to expand my cookbook collection (currently hovering under a dozen books!) as I made room for things during the move.

• New discoveries on the blog: camel milk chocolate, lokum from Istanbul, Turkey, the search for the perfect frosting recipe, Pocket Espresso to Go

First, let’s look back: How did I do on my “I Dare” cooking challenges for 2009? Again, not as well as I’d hoped.

1. Cake, cupcake, cookie decorating – I did make valiant advances in looking for the perfect frosting recipe, but my decorating set remained mainly untouched.
2. 12 Fresh Pastas – I continued to make fresh pasta like Fresh Spinach Reginette Pasta with Walnut Pesto and How to Make Fresh Homemade Spaghetti alle Vongole, Pasta with Clams but I didn’t get to 12 types, at least on the blog.
3. Alternative flours, grains and legumes - I continue to use alternative grains every day but I’m not blogging about it.
4. Playing with Flavored Liquor – I failed at this one.
5. Croissants – this one, too :(

I’m getting ready for World Nutella Day, in its 4th year, on February 5th, 2010!

Reading and eBooks

• Books (new) read in 2009: 79 (100% were ebooks). These are only new books for this year – I tend to re-read from my library as well. I also added a few paper cookbooks to the mix, too.
• Ebook Advocate: I have been digital for 4 years now – I wrote a Guide to Ebooks for Ebook Week on my tech blog, When I Have Time, for those that are new to ebooks or are interested in getting started!

Travel and Moving Around

• Cities lived in: 1 – Milan, Italy; but I changed apartments, yay!
• Countries visited: 4 – U.S., Dublin, Ireland; Paris, France, Istanbul, Turkey
• Years without a car: 6.5 but this streak has ended. We officially picked up a used car at the end of the year. I’ll continue taking public transportation every day to work.
• Carbon: According to Dopplr, a service I used to track my travels, for the first half of 2009 I totaled: 913 kg CO₂
• Moving around: I signed up for a gym after taking a break for a while, and started up with Nike+ sensor with my iPod Touch and I’m loving it.

What about you – do you have any interesting stats you track for your end of year?

Note: I have an Amazon affiliate store – many of the links in this post have an affiliate link to the Amazon site in case you are interested in buying that product. I will get a small percentage of the purchase price if you do (4-6%). Otherwise, plug the name of the product into Google and buy it somewhere else!

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Related Articles at Ms. Adventures in Italy:

• Getting Banned by Google, and Upgrading WordPress
• 2009 Year in Pictures
• Adopt a Blogger: Finding New Sources of Traffic and Readers for Your Blog
• It’s Alive!
• FemCamp, Moo Notecards, Me in Italian Glamour

SARA ROSSO: Julia, you’ve had such an interesting career path: Yale, Berkeley, Stanford; from mechanical engineer to management consultant and MBA grad to bakery owner to food writer! Do you see any common themes to your career choices, and why did you decide to finally make the leap and change careers?

JULIA USHER: Well, Sara, my answer depends on which career change you’re talking about! I’ve certainly had more than my fair share. My internal logbook registers three fairly significant transitions over the years (engineer to consultant, consultant to bakery owner, and bakery owner to food writer), but let’s focus on the second one (consultant to bakery owner) since it probably appears the most radical and least explicable of the bunch.

Back in 1994 at the time of this shift, I had just moved from San Francisco to Boston to be closer to my former college sweetheart (now husband). While I was trading up in my personal life by making this cross-country migration, I unfortunately traded down professionally. I was working in a small entrepreneurial office of Bain & Company in San Francisco, but when I transferred with the company, I found myself in the much more unwieldy and bureaucratic flagship office in Boston. I suddenly had layers upon layers of bosses and much less decision-making authority. Basically, I fell off what was a fast-paced path toward promotion in San Francisco and felt lost without any senior-level support and advocacy in Boston. It became very difficult to justify working 100-plus hour weeks for the firm when the rewards were becoming increasingly fuzzy.

So, in a nutshell: I found myself pretty darn miserable, and decided that if I was going to work hard at something, it ought to be at something I love to do. I had always been an avid avocational cook and foodie, and I fortunately had some natural aptitude for baking that was cultivated from cooking alongside my mom from a very early age. With so much else changing at the time (new relationship, new residence, new outlook on life), I actually found it pretty easy to throw another ball in the air. In 1995, I quit Bain and enrolled in the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. Since then, I’ve never looked back or missed my work as a consultant – except for the nice pay, that is!

