Intern Abroad

• Molecular and Applied Biotechnology M.Sc.
• Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
• Zagorka AD
• 04.10.2021-31.12.2021

Finding an internship position

Students from abroad are generally very welcome in Bulgarian companies. Therefore, looking for a position is not a hard task, however, one should make research about companies in the desired area. Then, a direct contact to the company is recommended and not relying on jobsites such as Jobs.bg. The idealcandidate.bg is also focused on showing internship positions from the biggest companies. In my case, things happened really fast – in a matter of a month from obtaining first contact to negotiating the conditions.

Preparation

In most cases, companies have specific requirements about documents, which could differ. However, what you need is a medical insurance and nothing else if you stay for less than 3 months and come from the EU. German insurance companies provide the European Health Insurance Card, which is tricky since not every hospital works with it. Lots of Bulgarian companies provide additional private health insurance for their employees which is completely enough, and one should ask about it in advance. Bank account is not necessary, and phone contracts are not needed since you can use a German number up to three months in the EU. However, I recommend making a short term voucher contract since it is always easier to communicate with locals.

One should always ask about specific medical examinations, since companies are obliged by law to ask for specific ones before starting. I needed to spend two days visiting different doctors.

Finding a place to stay

It is a hard task since most of the companies would not offer an apartment for a short period only. However, websites as Booking.com or AirBnB provide cheap places and a huge variety of locations. As everywhere, in big cities such as Sofia, Plovdiv or Varna, foreign students are not an exemption. Therefore, you can always find Facebook groups with useful tips or apartment offers, but one should always be aware of fraud.

Transportation and free time

In big cities public transport is often okay, but with a personal car things are much easier everywhere. If you need to travel to work, it is often cheaper to choose a place in proximity to work and go by foot.

© Stanislav Yordanov

Bulgaria has an amazing variety of natural and historical objects and I used to spend almost every weekend with a good weather travelling. Sofia is much more different than smaller cities offering almost everything and can be compared with cities like Cologne when considering free time activities.

One-day or weekend trips can be done in every direction. I would recommend the Rila, Stara Planina and Rhodope mountains, as well as Plovdiv – considered the oldest city in Europe. For summer internships, Black Sea is a must considering the variety of resorts – from small hippy campings to the Ibiza-like Sunny Beach.

© Stanislav Yordanov

Advices

Bulgaria is a hidden gem in finding an internship. However, I recommend choosing a big international company in a big city when looking for an internship. As an intern, you would have the same rights as a regular worker and get almost equal pay (if negotiated so). You could also expect to get fast personal tasks and get a very direct feedback. One should also always demand regular contracts in his/her language. If possible, ask for a mentor or a buddy during the stay, with good English skills such as another company’s employee. That could be very useful when problems arise and ensures a smooth transition and start in the company. I also recommend a Facebook account, since locals use mostly Messenger or Viber for communication while WhatsApp is rarely used.

Those approx. three months were very different and dynamic period and a back-to-the-roots experience for me which showed me a future career path and let me learn a lot. I am very thankful to Erasmus+ financing it and making this experience possible.