Go North, Young Man. In Italy, College Degrees Don’t Always Equal Staying Close to Home

Recent engineering graduate Gianluca Manti opts for the Netherlands. A higher salary awaits, family will be away, and cuisine—so vital to Italians—won’t be the same.

Gianluca Manti, foreground, with family, left to right: Mom, Dad, girlfriend Valentina, and twin sister Desiree.

The fresh graduate is slicing through asparagus spears drenched in butter, soaking up a little dolce vita before his thoughts are set to fly away to a land heavy on Gouda cheese.

Away from a mom’s tender care.

Away from a love-struck gal named Valentina.

Away from a twin sister who knows him true.

Away from a lawyer dad, a counselor on life.

Away from AC Milan football.

Gianluca Manti belongs to a sobering trend in Italy: Some college graduates, especially those with degrees in the sciences, are choosing to kick off their careers at corporations scattered across Switzerland, Germany and northward, where higher salaries and greater potential for career growth soften any rude encounters with soggy pasta and tricky English speakers. Meanwhile, moms and dads are an affordable 90-minute flight away.

In June, Manti will start work at Siemens in the Dutch city of The Hague, between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Siemens is a German multinational technology conglomerate spread worldwide. 

“I told myself, ‘Why not?’ ” says Manti, 25, who grew up in Lainate, part of greater northwest Milan. “In Italy, there is work but it’s not very well paid in comparison to the (education level). The professional growth is very slow. It takes a lot of years. I think it could be a great opportunity for my career.