To the other part of your question about common themes: as radical as this change may seem, it really wasn’t because the success factors for each of these jobs are very similar in many ways. In order to be a great pastry chef, you need to be exacting and detail-oriented (winging measurements rarely cuts it); at the same time, you have to be resourceful when recipes don’t work out as planned, and in tune with outside influences in order to sharpen your creative edge. Likewise, with consulting, my recommendations to our corporate clients were always fueled by in-depth, detailed research. There was a lot of fact checking and re-checking involved. I was also constantly surveying and testing the marketplace to define sustainable strategies for my clients – exactly the same steps I took to develop the business plan for my bakery.

SARA ROSSO:Do you have any advice for people that find themselves at a similar crossroads?

JULIA USHER: Yes, look before you leap – that is, do your research, talk to people who have made similar forays in the past, and know what you’re getting yourself into. A transition, big or small, can be emotionally and financially unsettling if you don’t have the backing of a significant other or family members – or the money to support it. I used my savings from Bain & Company to fund my explorations at culinary school and also to jumpstart my bakery. Without these reserves (and the support of a very patient husband), my path to pastry chef would have been a lot more challenging.

On the other hand, resist over-analyzing the situation as that can lead to paralysis. Weigh the facts, but learn to trust your gut as well. You only live once. There’s no sense in going through the motions miserably or working in a job because you think it will bolster your resume or impress your friends. Work and happiness shouldn’t be mutually exclusive; the more you love what you do, the more successful and fulfilled you’ll be. Pardon me for waxing philosophically, but finding the courage to pursue my passion was a critical life lesson for me.

SARA ROSSO: The cutout cookies in your book are beautiful and exquisitely detailed – what tips do you have for someone on a) efficiently cutting / baking cutout cookies and b) using such intricate designs and color combinations?

JULIA USHER: First of all, thanks! It’s nice to know that this labor of love of mine is appreciated. You know, there’s not a lot that’s complicated about cutting, baking and decorating sugar cookies. Success with both tasks is largely dictated by proper time management and practice, practice, practice. A few technical tips can help though:

1. Don’t rush the chilling time of the dough (this gets to my time management point). The dough will roll more easily and cut more cleanly if thoroughly chilled. Proper chilling will also allow you to get by with less flour on your work surface – a good thing, as excess flour can toughen the dough and diminish flavor. I frequently re-chill the dough during the cutting process to make sure it’s at the best working consistency.
2. I also handle the dough as little as possible to keep the cutout shapes from morphing. Always transfer cutouts to a cookie sheet with a wide offset spatula that fully supports the cookie.
3. I prefer baking on the backside of thick gauge baking sheets, and ideally on a silicone baking mat. It’s easier to slide the cookies onto the backside of the pan without the sides getting in the way; plus, I find that the cookies generally bake more evenly this way. Even heat distribution is also one reason I like to bake on a mat. The other reason is that parchment paper can buckle and misshape in the heat of the oven, sometimes distorting cookie shapes.
4. As for decorating, I use royal icing for much of my work, as opposed to confectioner’s icing that others sometimes use. The protein content of the egg whites in royal icing causes it to dry much more rapidly. The egg whites also give it a higher tensile strength (here’s where my engineering background comes in) that allows the icing to stretch and behave in ways that confectioners’ icing simply will never do. Essentially, royal icing permits much finer, detailed piping work.Consistency is king, however. For best results, you’ll need to adjust the consistency of the royal icing, depending on the decorating technique you’re attempting (I describe 11 techniques in my new book Cookie Swap). Marbling, for instance, requires all icing colors to be at the same consistency. Beadwork requires a relatively loose consistency, outlining generally calls for a thicker texture, and so forth. I could go on and on here. My best advice is to check out my book, where I give recommended consistency adjustments for each of the 11 techniques.
5. One last tip on tinting icing: because consistency adjustments can take time, I prefer to use liqua-gel, gel, or paste food coloring. All are concentrated and thick. A little goes a long way, so unlike liquid food colorings, these dyes are less likely to impact the consistency of your icing. However, my favorite coloring of all is the liqua-gel type. Because it gets dispensed through a dropper, I find it far easier to control the quantity of dye added than with paste or gel food colorings. (The latter colorings most often come in lidded containers and must be doled out with a toothpick – a much less precise and often messy endeavor!)

SARA ROSSO: What about organizing this sort of decoration in a group, or doing a group decoration party like Drop-in and Decorate?

