Is there a language barrier in Estonia?

[bennyteo]

Tartu and Tallinn comes out on top of my every searches. Seems like Estonia is a perfect place for me to live.

But what about languange barrier? Is Estonian language hard to learn?

I'm an Indonesian with moderate English proficiency (I got 7.5 in IELTS). How will it help me finding job and make a living in Tartu?

[Andres_Soop]

Hi Benny

If you are looking for a job in IT, English language will be enough to find a decent job. I have many friends living in Estonia who are employed in different IT firms while they don't speak any Estonian.

Learning the language itself, as I heard from others, is quite difficult.

Best regards,
Andres

[Nicolas_Tamargo]

But what about languange barrier?

You can do almost anything in English. I think I've only needed to speak Estonian to talk to old ladies in shoe repairing shops and the like.

Is Estonian language hard to learn?

Quite. Worth it, if you're staying for the long term, but pretty hard.

How will it help me finding job and make a living in Tartu?

Do you have a degree in computer science or quite a bit of IT experience? If so, you're relatively likely to find some sort of job even with English only, as far as I've seen. Otherwise, it'd be quite tricky.

[Leonardo_Ortega]

Hi!

Completely agree. With English, in Tartu and Talinn, you can get by and getting a job in IT field should not be difficult. Recommend you to browse around www.workinestonia.com English job offers and learn more about working and living in Estonia.
I find Estonian difficult, but with motivation (and lots of study) I was able to learn at internediate level on 1-2 years. This would help if you are thinking long perspective.
Good luck!

[bennyteo]

Thank you Andres.

Unfortunately, i got no IT background. I'll look for other options.

[bennyteo]

Thank you Nicholas.

Though i consider myself tech savvy, i've got no background in IT or computer. I'll look for other options.

[bennyteo]

Thank you Leonardo.

The link will be very helpful.

[Taavi1]

Yes, the language barrier exists. Only young people speak English here on a quite poor level. Sometimes people don't understand English at all. Learning Estonian is a big challenge because the language is incredibly hard.

[Gary_Watch]

I'm from Poland and it's not that hard to learn English here. The market is full, supply is high and the price is low for any educational services here. I'm wondering why people from other countries do not work with Polish tutors. Check this out https://buki.org.pl/korepetycje/jezyk-angielski/.