Sonography, Social Work, Special Ed or Nursing

amother

Floralwhite

Thu, Nov 17 2022, 8:13 pm

What does she have aptitude for? What is she interested in?

I’m a social worker and couldn’t have been any of the other 3 you mention (Im both talent and interest)

lovecouches

Thu, Nov 17 2022, 11:44 pm

Special Ed is known to have bad conditions. Social work depends what she wants to do with it but she would need really good Hebrew if she wants to work anywhere public I assume because of talking to people and filling out forms. What type of sonography? Gynaecological sonography could be good you need Hebrew but not enough to write out long reports like a social worker. But most places will require afternoon and evening hours for sonography.

Elfrida

Thu, Nov 17 2022, 11:57 pm

Is she studying in America? For most of those subjects she will have to pass licensing exam in Israel before she can work here. As said above, she will need to speak and write at least adequate Hebrew. To be employed in Israel, she will need a work permit; I'm not sure if a regular student visa allows her to work or not.

Nursing she can be fairly sure of getting a job, but the pay is not great, and the hours can be very difficult. Working in a hospital will include working on Shabbos and Chagim. (Probably also applies to sonography, but I'm less familiar with the field.)

I think it can be hard to get a job in special education. There is a lot of competition, and she would need to have excellent Hebrew.

I don't know much about the other options. They cover a pretty wide range. She should think about what she really wants to do, not just how to earn money.

amother

Skyblue

Fri, Nov 18 2022, 12:00 am

I worked in special ed in Israel a while ago and my conditions were pretty good. As the main teacher I worked from 8-1 while my assistant stayed until 2:30. I also had off one day a week (besides Shabbos!). You never have to worry about Chol Hamoed. Plus 4 months payed maternity leave. I really enjoyed working at the school, I had an amazing supervisor, and the atmosphere was wonderful.
Whatever she does she should work on her Hebrew, speaking, reading, and writing. She's going to have to be pretty fluent to get a job in an Israeli school or hospital and she's going to have to write reports.

amother

Crystal

Fri, Nov 18 2022, 12:08 am

Those are quite a broad range of fields. I think she should look into each field as to what she actually wants and would enjoy, more than the earning potential. There's plenty of people who qualify in a field, only to give it up because it's not for them and they burn out.
If she's not planning to stay in Israel for more than a few years, is there any reason why she can't take a job in a different field to what she will eventually do? For instance, if she dreams of being a sonographer, but she works in Israel in special ed. Remember there's no guarantee she will be able to get a job, even if she is qualified.
I feel like aside from special ed, all those jobs are quite demanding. They're often long hours/shifts. If she's a nurse, it's gonna be hard to have shana rishona doing night shifts.
I personally believe people should get jobs they want to do, not something that they think will make good money, or because everyone is doing it.

amother

Cerise

Fri, Nov 18 2022, 4:07 am

Regarding sonography - many of the people who do it want to do gynecological/obstetric sonography and there is a lot of competition there and very hard to get a job. But other type of sonography or other imaging has a bit more room.

amother

Fri, Nov 18 2022, 4:58 am

amother Cerise wrote:

Do you need to get recertified in Israel?

amother

Fri, Nov 18 2022, 5:33 am

chestnut wrote:

Israel is only for a few years, why base the profession on it?

Because is Israel she would be supporting while her husband learns.

amother

Azalea

Fri, Nov 18 2022, 5:36 am

If she does nursing, there are american companies that hire nurses to work remotely from Israel . I know several american nurses living in Israel doing that .
That would save the headache of work visa, Israeli license etc
And pays what would not be high salary in u.s., but better than Israeli salary.

chestnut

Fri, Nov 18 2022, 5:42 am

amother OP wrote:

Because is Israel she would be supporting while her husband learns.

I realize that. But is she planning on working in the US once they're back?

Elfrida

Fri, Nov 18 2022, 5:43 am

amother OP wrote:

Do you need to get recertified in Israel?

Almost certainly. It's a para-medical profession. The government will want to be sure that anyone they employ meets their standards. She'll also have to pass a Hebrew proficiency test.

As far as I know, there is no sonography degree in Israel. (I might not be up to date in this.) There is a degree in medical imaging, which covers x-rays, ultrasound, and all other kinds of imaging. There is also a certification course in sonography, which a number of Beis Ya'akov girls do. So if she does a degree in sonography, she may find that she is overqualified, and at the same time, her degree isn't recognised.

I don't know if she would consider this as an option, but the simplest route could just be to train in Israel - which would skzo give her practice with the language.

STMommy

Fri, Nov 18 2022, 5:45 am

I agree with other posters that the priority then is to base it on her knowledge and command of Hebrew. My SIL went to Israel with a degree and a job all lined up, and then discovered that there was such a high paperwork demand requiring fluent Hebrew that her whole plan fell apart.

amother

Candycane

Fri, Nov 18 2022, 5:55 am

I think what people are saying is that it doesn't make sense to make a career choice based on working in Israel for a few years and then returning to the US.

Far better to prepare for a career she would enjoy and be good at in the US where presumably she would work for most of her life and the research jobs one could do in Israel for a few years.

I don't understand how any of these choices would make sense for a non-Israeli - monographers and nursing are licensed professions and would require some kind of licensing procedure.

What kind of social worker can practice effectively in an environment where they don't really know the system. I ask not to be snarky but genuinely don't understand since social workers generally work very closely with government agencies and/or also need an understanding of culture to work with clients.

I guess theoretically special education would be a field where a US certificate would be acceptable but again aren't there licensing requirements?

amother

Impatiens

Fri, Nov 18 2022, 6:40 am

STMommy wrote:

This!! My dd went with a psych degree and Hebrew speaking but she had a hard time transferring degree. And she will need to put in hours of field work. They did not accept her degree and field work from the US. She was so frustrated that she found employment that had nothing to do with her degree.
make sure you research requirements and acceptance of degrees.
She must pass the Hebrew proficiency test ( which is very hard) before anything else.

paperflowers

Fri, Nov 18 2022, 9:28 am

She might do better off working American hours remotely for an American company, rather than going through the Israeli paperwork. Sonography, special Ed, and nursing all need to be hands on, but social work might be doable.