JULIA USHER: Sure, decorating in groups is always fun. I regularly teach hands-on cookie decorating classes where I set up small work stations (about 5 people per station), each equipped with all the necessary tools. This makes sharing of scarce items a little easier. Each person decorates a dozen or more cookies to take home using the various tools and cookie trinkets (sanding sugar, luster dust, stencils, etc.) at their station. A lot of the fun comes in comparing what the different people and stations end up with.

I believe I’ve heard of Lydia’s concept (Drop in and Decorate); my only caution is that many food shelters will not accept food unless it is packaged or canned or made in a certified (DOH-approved) commercial kitchen. I’ve never been able to donate cookies made in my own home – or even my commercial bakery – to a St. Louis shelter, for instance. Here, they don’t want to receive unpackaged materials.

Thank you, Julia! Cookie Swap is available at Amazon and other independent bookstores.
Julia’s photo by Karen Forsythe.

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Related Articles at Ms. Adventures in Italy:

• Fig & Chocolate Oatmeal Bars Recipe from Cookie Swap Book from Julia Usher
• The Best Holiday Cookie Swap Ever
• Pignoli Cookies from Field Guide to Cookies for Eat Christmas Cookies
• Dolce Italiano: Sicilian Pistachio Cookies
• A New Project, and Needing Your Input

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS. Send it to the email address on my Contact page with the subject “Ask Ms. Adventures.” I’ll answer them in a compilation post like this often. I’ll ignore (and in some cases delete) questions left in the comments.

Note: some emails were shortened but all spelling and grammar errors are original to the inquirer.

I have to say I am astounded at the lack of general punctuation use and formulation of actual questions I receive. They take the time to find my email address, open their email program, compose a message to me and press “Send”, yet they can’t take the time to make their inquiry clear? Take a look at this one:

I looked at your website, i need an advice that i am thinking to do masters in Italy as i want to learn the language, i cant speak italian just few words, so are there any master programs taught in English, also a part time work or full time in english so finance myself.

and another:

Afternoon, Im very stuck. Been researching but Im so confused. Im hoping to move it Italy in the next year or so. I have accomodation already but how do I start to go about getting a work permit please. All Ive read confuses me so much. Plus, as a British citizen, will i need a residence permit for longer than 3 months.

and yet another:

Can you please help me, I know I need a visa but like you said it is hard to get a job without a permit but hard to get a permit without a job. Please help. Thanks.

These emails are not helpful to anyone. Please specify, after reading what I’ve already communicated, how exactly I might help. I am not an immigration official, nor a recruiter, just someone trying to help!

Let’s move on to the real questions:

Dear Ms. Adventures in Italy, I am currently a senior at Yale University. I just came back from living and studying in Italy for about 7 months, and all I can think about is going back. I would love to find a job for next year, but everyone I talk to seems to say the same things: “There just aren’t any jobs there” or “It’s really hard for a foreigner to find a job.” I am fluent in Italian and German and would love to work in business. Do you have any suggestions?

I have a couple of questions for you. First, do companies have preference for 1. English speaking people and 2. people with business degrees? I am having trouble finding work even in the U.S. and have read that it’s even more difficult in Italy. Also, I noticed in Rome that men are not shy about professing love to someone…even if they’ve only known you for an hour! Are woman treated fairly in the workplace, typically? Or discrimination a major issue? Sincerely, Listening to the Masses and Worried about Latin Lovers

Dear Listening to the Masses and Worried about Latin Lovers,

I think both sentiments are probably correct, but they depend on the industry you’re interested in. Becoming a university professor in Italy, for example, is extremely difficult whereas working in a private language school is relatively easy. Ditto for tourism, communication, internet, etc. but the answer is “it depends.”

Fluency is definitely a plus as most companies in Italy will use Italian in the office even if they are working with clients / delivering products-projects in English. I would say speaking English is always a bonus, but there’s no preference for it, especially if you speak 0 Italian. I know very few people working in offices where the base language is English.

You say you want to work in business – do you know where? I suggest your start two-pronged – make a list of companies that are in the sector you’re interested in that you know in America. Then, do a search for companies that are already in Italy, including companies founded in Italy. These two lists will definitely not be the same, and that’s ok – some of the companies in America may be looking for an international presence and/or freelance/contract help, and some international / Italian companies may be looking for someone with your skills. Of course, networking and making as many contacts as possible before leaving is probably your best bet, though many companies will want to interview you in person in Italy.

