Ramona’s Life In Finland

Blog by Ramona Grunder, Tourism Management student in JAMK who tells about her job experience in Finland before studies in JAMK, shares opinion about her study time and current job.

Hi, all, ? my name is Ramona and I’m originally from Switzerland, but I have decided to move to Finland after visiting several times and getting to know the country.       

I moved to Finland in the end of 2019, and I have found work at Lapland Safaris as I was still in my home country. I was working for one month as a clothing worker and as easy as it sounds, I can tell you it is a lot of work, and you will definitely be tired ?. Despite having a lot of work, I had of course also free time, where I went to the centre or I went for walks outside and hunting Northern Lights, visiting a Husky kennel, going for a snowshoe hike or just enjoying a cosy time in the hut. I have made wonderful friends during that time with which I still am in contact with.

The following summer I have been working at a Restaurant in middle Finland. While working on an island during high season for the restaurant, I had a lot of work to do and met many Finnish people but also some foreigners. While as well taking online Finnish lessons I made a lot of progress in studying the language since I had weekly lessons and possibilities to use the knowledge in my daily life at work. During the time at Lapland Safaris, I decided to apply for studying at a university and found that JAMK University of applied Sciences offering an English Bachelor’s degree programme for Tourism and Hospitality Management, something I have been interested since years! I took the chance and applied for the studies and here I am.  

Now, I am studying and working at the same time, which is tuff at times. I am working for a cleaning company, and it is hard physical job, I don’t mind it, but I must consider more resting time for my body. If you are planning to work and study at the same time, I encourage you to think about how much time you want to invest into work and how much time and energy you have left for studying. For me three courses are the maximum besides working. Of course, this depends on each person. If you need to make changes in your study plan, talk to your tutor and you will find a suitable way.

My future work I see ideally as physical work combined with some nonphysical work. Otherwise, I am not quite sure yet what exactly since I have many interests. Let’s see how my way is going after the practical trainings.