Unless you have a degree from an Ivy league university (in this case you do, congrats), or one that has high name recognition, I think your work experience will be what makes more of an impression on your interviewer. Advance business degrees (especially MBAs) are not as valued as I  think they are in the US, or rather, they have no additional value that might give you an edge. Some people have no idea what the acronym means. I suggest getting some work experience anyway – here in Italy new graduates do “stage” internships even into their 30s because of the difficult work situation – if you have some work experience under your belt before you make the move, it will be an edge.

“Rome that men are not shy about professing love to someone” – yes, this is a chapter all on its own called “The Latin Lover” – you will meet some Italian men who are looking for and love the exotic – an American on vacation is one of the sweetest varieties. But if you live here, you’ll also meet some great, honorable Italian men. There are all types, everywhere. The Latin Lovers just stick out more (like peacocks).

Re: women treated fairly in the workplace, I can’t profess to know every workplace in Italy. I think on the whole the women’s movement regarding equal opportunity and pay is several years behind the UK or the US, but that doesn’t translate into disrespect or discrimination automatically. I think it’s much easier to find the negative experiences because that’s what sticks in people’s minds more. There are several women’s groups (some of which are listed on my Milan & Italy links page) which are working toward improving the situation. Cheers, Ms. Adventures in Italy

Dear Ms. Adventures in Italy, I am in the midst of applying for my dual citizenship and should have it within a year.  My mother is an Italian citizen living in Canada.  My question is, if I move there with my husband, and he does not have a citizenship, what is the process for him since I will have the necessary paper work.  Can he apply through me?  Can he move there with me and will he need to get anything when we move?  Any information you can provide me is greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Doing the Dual

Dear Doing the Dual,

Congrats! Dual citizenship is an easy way to move to Italy. Your husband will need to get a visa and then he will be able to apply for a permesso per motivi familiari since he will be joining an Italian citizen. Inquire at your local Italian consulate (see my Help Me Move to Italy post for consulate links) – it’s something that you’ll have to do BEFORE you move since you’re not currently a resident. Cheers, Ms. Adventures in Italy

Ms. Adventures in Italy, I’m a student who want to pursue my higher education in Italy. I was looking for someone to help me get in touch with the student community there for a few clarifications. I’m an International student who want to pursue my Masters there and go on to do research in the field of my interest. Looking For a Connection

Dear Looking for a Connection,

I think your best bet is narrowing down where you want to pursue your higher education and start mining that university’s website for student associations and clubs that you can come into contact with. Another suggestion is to search on Facebook – a lot of the Italian student population is online and there are groups for everything – you’re bound to find an informal space to ask some questions. Cheers, Ms. Adventures in Italy

Ms. Adventures in Italy, My question is if I enter Italy as a Tourist with my Canadian passport, what if I find work while there, can I get the paper work started while I am in Italy? Or do I have to absolutely apply for the work visa in my country of residence? From Here or There

Dear Here or There,

I’m not Canadian so I can’t speak from personal experience about your country. I know that for Americans you have to go back to the US to apply for a visa, I’m assuming it’s a requirement of the Italian consulate, not anything to do with the home country’s requirement (so I’m assuming it would be the same for Canada). Best check the consulate’s documentation and recommendations on their site (see my Help Me Move to Italy post for consulate links). Cheers, Ms. Adventures in Italy

Hello, I love the work your blog and the work you’ve done to make it very helpful for people like me who are interested in moving to Italy. In your “Help! How Do I Live and Work in Italy?” blog post you talked about the work visa paradox. After I finish my Masters degree, I really would love to work as a teacher in Italy. Is there anything I can do to impove my odds of finding a job before I go to Italy? Would I have a better chance of getting a work visa by flying to Italy and personally talking to schools to find one to sponsor me? Thanks! From Flying to Teach

Dear Flying to Teach,

I think planning a trip to Italy to do interviews and talk to schools in person is a good idea. Contact them beforehand saying that you plan to be physically in “x” city on those dates and would like to interview/meet with the Director of Studies that week, etc. and attach your resume, highlighting any previous teaching experience. Schools are selling a very human, person-to-person experience, so it makes sense that they expect to see and know you before making a decision about hiring.

Be ready for the question: “So when are you planning on moving here?” Have a game plan ready in case 1) they offer to work on the work visa situation and 2) in case if they don’t offer. (Will you still move to Italy? Have you already bought that 1-way ticket?)

As far as the work visa situation goes, very few schools go through the trouble (when they have British/EU teachers available) so you’ll just have to see what kind of response you get. Cheers, Ms. Adventures in Italy

Hi Ms. Adventures, I’ve been learning Italian for the past year. It’s coming along well but I am by no means fluent. I like the idea of teaching because I love languages (I speak English and French). However, I have seen some information that states that in Italy you do not need teaching qualifications to teach English, you just need to be a native speaker. I’m totally confused about what qualifications I would need and how to apply for a job. The Italian way seems to be very much more about networking but I have no idea how to do this, especially being based in the UK at the moment. Have you got any advice you can give me? From Qualifying to Teach

Hello Qualifying to Teach,

See my above answer for the networking and applying – I think it can only help for the schools to meet you in person. Schedule a week (or two if you’re still undecided between cities) to come here and do some in-person interviewing and scouting around.

Some schools will not ask for previous teaching experience, nor CELTA/TEFL certificates, but they will take into account your own formal education and if you have multiple degrees, etc., especially in subjects they are teaching to students. Some schools, though, require these certifications and if you have neither a university degree nor teaching experience you may want to consider getting the certificate. Cheers, Ms. Adventures in Italy

Hi, Great website! I am a cook looking to study pizza in Napoli or any other region. I would love to attain a Pizzaiolo certification. I have cooked for many years in Sweden and in California. I have lived in Italy in the 80’s, yet have no contacts. I am also interested in just working in Italy as a cook. Any help would be much appreciated. From the Pizza Man

Hi Pizza Man,

This isn’t my specialty, but with a quick google search for “pizzaiolo certificato” I found the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association and a Masters for Pizza makers. It’s probably a good place to start, but since you speak Italian, troll some of the forums to see if you can find out which program is the most reputable. Cheers, Ms. Adventures in Italy

Dear Ms. Adventures in Italy, My wife and I are considering moving to Italy.  I am a teacher in the United States and I had thought about teaching English abroad. I have looked some at your website, but there is a lot of information and I wanted to contact you first. Most jobs seem to say they require experience.  Can I find a job teaching English in Italy that will provide an income that I can live with functionally without returning to school for years on end?  I love teaching and it is a feasible career to get a start in a foreign country it would seem.  I just want to figure out how realistic the option is without having to go back to school first. From Enough Dough to Live?

Hello Enough Dough to Live,

You already have teaching experience which is good – even better if you’ve been teaching English! If you’re hoping to support a couple on a single income of an English teacher in a private language school, the answer is no, it’s not enough dough. I don’t think going back to school will solve the problem – it’s not enough for two to live. A teacher can make anywhere from 600 euro/month to 1,500/month, depending on your schedule, how busy the school is and how many other teachers they have, and if you have any private students, etc. I heard of one (1) teacher who was making more than 2,000euro/month but he had been in Italy for several years and had built up an impressive private businessmen/student clientele. If the two of you both work, you might have a chance, but it won’t be luxury. You will be getting by. Cheers, Ms. Adventures in Italy

Dear Ms. Adventures, I am a dental student at the University of Toronto in Canada, and want to work in Italy (maybe Rome) as an associate for a year or 2 after I graduate. I will have my Canadian DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) and will pass the Canadian Board Exam to be able to practise in Canada. Will I be able to work for a Dentist in Italy?? Or is this dream just too hard to accomplish? I was thinking I could work for an American/English Dentist that works in Italy. What do you think?? And will I be able to get a work Visa for 1 or 2 years if I’m a Dentist? Thanks for any help/contacts you have! And thanks for the time you put into helping others experience Italy! ~Canadian Dentist dreaming of Italy

Dear Canadian Dentist dreaming of Italy,

Unfortunately I have no contacts regarding dentists – I need one myself! But, I think the possibility that you could get an internship with a dentist may be a possibility but practicing on your own and getting a work visa are completely different situations altogether. I would suggest scouring the advertising sections of popular English language publications in Italy (check my Milan/Italy links) to find the American/English dentists and contact them with your questions. Prepare yourself and know your answer to – If they are willing to accept me as an associate, but without a work visa, will I do it anyway? Often work permits are more expensive and trouble than they are worth to the employer to pursue for a possible employee. The burden usually remains with the person looking for work to have the correct papers. Cheers, Ms. Adventures in Italy

Please note: I am not an immigration lawyer or official – this information is not intended to be legal advice nor supplant/contradict any official government communication. Please consult the rules/regulations that pertain to you and your particular situation/country. I am not encouraging or advising your participation in illegal activity.

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